Sopwith Triplane Engine
The Sopwith Triplane had a few engines tried out and settled on the Le Clerget 130HP. Below is a potted history of the engines and references. As we want to use our Triplanes on a more regular basis a more modern and reliable power plant has been sought. Right now we are favouring the150HP Rotec 3600. Details and specs of this power plant are also below. 2017, since writing about the Rotec3600, many other options have arisen so we are exploring those too. Once we have actually decided on an engine we'll report in.
Le Clerget 9B 130HP
Specifications (Clerget 9B)[edit]
Clerget 9B General characteristics Type: Nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine Bore: 120 mm (4.72 in) Stroke: 9B: 160 mm (6.30 in), 9Bf: 172 mm (6.77 in) Displacement: 9B: 16.29 l (994.08 cu in), 9Bf: 17.5 l (1,067.92 cu in) Length: 920 mm (36.22 in) Diameter: 9B: 1,020 mm (40.15 in), 9Bf: 1,030 mm (40.55 in) Dry weight: 173 kg (381 lb) Components Valvetrain: Single inlet and exhaust valves operated by pushrods and rockers Fuel system: Bloctube carburettor Fuel type: Gasoline mixed with Castor oil lubricant Oil system: Castor oil mixed with fuel ( This is incorrect and spotted by Chris - explanation and diagram below- thanks Chris) Cooling system: Air-cooled Performance Power output: 9B: 96.94 kW (130 hp) at 1,250 rpm, 9Bf: 104.40 kW (140 hp) at 1,250 rpm Specific power: 9B: 0.1308 hp/cu in (5.953 kW/l), 9Bf: 0.131 hp/cu in (5.966 kW/l) Compression ratio: 9B: 4.56:1, 9Bf: 5.3:1 Specific fuel consumption: 9B: 0.564 l/kW/hour(0.74 pt/hp/hour), 9Bf: 0.45 l/kW/hour(0.59 pt/hp/hour) Oil consumption: 9B: 0.0686 l/kW/hour (0.09 0.11 pt/hp/hour), 9Bf: 0.0838 l/kW/hour (0.11 pt/hp/hour) Power-to-weight ratio: 9B: 0.563 kW/kg (0.341 hp/lb), 9Bf: 0.556 kW/kg (0.337 hp/lb) |
Le Clerget 9B Lubrication
The Clerget 9b fuel and oil systems are completely separate, there is no intentional mixing of fuel and oil. Some oil does find its way into the fuel (inside the engine) where it comes out of the master rod bearings and some slips past the rings into the combustion end of the cylinders, but they aren’t “mixed” as such.