Continental A40

The Continental A40 engine is a carbureted four-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engine that was developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. It was produced between 1931 and 1941.

Design and development
The 37 hp A40 was introduced in the depths of the Great Depression. At the time there were a number of small engines available but all suffered from either high cost, complexity, or low reliability. The A-40 addressed all those shortcomings and was instrumental in the production of light aircraft in the difficult economic constraints of the period. The A-40-4 introduced an increase in power to 40 hp. The engine later inspired the A-50 and subsequent engines.

The A40 featured single ignition until the A-40-5 version, which introduced dual ignition. All engines in this family have a 5.2:1 compression ratio and were designed to run on fuel with a minimum octane rating of 73.

The entire family of engines had its certification terminated on 1 November 1941. Engines produced before that date are still certified, but none can be produced after that date.

Variants

 * A40
 * Single ignition, 37 hp at 2550 rpm, dry weight 144 lb


 * A40-2
 * Single ignition, 37 hp at 2550 rpm, dry weight 144 lb


 * A-40-3
 * Single ignition, 37 hp at 2550 rpm, dry weight 144 lb Featured cadmium-nickel connecting rod bearings.


 * A40-4
 * Single ignition, 40 hp at 2575 rpm, dry weight 144 lb, Steel backed connecting rod inserts


 * A40-5
 * Dual ignition, 40 hp at 2575 rpm, dry weight 156 lb

Applications

 * Aeronca KC
 * Arup S-2
 * Heath Parasol LNA-40
 * Nicholson Junior KN-2
 * Piper J-3 Cub
 * Porterfield CP-40 Zephyr
 * Rose Parakeet
 * Taylor E-2 Cub
 * Piper J-2 Cub
 * Taylorcraft A
 * Welch OW-5M

Engines on display

 * Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome