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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0158.PDF
n6 FLIGHT JANUARY 30TH, 1947 Symbol of Power The New Rolls-Royce Eagle: Highest Powered British Piston Engine A FTER more than a quarter of a century the name andf-\ nature of the original 350 h.p. Rolls-Royce Eagle -*- -*- engine, two of which brought Alcock and Brownacross the Atlantic in their Vickers Vimy, in 1919, is still lamiliar; and in fact this early V-12 water-cooled pistonengine layout is still maintained for Merlin and Griffon, the new Eagle being the company's first important depar-ture from it. • The new Eagle is a 24-cylindor, liquid-cooled, flat Hdesign nominally rated at 3,500 h.p. The majority of the well-tried features of the Merlin and Griffon Series have-been incorporated in it but one important difference is the use of sleeve valves. Although it has been in existence for many months, andhas already undergone its preliminary trials in a secret new high-performance Westland aircraft, little detailedinformation has as yet been released. The introduction at this j juncture of alarge piston engine by a firm producing gas The Eagle VII of 1914-18 war vintage. similar to that on Griffon and Merlin engines. The Rolls-Royce fuel pump, located on the crankcase lower half, delivers petrol to the airstream at the impeller eye. An interesting and ingenious new feature is the integralcoolant header tank incorporated in the crankcase tip casting. Two waterproof B.T.H. magnetos are fitted. Three representative views of the new3,500 h.p. Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. The rear view shows how neatly thetwo-stage supercharger and intercoolers are kept within the width across thecylinder banks. turbines of acknowledged ex-cellence is in itself noteworthy, particularly as it has been announced that no new R.A.F. fighters or bombers will bepowered by piston engines. The Royal Navy is not, of course, included in this state-ment, and as has already been pointed out in Flight, the special requirements of deck-landing aircraft stillcall for high-powered airscrew-driving power units, either gas turbines or piston engines. For large civiland military transports there is also still a case for the high-powered piston engine, as there are to dateno airframes in existence in which gas turbines could be employed economically. If the power output develop-ment of the Merlin series can be taken as an indication, it would seem that the maximum output of the Eaglemay in time approach 5,000 h.p. In keeping with large pistoii-ehgine designs, the Eaglestarts life with a two-speed, two-stage supercharger and a reduction gear for an eight-blade Rotol contra-rotatingairscrew. A fuel injection system is employed which is The Rolls-Royce Company have confidence in the de-mand for high-powered piston engines for particular in- stallations for several years to come. It is nof?worthythat, in spite of the need in wartime to concentrate on the successful Vee-twelve designs, the possibilities sur-rounding such things as air-cooling, sleeve valves, and C.I. and two-stroke engines in their various forms, have allbeen examined and in some cases tested at Derby.
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