De Havilland Gipsy Major

The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s including the famous Tiger Moth biplane.

Design and development

The engine was a slightly modified Gipsy III which was effectively a de Havilland Gipsy engine modified to run inverted so that the cylinders pointed downwards below the crankcase. This allowed the propeller shaft to be kept in a high position without having the cylinders blocking the pilot's forward view over the nose of the aircraft. [Bransom 1991, p. 28.] One initial disadvantage of the inverted configuration was the high oil consumption (up to 4 pints per hour) requiring regular refills of the external oil tank, this problem improved over time with the use of modified piston rings. The Major was a slightly bored out (118 mm from 114 mm) Gipsy III. First built in 1932, total production of all Gipsy Major versions was 14,615 units. In the years following World War II, this engine was built under licence in Italy as the Alfa Romeo 110.

Examples are on display at the Mosquito Aircraft Museum.

pecifications (Gipsy Major I)

"Data from:" Jane's [Jane's 1989, p. 276-277] pistonspecs

type=4-cylinder air-cooled inverted inline piston aircraft engine
bore=4.646" (118 mm)
stroke=5.512" (140 mm)
displacement=373.7 in³ (6.124 L)
length=48.3" (1227 mm)
diameter=
width= 20.0" (508 mm)
height= 29.6" (752 mm)
weight=300 lb (136 kg) Mk 1F to 322 lb (146 kg) Mk 1D
valvetrain=OHV
supercharger=
turbocharger=
fuelsystem= Downdraught Hobson A.I.48 H3M (Mk 1C and Mk 7) or H1M (others)
fueltype=
oilsystem=Dry sump, gear-type pump
coolingsystem=Air-cooled
power=122 hp at 2,100 rpm–145 hp (108 kW) at 2,550 rpm
specpower=0.39 hp/in³ (17.6 kW/L)
compression= 5.25:1 (Mk 1 and 1F) or 6.0:1 (others)
fuelcon=6.5 to 6.75 gph (28.4 to 30.7 L/ph) at 2,100 rpm
specfuelcon=
oilcon=1.75 pints (0.99 L) per hour.
power/weight=0.48 hp/lb (0.78 kW/kg)

Applications

De Havilland Gipsy Major

*British Aircraft Eagle
*DHC-1 Chipmunk
*De Havilland Dragon
*De Havilland Tiger Moth
*Elliotts Newbury Eon
*Ikarus Aero 2
*Koolhoven F.K.43
*Miles Magister
*Miles Whitney Straight
*RWD-5bis
*Saab 91 Safir
*Stampe SV.4

Alfa Romeo 110

*Agusta CP-110
*Ambrosini S.1001 "Grifo"
*Ambrosini S.1002 "Trasimeno"
*Ambrosini SAI.10
*S.A.I.M.A.N. 202

ee also

* de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre
* Frank Halford

Comparable engines

* Cirrus Major
* Hirth HM 504

Related lists

* List of aircraft engines

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bransom, Alan. "The Tiger Moth Story, Fourth Edition". Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1991. ISBN 0-906393-19-1.
* "Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II". London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7

External links

* [http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/collections/engines/engine_info.cfm?engine_id=16 Royal Air Force Museum - Gipsy Major]