Hispano Suiza 8A 150 h.p.

Description

Product

Hispano Suiza 8A 150 h.p.

Description

In 1915 designer Marc Birkigt, working for the Swiss-Spanish firm Hispano Suiza, created one of the most successful aviation engines to appear at the beginning of aviation. Taken from its origin in the 8-cylinder motor-car engine, and after some refinement and modification according to the specific requirements of aircraft at the beginning of 1915, the HS-8A was tested. Its design was a basic 8-cylinder V-type. For the first time solid aluminum cylinder blocks were used; each 4-cylinder head and valve system had integrated cooling jackets, and steel sleeves were threaded directly into the block to form the cylinder housing. This innovation made construction quite easy, and yet at the same time offered the necessary rigidity. Apart from that, the production of such an engine appeared to require sophisticated technology. Testing of the engine proved the rightness of the designer's ideas and opened up the prospect of its perfection in the future.