DECEMBER

2, 1937.

FLIGHT.

BRISTOL time the Bristol Company was noted for ATitsonesingle-row nine-cylinder Jupiter engines.chiefly now It

deserves special credit for four achievements: the production of the Pegasus and Mercury ranges of poppet-valve engines; the production of the Pegasus XVIII with two speed supercharging ; the successful development to production stage of a sleeve-valve enginethe Perseus; and the introduction and successful typetesting of the two-row sleeve-valve Hercules, one of the most powerful aero engines ever built. The first sleeve-valve Perseus engines reached the R.A.F. as the last Jupiters were disappearing. Several Vildebeest machines are now in service with moderately supercharged Perseus engines. Pegasus models are to be found in almost every class of machine. By way of example, HandleyPage Harrow heavy bombers in Mk. I or II forms have Pegasus X's or X X ' s , the Walrus amphibian has a special pusher installation of the Pegasus VI, and the civil Xc is the power unit of the Short Empire Boats. As the power plant of the Bristol Blenheim, of which very large numbers have been ordered, the Mercury was the engine chosen for large-scale production in the five special shadow factories. The construction of the Pegasus and Mercury is well known, b u t the secDetails of Pegasus engine construction can be seen in this drawing and a comparison of valve and cylinder assembly may be made with the sleevevalve parts illustrated on the previous page. (Flight copyright drawing.) charger, may not be described in detail. In general, however, it may be said that there are three clutch units radially disponed in the blower casing, each consisting of two small intermediate pinions. Either of these pinions can be locked to a large gear by means of a hydraulic clutch The two pinions engage with two sets of teeth on the main spring drive gear which is keyed to the crankshaft. Both pinions of each clutch can drive the impeller through a centrifugal slipping clutch, and, depending upon which pinion is locked to the large gear,

A side view of the Bristol f o u r t e e n cylinder H e r c u l e s shows its clean outline and also the remote gear box for auxiliary drives. tioned drawing above should help to explain the layout. Cylinder head and barrel finning has steadily increased in area as new ratings have appeared, the Pegasus XVIII showing the most recent improvement in this matter. Points of interest in Bristol Pegasus and Mercury construction are the two-piece crankshaft held by a maneton bolt and having a large-diameter crankpin ; the Farman-type bevel epicyclie reduction gear, of which two ratios are available ; the alloy cylinder heads with close-pitch finning; and the fully automatic carburettor with built-in mixture control, and " t h r e e - s t a g e " automatic boost control. The three lever positions for the boost control are automatic weak, automatic rich, and override. On the latest addition to the Pegasus range, the XVIII, the special feature, the two-speed superThe single-row sleeve-valve Bristol Perseus has exceptionally clean lines and uninterrupted airflow over the cylinder fins. (Flight photograph.)