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rotary aero engines

Visited my parents this weekend and borrowed a rather interesting book on entitled "The Rotary Aero Engines". It is a Science Museum publication (HMSO) written by Andrew Nahum and I commend it to anyone interested in such things. Before the cries of OT go up, did you know that perhaps the best know manufacturers of this type of engine, the Societe des Moteurs Gnome, was originally set up in 1906 to build stationary industrial engines - anybody ever seen one? BTW, the name Gnome was apparently supposed to conjure up images of a 'sturdy little worker' rather than a plaster figure with a fishing rod!

Reply to
Nick H
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The company was setup by Louis Seguin on June 6 1905, he had bought a license to manufacture the Gnom(e) stationary engine from Motorenfabrik Oberursel in Germany.

A pic:

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Reliability must have been an issue after seeing what GNOM was the suggested acronym for, who says the Germans didn't have a sense of humour? :-)

Tom

Reply to
Tom

The power of the NG - not only a sighting but a picture! Thanks Tom. I wonder if the cynical acronym was any more deserved than the well known 'Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious' ;-)

Reply to
Nick H

"J K Siddorn" wrote

French - System Essential Contre American

UK etc - Peace At Last!

Reply to
Nick H

"Nick H" wrote I wonder if the cynical acronym was any more deserved than the well known 'Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious' ;-)-

- or the American TV broadcasting format Never The Same Colour 2 (twice) ;o))

I thought the Science Museum book on rotaries was excellent and have (I think) seen it recommended here before. Readers of this kind of thing will also enjoy the book on Napiers, "Napier powered" by Alan Vessey, ISBN

0-7524-0766 - X. It is a comprehensive (if small) book on the company, lots of pictures of the varied applications that the company's engines served, at least some of them stationary or sedentary.

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
J K Siddorn

Readers of this kind of thing will

Many years back I visited a small museum and was bowled over by the Napier Railton record breaking car. It may have been stationary at the time but certainly not sedentary. Apparently one of it's uses was to test aircraft braking parachutes during WW2. That must have been a sight and sound worth witnessing. I would have given an awful lot to have the job of driver. The car is now in the Brooklands Museum.

John

Reply to
John Manders

I also enjoyed this, but I found an awful lot of autobiography in it, some about the company, but very little about engines. I'd still be interested to see an engineering history of Napier's products - they were one of the least conventional of the British engine makers.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

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