Wright Whirlwind J-4B, Byrd North Pole Flight, Radial 9 Engine

Object Details

Physical Description: Type: Radial, 9 cylinders, air cooled; Power rating: 160 kW (215 hp) at 1,800 rpm; Displacement: 12.9 L (788 cu in); Bore and Stroke: 114 mm (4.5 in.) x 140 mm (5.5 in.); Weight: 231 kg (508 lb)
Summary: Charles Lawrance started his designs for an air-cooled engine in 1915. In 1921, Lawrance designed his first engine for a U.S. Navy contract, which wanted a compact lightweight engine not plagued with water leakage problems. Following a Navy encouraged merger with Wright, the Lawrance engine progressed through design stages, as the Wright Whirlwind J-3, J-4, J-5, and J-6 series. The most famous of these was the J-5, used by Lindbergh.; J-4 engines powered such aircraft as the Fairchild FC-1 and FC-2, Fokker Universal, Laird Commercial LC-B200, Stearman C2B and C3B, and Stinson Detroiter SB-1. When introduced in 1925, the J-4 was adopted by the Navy as a stock power plant. A total of 190 J-4 engines were built.; In 1926, Admiral Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett made a flight from Spitzbergen, Norway over the North Pole and back. This was the first airplane flight over the Pole, and used the J-4B engine in a Fokker F-VII Tri-motor.

Credit Line: Transferred from the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. No known restrictions.

Circa 1926

Materials: Steel, Paint, Aluminum, Copper, Rubber, Textile, Phenolic, Preservative Coating, Brass
Dimensions: Other: 52 x 51 x 42 in., 336.6kg (132.1 x 129.5 x 106.7cm, 742lb.)

National Air and Space Museum

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv96b1065de-1bf5-4371-a579-8100a1ac8081