Wright Whirlwind series

Whirlwind series
Partially sectioned Canada Aviation Museum
Type	Air-cooled radial piston engine
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Wright Aeronautical

The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to include five-cylinder and seven-cylinder varieties. Fourteen-cylinder twin-row versions were also developed, but these were not commercially produced.

The Whirlwind series was succeeded by more powerful but still air-cooled radial aero engines, notably the Pratt & Whitney Wasp series and the Wright Cyclone series.

Description

The Whirlwind was a direct descendant of the

series and was quickly followed by the J-3, J-4, J-4A, J-4B, and finally the popular and successful J-5 of 1925.

In 1928, Wright replaced the R-790 series with the J-6 Whirlwind family, in which a

.

During the mid-1930s, Wright also developed two fourteen-cylinder double-row versions of the Whirlwind, the R-1510 of 600 hp (450 kW), and the R-1670 of 800 hp (600 kW). These were used in a number of military aircraft prototypes, but neither engine reached the production stage.[1]^[2]

Air-cooled Whirlwinds were lighter and more reliable than liquid-cooled engines of similar power, since a liquid cooling system added weight and required extra maintenance. Thanks to these advantages Whirlwind engines were used widely and were built in large numbers. Licensed copies were produced by manufacturers such as

. The Whirlwind's success led to the development of other air-cooled radial engines throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.

Whirlwind series

• J-5 / R-790
  : 9-cylinder radial, 200–220 hp (149–164 kW). Produced 1923-1928.
• J-6-5 / R-540
  : 5-cylinder radial, 165–175 hp (123–130 kW). Produced 1928-1937.
• J-6-7 / R-760
  : 7-cylinder radial, 225–350 hp (168–261 kW). Produced 1928-1945.
• J-6-9 / R-975
  : 9-cylinder radial, 300–450 hp (224–336 kW). Produced 1928-1950s.
• R-1510: 14-cylinder twin-row radial, 600 hp (450 kW). Introduced 1933, prototypes only.
• R-1670: 14-cylinder twin-row radial, 800 hp (600 kW). Introduced 1934, prototypes only.

See also

Comparable engines

• Pratt & Whitney Wasp
  series
• Bristol Jupiter

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines
• Whirlwind Glaciers in Antarctica named after the Wright Whirlwind series^[3]

References

• Gunston, Bill (1986). World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens. pp. 196–197.
• Curtiss-Wright (1940), Wright Engines - 1903 to 1940 (PDF), retrieved January 4, 2022. Available from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society's reference page.
• Curtiss-Wright (1983), Historical Engine Summary (Beginning 1930) (PDF), retrieved January 4, 2022. Available from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society's reference page.