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Naval aircraft are distinctively American types. Only one foreign seaplane was copied by the United States during the war, and when finally put into production it resembled the British prototype in externals only. While the Navy does a large part of its own designing and building through a corps of naval constructors, its theory of manufacture is to assemble parts procured from separate makers, and private design and construction are encouraged by contracting with builders. Available talent both in and out of the service and the facilities of parts makers, the new materials developed during the war and organized engineering which drove the entire process toward speedy results were appropriated by the Navy. The NC flying boat is typical of U. S. Navy practice. In the same way the dirigible C-5 is a purely American type. The development of really large flying craft before 1917 was held back because no suitable engine had been designed. When the 350-hp.

ANY aggregation of parts assembled to obtain a mechanical result is a series of compromises. The relative importance of the objectives governs the nature of the compromise. The major objectives to be considered in the design of airplane engines are (1) Reliability (2) Small weight per horsepower (3) Economy of fuel and oil consumption (4) Carburetion that permits of easy starting; maximum power through a range of 30 per cent of the speed range; and idling at one-quarter maximum speed without danger of stalling (5) Ability to deliver full power through a small speed range without excessive vibration (6) Complete local cylinder-cooling under conditions of high mean effective pressure (7) Compactness The automobile engine must have (1) Reliability (2) Silence (3) Carburetion that accomplishes proper and even firing in all cylinders under varying throttle conditions, through speeds covering more than 90 per cent of the speed range of the engine.

THE impression that recent aircraft experience should have taught engineers how to revolutionize automobile construction and performance, is not warranted by the facts involved. Aircraft and automobiles both embody powerplants, transmission mechanisms, running gear, bodies and controls, but their functions are entirely different. The controls of an airplane, except in work on the ground, act upon a gas, whereas with an automobile the resistant medium is a relatively solid surface. Similarly, the prime function of the fuselage is strength, weight considerations resulting in paying scant attention to comfort and convenience, which are the first requirements of an automobile body. Aircraft running-gear is designed for landing on special fields, and is not in use the major portion of the time. The running-gear is the backbone of an automobile, in use continuously for support, propulsion and steering; hence its utterly different design.

This paper first traces the early development of aviation engines in various countries. The six-cylinder Mercedes, V-type twelve-cylinder Renault, and six-cylinder Benz engines are then described in detail and illustrated. Various types of Sunbeam, Curtiss, and Austro-Daimler are also described. The effect of offset crankshafts, as employed on the Benz and Austro-Daimler engines, is illustrated by pressure and inertia diagrams and by textual description. The paper concludes with a section on the requirements as to size of aviation engines, four curves showing the changing conditions which affect the engine size requirements. These curves relate to variations of temperature, air density, engine speed, airplane speed and compression ratio required to compensate for decrease in air density, all as related to varying altitude.