ADC Cirrus

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1920s British piston aircraft engine

title: "ADC Cirrus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1920s-aircraft-piston-engines", "adc-aircraft-engines"] description: "1920s British piston aircraft engine" topic_path: "general/1920s-aircraft-piston-engines" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADC_Cirrus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1920s British piston aircraft engine ::

::data[format=table title="infobox aero engine"]

FieldValue
nameCirrus
imageADCCirrusII.JPG
captionADC Cirrus II at the Science Museum, London
engine_typeAir-cooled 4-cylinder inline piston engine
manufacturerAircraft Disposal Company (ADC)
national_originUnited Kingdom
first_run1925
major_applicationsde Havilland DH.60 Moth
Avro Avian
::

|name = Cirrus |image = ADCCirrusII.JPG |caption = ADC Cirrus II at the Science Museum, London |engine_type=Air-cooled 4-cylinder inline piston engine |manufacturer=Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) |national_origin=United Kingdom |first_run=1925 |major_applications=de Havilland DH.60 Moth Avro Avian |number_built = |developed_from = |developed_into = |variants_with_their_own_articles =

The ADC Cirrus is a series of British aero engines manufactured using surplus Renault parts by the Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) in the 1920s.

The engines were air-cooled, four-cylinder inline types. They were widely used for private and light aircraft.

Design and development

The Cirrus engine originated in Geoffrey de Havilland's 1924 search for a powerplant suitable for the light two-seat sports biplane which would become the de Havilland Moth. No engine existed at the time with a suitable level of power combined with a low weight. The Aircraft Disposal Company, also known as Airdisco and ADC, were producing the low-cost Airdisco V8 which had been developed by Frank Halford from their large stocks of war surplus Renault V8 aero engines. De Havilland realised that half of this engine would make an air-cooled four-cylinder inline engine of just the right size at low cost. He persuaded Halford to undertake its design and development.

The cylinders, pistons, con-rods and gearing were taken from the Renault, with the valve gear based on the Airdisco, and a new five-bearing crankshaft and cast crankcase were designed. It became the first Cirrus engine, and the first air-cooled four-cylinder inline aero engine to go into quantity production.

The original Cirrus engines were all designed by Halford and built by ADC. The 65 hp Cirrus I passed its 50-hour type rating in 1925. De Havilland launched his product as the Cirrus Moth and it proved a winning combination. The engine was soon adopted for other aircraft. Later versions named the Cirrus II, and Cirrus III were produced, each with slightly greater displacement and power (Cirrus II - 85 hp, Cirrus III - 90 hp).

ADC ceased manufacture when it ran out of surplus Renault engines around 1928.

Subsequent manufacture

Main article: Cirrus aero engines

When ADC ran out of parts, manufacture of the Cirrus III was taken up by Cirrus Aero Engines, also based at Croydon.

The Cirrus III was also adapted and improved by American Cirrus Engines, who manufactured it under license.

Variants

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Cirrus_engines.jpg" caption="Cirrus III engine on the right"] ::

;Cirrus I :(1925) ;Cirrus II :(1926) ;Cirrus III :(1929)

Applications

List from Lumsden except where noted. The list includes trial installations where a different engine was principally adopted.

Cirrus

Cirrus I

Cirrus II

Cirrus III

Engines on display

Specifications (Cirrus I)

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/CirrusIII.JPG" caption="Cirrus III fitted to a [[de Havilland DH.60 Moth"] ::

| and start a new, fully formatted line with -- |ref= Lumsden. |type=Inline, air-cooled, upright 4-cylinder piston engine |bore=4.13 in (105 mm) |stroke=5.12 in (130 mm) |displacement=274.36 cu in (4.5 L) |length=45.8 in (116.3 cm) |diameter= |width=18.26 in (46.4 cm) |height=34.3 in (87.1 cm) |weight= lb ( kg) |valvetrain=1 inlet and 1 exhaust valve per cylinder |supercharger= |turbocharger= |fuelsystem=1 Claudel carburettor |fueltype=70 octane |oilsystem= |coolingsystem=air |power=60 hp (45 kW) |specpower= |compression=4.7:1 |fuelcon= |specfuelcon= |oilcon= |power/weight=

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • The Aviation Ancestry Database of British Aviation Advertisements 1909–1990. Cirrus advertisements (retrieved 23 April 2020).
  • Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989.
  • Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. .
  • Taylor, Douglas R. Boxkite to Jet: The Remarkable Career of Frank B. Halford. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. 1999. .

References

  1. Taylor 1999, pp.74-5.
  2. Taylor 1999, p.76
  3. Gunston 1989
  4. R. Cheyne Stout; "The Development of the Cirrus Engine", ''U.S. Air Services'', Volume 14, Number 4, April 1929. pp.53-4.
  5. Aviation Ancestry (1929)
  6. Lumsden 2003, pp. 130-132.
  7. Jackson p.190 1973
  8. Lumsden 2003, p. 130.

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1920s-aircraft-piston-enginesadc-aircraft-engines