User:MikWes/Argus engines

Overview
The first six cylinder aircraft engines were produced in 1912. Argus submitted an six-cylinder engine with a nominal rating of 110 hp to the 'Kaiserpeis' aircraft engine competition. Later also bigger engines were produced, ranging from 115 hp up to approximately 190-200 hp.

In 1914 these engines designs, particularly the 120 hp Argus, evolved into the 120 hp Argus As II.

At the same time troubles with the reliability of the higher powered engine variants led Argus to concentrate the development effort on an successor engine type, which became the Argus As.III.

Argus 50 hp

 * Sources
 * Dt. Luftfahrt 1909 p. 599: mentions Argus 50 hp
 * Jahrb. d. Automobil- und Motorboot-Industrie 1910, p.127-128, Bootsmotor 124mm/130mm, 40 PS @ 1000 rpm, valves on the right
 * Haenig 1910 p. 73 (drawings), valves on the right
 * ZFM 1910 p.133, Argus 45/55 hp @1200/1300 rpm, 124 mm bore, 130 mm stroke, 129 kg, no oil pump, pictures (side, ctrl), valves on the right
 * Motorwagen (ATZ) 1910 v.1: adverts 50/55 hp, valves on the right
 * Motorwagen (ATZ) 1910 v.2 p.767: drawings 50/55 hp, valves on the left
 * Dt. Luftfahrt 1911 Nr. 3 p. 16, 3 pics, oiler, valves on the right
 * ZFM 1912 p.128, Argus 50 hp @1250 rpm, 124 mm bore, 130 mm stroke, 130 kg

Argus 70 hp

 * Source
 * Vorreiter, Jb. der Luftf. 1912 p. 202-203 (Argus 90 PS drawings)

The 105/115 hp Argus (1913)
In early 1913 a six-cylinder Argus engine with an increased bore of 130 mm and a stroke of 130 mm was already available and was said to deliver up to 115 hp at 1400 rpm. The normal speed of the engine has been reported as 1350 rpm.

Relative to the six-cylinder engine of the 'Kaiserpreis' competition the main improvement besides the increased bore seems to be the introduction of a seconds magneto. To achieve this, the arrangement of the external engine components had been changed again, with the water pump, now on the left side of the engine, directly coupled with one of the magnetos. The second magneto was driven via spur gears from the crankshaft and was located on the right hand side of the engine. The oil pump also had been relocated, now sitting separately on the engine case to the left, driven via spur gears from the camshaft at the propeller end.

When this engine later was tested by the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt in Adlershof from 15-17 November 1913 it was and found to produce about 110 hp at 1330 rpm.

While this engine is referred to as 105/115 hp Argus or 115 hp Argus in some publications, these engines typically were referred to as '100 hp Argus' or '110 hp Argus' six-cylinder engines in most contemporary reports, which at times makes it difficult to distinguish them from the 100 hp four-cylinder Argus As I.

In the reports for the 'Prinz-Heinrich-Flug 1913' aircraft competition from May 10 - May 17 1913, two aircraft with this engine can already be found enlisted, a Jeannin-Taube, flown by Lt. Coerper, and an L.V.G.-biplane, flown by Lt. Carganico, both powered by the Argus six-cylinder engine of 130 mm bore and stroke.


 * Notes/Todos
 * NB/to validate: a drawing suggests that this engine also existed in 124 mm x 130 mm variant.
 * NB: Johannisthal Frühjahrs Flugwoche (May 25, 1913): 6-cyl 100 hp Argus on Ago.D. (Gorrissen, ev. Kießling, Zahn), Otto-D. No.154 (Janisch), Jeannin-Stahltaube. (Stiploschek, ev. Stiefvater, Freindt); Der Motorwagen 1913, p.402-406
 * NB: Bodensee-Wasserflug 1913: six-cylinder Argus 110 hp Aviatik-DD. (Faller), also 100 hp Argus Otto- and Ago-DD; also four-cylinder(!) 123 hp Argus Aviatik-DD (Stoeffler) (Deutsche Luftfahrt 1913, pp. 338-339, 353-358 ,378-381)
 * NB: Bodensee-Wasserflug 1913: see also L'Aerophile
 * NB: Flugsport 17/1914, p. 685, Ilja Muromjez with two 115 PS Argus and two 190 PS Salmson gained a new World record on April 5
 * NB: Flugsport 2/1914 p. 67, examples of Wertziffern, also for Argus 130 x 130, also reported in L'Aerophile 1914

The 140/150 hp six-cylinder Argus (1913/14)
The first mentioning of the 150 hp six-cylinder Argus engine being offered in the Jeannin-Stahltaube can be found in early 1913. The engine had the same 140 mm bore and stroke as the older 100 hp four-cylinder Argus engine.

Compared with the preceding 115 hp Argus six-cylinder engine once again the external components have been rearranged. Besides that the design of the engine remained similar to the preceding Argus engines.

The cylinders were of cast iron, cast in pairs of two cylinders, with the cooling jackets integral in the casting. There were two overhead valves per cylinder, which were operated via pushrods and rocker arms from the camshaft on the left side of the engine. The intake valves were oriented to the center of each cylinder pair, and their intake ducts were conjoined within the casting into a single external port facing to the left side of the engine.

Two Cudell-G.A.-carburettors were placed centrally on the left side of the engine in close proximity to each other. A heating jacket, integrated into the coolant circulation, enclosed both carburettors, which fed separately into the two induction pipes of the intake manifold. The intake manifold was made out of cast aluminum and consisted of two separate induction pipes, which fed into single distribution pipe, which then connected to all three cylinder pairs.

The pistons were made of cast iron and had two piston rings. Each cylinder pair was fixated to the crankcase by six bolts. The cylinders were axially offset to the crankshaft, which was supported by two inner plain bearings and two outer ball bearings.

The crankcase was made of aluminum and cast in separate upper and lower half parts, with the upper half having six mounting arms cast into it. The engine case was divided into three separate chambers by internal walls at the inner crankshaft bearings, with each chamber having a separate breather on the right hand side. The engine case had been slightly redesigned compared to the earlier 115 hp six-cylinder Argus, with most notably the pedestals being elongated to to accommodate for the additional height of the oil- and water pump assembly.

The centrifugal water pump has been moved to the lower right at the control side of the engine, mounted together with the oil pump on a transverse shaft, which was driven by helical gears from the crankshaft end. The water pump fed the coolant to the water cooled cylinders as well as to the carburettor's heating jacket from the left side. Lubrication was done by a combination of splash lubrication and additional forced lubrication of the plain bearings with fresh oil fed by the oil pump.

The two magnetos were mounted with their shafts in parallel to the engine, with one magneto placed on either side at the control end. The magnetos were driven via spur gears from the camshaft gear and from the crankshaft via an intermediate idler gear respectively.


 * Timeline:
 * early 1913: Mentioning of 120 and 150 hp Argus 6-cylinder engines being available in the Jeannin-Taube
 * 1913: Jane's All the Worlds aircraft: Argus 150 h.p., 6 cyl., 140×140 (1250 r.p.m.) 353 lbs.
 * April 1914: Flugsport Article in issue 7/1914, p. 278, "Der 150 PS Sechszylinder Argus-Flugmotor"
 * Spring 1914: Ilya Muromets No 108, with 125 hp and 140 hp six-cylinder Argus
 * May 1914: 120 hp and 140 hp Argus aircraft participating on Prinz-Heinrich-Flug 1914
 * May 1914: 120 hp and 140 hp Argus aircraft participating on Prinz-Heinrich-Flug 1914


 * Notes (120 hp and 150 hp Argus, 1913):
 * NB: in 1912 a 120/125 hp Argus-Jeannin-Eindecker (pilot: Krieger) participating on the Herbstflugwoche is already mentioned in 'Flugsport' and 'Deutsche Luftfahrt', probably this 4-cylinder machine? Krieger crashed the 100 hp Jeannin Eindecker on June 9 at the Flug Berlin-Wien.
 * NB: in early 1913 the Jeannin-Eindecker was offered with: 100 or 140 hp 4-cyl Argus (preferred), or 120 or 150 hp 6-cyl Argus (or any other engine the customer wanted), Deutsche Luftfahrt, 1913, p. 37
 * NB: Ostpreussischer Rundflug, Aug 9-14, 1913: Stiploschek with six-cylinder Argus 130 hp Jeannin-Stahltaube. (Deutsche Luftfahrt 1913, pp. 434)
 * NB: Berliner Herbstflugwoche 1913: Stiploschek with six-cylinder Argus 120 hp (eff.) Jeannin-Stahltaube. (Motorwagen 1913, pp. 874)

NB: Flugsport 7/1914, p. 267, new Ago-Doppeldecker 1914 (pusher), 140 hp Argus

Later improvements and successor types
NB: Flugsport 13/1914 (June), p.534, Argus-Umlauf-Motor (?) was tested 21 h 15 min at the 'Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt'

NB: Flugsport 14/1914 (July), p.609, new 6 Cyl. Argus tested at 'Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt', 130 mm bore, 140 mm stroke, 225 kg, power remained unchanged for the whole >21 h test, 114,27 hp at 1361 rpm with fuel consumption of 42,5 l/h and oil consumption of 1,51 l/h. --> Argus 120/130 hp or Argus As II?

NB: Flugsport 15/1914, p. 626, Warnemünde, Aviatik-Wasser-Doppeldecker, 190 PS Argus (tractor)

NB: Flugsport 16/1914, p. 678, Warnemünde, full list of seaplanes, includes one 140 hp Argus Aviatik-DD (single float), two 140 hp Argus Ago-DD and one 200 hp Argus Albatros-DD (each with 2 floats).

As III

 * Sources
 * Angle 1921: Opel
 * Masméjean 1918: Opel

Applications

 * Jeannin Stahltaube (1913)
 * L.V.G.-biplane (1913)


 * TODO:
 * Otto Pusher biplane (NB: see mention in Flugsport 1913)
 * Pfalz-Otto Pusher biplane (NB: photographic evidence, e.g. Jack Herris, Pfalz Aircraft of WWI, pp.14-16, all pusher photos show Argus prewar types and As.II, although incorrectly assumed to be Rapp engines by the author)
 * Aviatik P.14 (100 hp Aviatik Biplane of the 'Deutsch-Südwestafrikanischer Luftfahrerverein', later requisitioned by the Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa)


 * To check:
 * Germania Taube
 * Aviatik Floatplane File:German_Aircraft_of_the_First_World_War_Q66881.jpg (NB might be an Austro-Daimler?)

Prinz-Heinrich-Flug 1913 (May 10 - May 17, 1913)
Formula for estm. Power L (Source: Béjeuhr ):
 * Liquid cooled four-stroke stationary engines: $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled four-stroke rotary engines: $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled two-stroke stationary engines: $L = 6,5 V$

(1) 'Argus 100 hp' as mentioned in der Motorwagen 1913, p. 434

Frühjahrsflugwoche Johannisthal(May 25 - Jun 1, 1913)
TODO

Jahrhundertfeier-Flugwoche Breslau (Jun 8 - Jun 15, 1913)
TODO

Rund um München (Jun 14 - Jun 15, 1913)
TODO

Internationale Flugwoche Aspern (Jun 15 - Jun 22, 1913)
TODO

Wasserflugzeug-Wettbewerb am Bodensee 1913 (Jun 29 - Jul 15, 1913)
Formula for estm. Power L (Source: Deutsche Luftfahrt 1913, p. 295-296):
 * Liquid cooled four-stroke stationary engines: $L = 10,5 V$
 * Air cooled four-stroke rotary engines: $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled two-stroke stationary engines: $L = 10 V$

Source: Deutsche Luftfahrt 1913, p. 296, 338, 353, 378

National Flugwoche Kiel (Jul 10 - Jul 15, 1913)
TODO

Gelsenkirchen
TODO

Rund um Berlin
TODO

Herbstflugwoche in Berlin-Johannisthal 1913 (Sep 28 - Okt 5, 1913)
Formula for estm. Power N (Source: Deutsche Luftfahrt 1913, p. 466):
 * Liquid cooled four-stroke stationary engines: $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled four-stroke rotary engines: $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled two-stroke stationary engines: $L = 10 V$

TODO

Prinz-Heinrich-Flug 1914 (May 17 - May 25, 1914)
Formula for estm. Power L (v. Mises, Zeitschrift für Flugtechnik und Motorluftschiffahrt v.5 1914 p. 188-192):
 * Liquid cooled four-stroke stationary engines: $L = 6.5 V$
 * Air cooled four-stroke rotary engines (French design): $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled four-stroke rotary engines (German design): $L = 10 V$

See also: [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433090780135 Automobil-Rundschau. N.S., v.13 1914], pp. 76-77

Note: The Formula for rotary engines $L = 10 V$ from Flugsport, Issue 2/1914, p. 66, seems incorrect.

Bodensee Wasserflug 1914 (May 24 - May 28, 1914)
TODO

Dreiecksflug 1914: Johannisthal—Leipzig—Dresden—Johannisthal (May 30 - Jun 5, 1914)
Formula for estm. Power N (Der Motorwagen v.17 1914, p. 306):
 * Liquid cooled four-stroke stationary engines: $L = 10 V$
 * Air cooled four-stroke rotary engines: $L = 10 V$

TODO

Table: Kaiserpreis für den besten deutschen Flugzeugmotor, 1913
TODO