Boiler Case, Stringfellow Steam Engine

Like the Wright brothers, who followed, John Stringfellow and his associate William Henson are an important link to early aeronautical researchers. At an exposition in 1868 in London's Crystal Palace, where it powered a triplane model along a cable, the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain awarded a prize of £100 to Stringfellow’s engine as the lightest in proportion to its power, producing 0.75 kW (one horsepower) for the weight of 5.9 kg (13 pounds).

In 1889, Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley purchased the engine, along with a "car" designed to carry an engine and a pair of propellers, for £25. Langley held on to the engine briefly, sending it to L.D. Copeland of Smithville, N.J., for experimental work. Upon return of the engine to Langley, he turned it over to the museum section of the Smithsonian for public display, also in 1889.

• Metal casing that surrounds the boiler of the engine. Metal, black. Has two pieces, the main body which surrounds the boiler and the cover on the top.
• Type: Reciprocating, steam, single cylinder, alcohol fuel
• Power rating: 0.813 kW (1.1 hp) at 445 N (100 lb) boiler pressure, 300 rpm
• Displacement: 0.15 L (9.42 cu in.)
• Bore and Stroke: 5.1 cm (2 in.) x 7.6 cm (3 in.)
• Weight: 5.9 kg (13 lb)

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Released by the Smithsonian Institution under CC0 through Smithsonian Open Access.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.