Packard DR-980
{{short description|American Diesel engine}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name = DR-980 |image = File:Packard DR-980 USAF.jpg |caption = A preserved Packard DR-980 on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force }} {{Infobox aircraft engine |type=Air-cooled Diesel radial engine |manufacturer=Packard |national origin= |first run= 1928 |major applications= |number built ={{circa}} 100 |program cost = |unit cost = |developed from = |developed into = |variants with their own articles = }} |
The Packard DR-980 is an American nine-cylinder air-cooled aircraft Diesel engine first certificated in 1930. The engine was unpopular despite its economy and reliability due to the unpleasant nature of its diesel exhaust fumes and considerable vibration when running; approximately 100 were built.Gunston 1989, p.109.
Design and development
Designed by Captain Lionel Woolson and Professor Hermann Dorner, the DR-980 made the first cross-country flight with a Diesel-powered aircraft in the United States when Woolson flew from Detroit to Langley Field in 1929, a distance of 700 miles (1,126 km) with a flight time of 6 hours and 40 minutes. On a later flight in a Stinson Detroiter from Detroit to Miami, the new engine showed its economy, the cost for fuel consumption being less than one cent a mile.[http://www.enginehistory.org/Diesels/CH1.pdf Aircraft Engine Historical Society – Diesels] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212213152/http://www.enginehistory.org/Diesels/CH1.pdf |date=2012-02-12 }} Retrieved: 30 January 2009 This aircraft (complete with its engine) is preserved at the Golden Wings Flying Museum.[http://www.goldenwingsmuseum.com/ Golden Wings Flying Museum] Retrieved: 30 January 2009
In 1930, the DR-980 passed its 50-hour certification test with a continuous rating of 225 hp (168 kW) at 1,950 rpm. Production of the DR-980 ceased following the death of Captain Woolson in an aviation accident in April 1930; his legacy was the award of the Collier Trophy in 1931 to the Packard Motor Car Company for its work with this type of engine.[https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/collier-trophy National Aeronautic Association – Collier Trophy winners] Retrieved: 29 December 2018
One recognizable feature of later DR-980s was the oil cooler, a spiral of metal tubing placed around the propeller shaft.
=Endurance record=
On 28 May 1931, a Bellanca CH-300 fitted with a DR-980, piloted by Walter Edwin Lees and Frederic Brossy, set a record for staying aloft for 84 hours and 32 minutes without being refueled. This record was not broken until 55 years later by the Rutan Voyager.[http://www.aerofiles.com/chrono.html Aviation Chronology] Retrieved: 7 February 2009
=Radiophone Communications Record=
On 3 June 1929 the first two-way, radiophone communication took place over the skies of the Packard Proving Grounds in Utica, (now Shelby Township, Michigan). Heretofore, gasoline powered aircraft caused too much electromagnetic interference for the weak voice signal to be heard over the static. Only a strong Morse code signal could be heard. As diesel engines neither have spark plugs, nor spark plug wiring the EM static was greatly reduced and allowed voice communication to be used. The two-way ground to plane voice communication was witnessed by the U.S. Department of Commerce.[https://www.scribd.com/doc/219135531/Aircraft-Voice-Communication-experiment# Publication: May 1930 QST]
Applications
Engines on display
File:Packard DR 980 Museo NAciona de Aeronautica de Argentina.JPG]]
- Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}
- National Museum of the United States Air Force.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150713191629/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=845 National Museum of the United States Air Force – Packard DR-980 fact sheet] Retrieved: 16 July 2017
Specifications (DR-980)
{{pistonspecs
|
|type=9-cylinder Diesel radial engine
|ref=Aircraft Engine Historical Society[http://www.enginehistory.org/Packard/StatsAllPackardAero.pdf Aircraft Engine Historical Society – Packard] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325070543/http://enginehistory.org/Packard/StatsAllPackardAero.pdf |date=2015-03-25 }} Retrieved: 30 January 2009
|bore=4 13/16 in (122.2 mm)
|stroke=6 in (152.4 mm)
|displacement=980 in³ (16 L)
|length=
|diameter=
|width=
|height=
|weight=550 lb (227 kg)
|valvetrain=One valve per cylinder, overhead valve
|supercharger=
|turbocharger=
|fuelsystem=
|fueltype=Diesel oil
|oilsystem=
|coolingsystem=Air-cooled
|power=240 hp (179 kW) at 2,000 rpm
|specpower= 0.25 hp/in³ (11.2 kW/L)
|compression=
|fuelcon=
|specfuelcon=
|oilcon=
|power/weight=0.44 hp/lb (0.8 kW/kg)
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
|similar engines=
}}
References
=Notes=
{{reflist}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. {{ISBN|1-85260-163-9}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150325070543/http://enginehistory.org/Packard/StatsAllPackardAero.pdf Aircraft Engine Historical Society – Packard Engines]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120212213152/http://www.enginehistory.org/Diesels/CH1.pdf Aircraft Engine Historical Society – Development of the Diesel Aircraft Engine]
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons category|Packard DR-980 Diesel}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150713191629/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=845 National Museum of the USAF – DR-980 factsheet]
- {{Gutenberg|no=31023|name=The First Airplane Diesel Engine: Packard Model DR-980 of 1928}}
{{Packard aeroengines}}
Category:Air-cooled aircraft piston engines
Category:Aircraft radial diesel engines