Gnome Gamma

Gamma
Type Rotary aero engine
Manufacturer Gnome et Rhone
First run c.1911
Major applications Blériot XXI
Handley Page H.P.3

The Gnome 7 Gamma was a French designed, seven-cylinder, air-cooled rotary aero engine. Powering several pre-World War I era aircraft types it produced 70 horsepower (52 kW) from its capacity of 12 litres (680 cubic inches).[1]

A 14-cylinder variant was known as the Gnome 14 Gamma-Gamma.

Variants

Gnome 7 Gamma
Seven-cylinder, single-row rotary engine.
Gnome 14 Gamma-Gamma
14-cylinder, two-row rotary engine using Gamma cylinders. 140 hp (104 kW).

Applications

List from Lumsden

Gnome 7 Gamma

Gnome 14 Gamma-Gamma

Specifications (Gnome 7 Gamma)

Data from Lumsden.[1]

General characteristics

  • Type: 7-cylinder, single-row, rotary engine
  • Bore: 120 mm (4.7 in)
  • Stroke: 130 mm (5.1 in)
  • Displacement: 11.14 L (679.84 cu in)
  • Length: 112.7 cm (44.4 in)
  • Diameter: 86.9 cm (34.2 in)

Components

  • Valvetrain: Automatic centre-piston inlet valve, overhead exhaust valve (one each per cylinder)
  • Cooling system: Air-cooled
  • Reduction gear: Direct drive, right-hand tractor, left-hand pusher

Performance

  • Power output: 52.2 kW (70 hp) at 1,200 rpm

See also

Comparable engines

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Lumsden 2003, p. 151.

Bibliography

  • Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.