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The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintage aircraft types.

Gipsy Major
Gipsy Major 31 engine on display at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum
Type Piston inline aero-engine
Manufacturer de Havilland Engine Company
First run 1932
Major applications de Havilland Tiger Moth
de Havilland Canada Chipmunk
Number built 14,615
Developed from de Havilland Gipsy
Developed into de Havilland Gipsy Six

Engines were produced by de Havilland in the UK and by the Australian arm of the company, de Havilland Australia, the latter modifying the design to use imperial measures rather than the original metric measurements.[citation needed]


Design and development


The engine was a slightly modified Gipsy III, which was effectively a de Havilland Gipsy engine modified to run inverted so that the cylinders pointed downwards below the crankcase. The Major was also bored-out (118 mm from 114 mm) compared to the Gipsy III, increasing displacement from 5 L to 6.1 L.

The inverted configuration allowed the propeller shaft to be kept in a high position without having the cylinders blocking the pilot's forward view over the nose of the aircraft.[1]

One initial disadvantage of the inverted configuration was the high oil consumption (up to four pints per hour) requiring regular refills of the external oil tank; this problem improved over time with the use of modified piston rings. First built in 1932, total production of all Gipsy Major versions was 14,615 units.


Further development


In 1934, when Geoffrey de Havilland needed a more powerful engine for his twin-engined transport aircraft, the four-cylinder Gipsy Major was further developed into the 200 hp six-cylinder Gipsy Six.[2] In 1937 even more power was needed for the new D.H.91 Albatross four-engined transatlantic mailplane, and so two Gipsy Six cylinder banks were combined to form one 525 hp (391 kW) Gipsy Twelve 12-cylinder inverted Vee.[3] In military service, the Gipsy Twelve became known as the Gipsy King and the Gipsy Six the Gipsy Queen.

The advent of World War II cut short all civilian flying and after the war de Havilland was too busy concentrating on jet engines to put much energy into its piston engines. The Gipsy did not go without a fight though. In Canada the Gipsy Major was the engine of choice for the DHC1 Chipmunk trainer, which replaced the Tiger Moth trainer in RAF service after the war. By then however, the Gipsy Major was eclipsed by the Blackburn Cirrus Major in Britain and the American Lycoming and Continental horizontally opposed engines abroad. (In a twist of irony, the Blackburn itself was based on Frank Halford’s old ADC Cirrus engine; Blackburn had bought the licence in 1934).

In its final supercharged form, the Gipsy Major used in helicopter applications delivered 220 hp (164 kW).[4]

By 1945 the Gipsy Major had been cleared for a world record 1,500 hours time between overhaul (TBO),[5] surpassing its previously held world record of 1,260 hours TBO achieved in 1943. 1,000 hours TBO had earlier been achieved in 1938.[6]


Variants


Supercharged Gipsy Major 50
Supercharged Gipsy Major 50
Gipsy Major I
Gipsy Major IC
Higher compression ratio (6:1) and maximum RPM for racing use.
Gipsy Major ID
Fuel pump added, plus screened ignition harness and priming system.
Gipsy Major IF
Aluminium cylinder heads, 5.25:1 compression ratio.
Gipsy Major II
Variable pitch propeller
Gipsy Major 7
Military version of Gipsy Major 1D, increased climb RPM.
Gipsy Major 8
Sodium cooled exhaust valves, cartridge starter for DHC Chipmunk.
Gipsy Major 10
Electric starter option.
Gipsy Major 30
Major redesign, bore and stroke increased. 6.5:1 compression ratio.
Gipsy Major 50
Supercharged. 197 hp.
Gipsy Major 200
Designed as a light helicopter engine. 200 hp.
Gipsy Major 215
Turbo-supercharged helicopter engine. 220 hp.
Alfa Romeo 110
Alfa Romeo licence production/derivative
de Havilland L-375-1
US military designation for the Gipsy Major I
IAR 4-G1
IAR licence produced in Romania

Applications


Gipsy Major in the centre or nose position on a DHA-3 Drover
Gipsy Major in the centre or nose position on a DHA-3 Drover

Application list from Lumsden unless otherwise noted.[7][8]


Surviving engines


Many Gipsy Major engines remain in service today worldwide, in the United Kingdom alone approximately 175 de Havilland Tiger Moths were noted on the Civil Aviation Authority register in September 2011 although not all of these aircraft were airworthy.[11]


Engines on display


Examples of the Gipsy Major are on display at the following museums:


Specifications (Gipsy Major I)


Gipsy Major on work stand
Gipsy Major on work stand

Data from Jane's.[12]

General characteristics

Components

Performance


See also


Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists


References



Notes


  1. Bransom 1991, p. 28.
  2. Lumsden 2003, p. 142.
  3. Lumsden 2003, p. 136.
  4. Lumsden 2003, p. 141.
  5. "Flight, 7 June 1945, p. 611". flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  6. "Flight, 14 January 1943, p. 44". flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  7. Lumsden 2003, pp.139-141
  8. Note that the Gipsy Major may not be the main powerplant for these types
  9. Wesselink 1982 p.84
  10. Wesselink 1982 p.115
  11. G-INFO, UK CAA database - DH.82 Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 10 September 2011
  12. Jane's 1989, p. 276-277

Bibliography





На других языках


[de] De Havilland Gipsy Major

Der de Havilland Gipsy Major oder Gipsy IIIa war ein Flugmotor des britischen Herstellers de Havilland Aircraft Company. Der luftgekühlte Vierzylinder-Reihenmotor war eine Weiterentwicklung des Gipsy III. Die 1932 begonnene Produktion endete nach der Auslieferung von 14.615 Motoren. Alfa Romeo fertigte nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg als Lizenzbau weitere Triebwerke unter der Bezeichnung Alfa Romeo 110.
- [en] De Havilland Gipsy Major

[it] De Havilland Gipsy Major

Il de Havilland Gipsy Major o Gipsy IIIA era un motore aeronautico a 4 cilindri in linea rovesciato raffreddato ad aria prodotto dalla britannica de Havilland Engine Company negli anni trenta. Di fascia di potenza bassa era stato ideato per motorizzare velivoli leggeri e da addestramento tra i quali il famoso de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth.

[ru] De Havilland Gipsy Major

de Havilland Gipsy Major (также Gipsy IIIA) — британский четырёхцилиндровый рядный двигатель воздушного охлаждения, разработанный в середине 1930-х годов Джеффри де Хэвиллендом. Устанавливался на различных лёгких самолётах, включая известный биплан Tiger Moth. Всего было выпущено 14615 экземпляров двигателя.



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