Gnome Omega Explained

The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder, air-cooled aero engine produced by Gnome et Rhône. It was shown at the Paris Aero Salon held in December 1908 and was first flown in 1909. It was the world's first aviation rotary engine produced in quantity. Its introduction revolutionized the aviation industry and it was used by many early aircraft. It produced from its engine capacity. A Gnome Omega engine powers the 1912 Blackburn Monoplane, owned and operated by the Shuttleworth Collection, the oldest known airworthy British-designed aeroplane worldwide. A two-row version of the same engine was also produced, known as the Gnome 14 Omega-Omega or Gnome 100 hp. The prototype Omega engine still exists, and is on display at the United States' National Air and Space Museum.

Like all early Gnome et Rhône engines the Omega featured a single pushrod driven exhaust valve on the cylinder head; the intake valve was located in the piston crown, opening by inertia on the downstroke and feeding the intake charge from the crankcase into the upper part of the cylinder. No throttle was provided, the pilot controlling his speed by switching off the ignition when necessary.

Variants

Gnome 7 Omega:Single-row 7-cyl. original version; 50abbr=onNaNabbr=on.

Two-row, 14-cylinder version using Omega cylinders; 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on.

Applications

Gnome 7 Omega

Deperdussin 1910 monoplane
François Denhaut's flying boat
Fabre Hydravion
Farman HF.6 Militaire
Farman III
FBA Type A
Grahame-White Type VII
Grahame-White Type XV
- Howard Wright 1910 Biplane Koolhoven Heidevogel
Lakes Waterbird
- London and Provincial Fuselage Biplane Morane-Borel monoplane
Nieuport II
- Paalson Type 1 Paulhan-Tatin Aéro-Torpille No.1
Paulhan biplane
Pemberton-Billing P.B.9

Radley-England waterplanes
- - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.3 Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.4 Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
Sommer 1910 biplane
Short S.27
Short Tandem Twin
Short Triple Twin
Short S.47 Triple Tractor
Short S.62
Sopwith Bee
Sopwith Sparrow
Van Meel Brikken
Vickers No.6 Monoplane
Vickers No.7 Monoplane
Vickers Boxkite School Biplane
Voisin 1907 biplane
Voisin Type de Course

Gnome 14 Omega-Omega

Engines on display

The very first Gnome rotary engine ever built, Gnôme Omega No. 1, is on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
A preserved production Gnome 7 Omega engine is on public display at the Royal Air Force Museum London.
A restored Omega is on display at the New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, CT.

Footnotes

References

Web site: Gnome 7 Omega . Aug 17, 2018 . Hurley . Nick . 2018 . New England Air Museum . https://web.archive.org/web/20180818052459/https://www.neam.org/engine-collection-detail.php?name=gnome7omega . dead . August 18, 2018 .
Book: Lumsden . Alec . British Piston Engines and their Aircraft . 2003 . Airlife Publishing . Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK . 1853102946 .
Book: Murphy, Justin D.. Military aircraft, origins to 1918: an illustrated history of their impact. 2005. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.]. 1-85109-488-1. 32–33.
Book: Nahum, Andrew. The rotary aero engine. 1999. Science Museum. London, UK. 1-900747-12-X. 12–14.
Book: Schiere . J . Fred T. . Jane . Fred T. Jane . Jane's All the World's Aircraft . Aug 17, 2018 . 1913 . 1969 . 1913 . Arco Publishing Company Inc. . New York, NY . Aeroplanes & Dirigibles: Argentine . 69-14964 .
Web site: Gnome Omega No. 1 Rotary Engine . Aug 17, 2018 . Smithsonian Institution . 2018. National Air and Space Museum . Smithsonian Institution . Washington, DC. https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071227/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/gnome-omega-no-1-rotary-engine . dead. July 10, 2018 .
Web site: Blackburn Monoplane . Aug 17, 2018 . Shuttleworth . 2018 . Shuttleworth Collection . https://web.archive.org/web/20180819104123/http://www.shuttleworth.org/collection/blackburnmonoplane/ . dead . August 19, 2018 .