FLIGHT.

DECEMBER 2, 1937.

The De Havilland Gipsy Major II which made its first public appearance at the S.B.A.C. display at Hatfield this year, is the smallest engine to have v.p. airscrew equipment. (Flight photograph). On a given fuel, due to the smooth, symmetrical combustion chamber, with its central sparking plugs and the absence of overheated areas of metal, an increase of one compression ratio over a comparable poppet-valve cylinder can be made without detonation occurring. Efficient scavenging also helps to give the even combustion which makes this possible. This increase in compression ratio means added economy as well as added performance. Three inlet ports are provided for each aluminium alloy cylinder, and a small induction manifold, extending round half the diameter of the cylinder, is fed by a separate induction pipe for each cylinder from the fully automatic Claudel Hobson carburettor.

Little information can yet be divulged a b o u t the Napier Dagger E.108. Two of these engines will be installed in a new H a n d l e y Page bomber. An interesting new departure, of which mention was made previously, is the remote gear box for auxiliary drives which has been developed for Perseus and Hercules models. Due to the great multiplication of such accessories, pumps, generators, compressors, etc., it is extremely difficult to get a satisfactory grouping of all these items round the rear cover of a radial engine. In this new arrangement provision is made on the engine itself for driving magnetos, oil pump, dual fuel pump, tachometer drive, electric starter, and, if necessary, the governor for a constant-speed airscrew; all other drives are taken from the gear box, which has an enclosed flexible drive and is intended for mounting on the engine bulkhead or some suitable part of the airframe. As the Hercules is still an experimental engine, it is not possible to describe it in detail. I t is in many ways similar to the Perseus, having the same bore and stroke. The crankcase is made in three sections, split at the centre lines of the cylinders and secured by long throughbolts which also hold the volute and supercharger casings. With a rated output of 1,375 h.p. at 4,000 feet, the Hercules is the highest-powered typetested engine. The test was carried out using a 13ft. De Havilland constant-speed airscrew. (Bristol Aircrr"- Co., Ltd., Filton, Bristol.)

Although later marks of the engine have appeared, this detailed drawing (below) of a Napier Rapier shows admirably the general arrangement of moving parts. {Flight copyright drawing.)