Gnome Delta

This article refers to the two-valve Gnome rotary engine (automatic inlet valve in the piston crown and pushrod operated exhaust valve). For the 100 hp Monosoupape engine go to Gnome Monosoupape 9 Type B-2, (Monosoupape engines had a single pushrod operated exhaust valve and inlet ports exposed by the piston near bottom dead centre).

Delta
Type	Rotary aero engine
Manufacturer	Société des Moteurs Gnome
First run	c.1909
Major applications	Avro 500 Vickers F.B.9 Gunbus
Unit cost	22,000 Francs

The Gnome 9 Delta was a French designed, nine-cylinder, air-cooled rotary aero engine that was produced under license in Britain. Powering several World War I era aircraft types it produced 100 horsepower (75 kW) from its capacity of 16 litres (990 cubic inches).^[1]

Applications

List from Lumsden

• Avro Type 500
• Caudron Type L^[2]
• Pemberton-Billing P.B.25
• Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2
• Vickers No.7 Monoplane
• Vickers F.B.9 Gunbus

Engines on display

• A preserved Gnome 9 Delta engine is on public display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris

Specifications (9 Delta)

Data from Lumsden.^[1][3]

General characteristics

• Type: 9-cylinder, single-row, rotary engine
• Bore: 124 mm (4.88 in)
• Stroke: 150 mm (5.91 in)
• Displacement: 16.28 l (993.47 cu in)
• Length: 1,150 mm (45.28 in)
• Diameter: 1,020 mm (40.16 in)
• Dry weight: 135 kg (297.6 lb)

Components

• Valvetrain: Automatic centre-piston inlet valve, one overhead exhaust valve per cylinder ^[4]
• Fuel system: one static Bloctube carburettor feeding the crankcase
• Fuel type: 40 / 50 Octane gasoline
• Oil system: Total loss pressure fed
• Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

• Power output: 75 kW (100 hp) at 1,200 rpm
• Specific fuel consumption: 0.362 kg/kW/hr (0.6 lb/hp/hr)

See also

Comparable engines

• Bentley BR1
• Clerget
• Le Rhône 9C

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines

References

Notes

1. Lumsden 2003, p. 152.
2. Hauet (2001) p.55
3. Moteurs Gnome (PDF) (in French). Paris: Société des Moteurs Gnome. October 1913. pp. 6–10. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
4. Angle 1921, p. 212.

Bibliography

• Angle, Glenn D. Airplane Engine Encyclopedia. Dayton, Ohio: The Otterbein Press, 1921.
• Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.
• Hauet, André (2001). Les Avions Caudrons 1. Outreau: Lela Presse. ISBN 2 914017-08-1.