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Engineman's WW2 Aircraft Parts Quiz!
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Snautzer01
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Daimler-Benz DB 60x something?
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Snautzer01
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reaching for straw here , starter perhaps?
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Snautzer01
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Magnetos are important parts of most piston aero-engines. Most of us who have flown in a piston aeroplane will have relied on magnetos to provide the spark ignition.
A magneto generates the electricity itself from using magnets and a rotating armature. The movement of the armature is geared to the engine crankshaft and, whenever the crank turns, the magneto turns. The magneto also times the sparks at precise moments to fire the fuel/air mixture and it also contains a distributor that sends the sparks to the correct sparkplug.
Most aero-engines have two sparkplugs per cylinder and for redundancy two magneto's, each one firing a plug in each cylinder, so that you can still have a working engine if a single magneto fails. There are a lot of technical details with magneto's and they are an interesting technical subject in themselves. I am hoping someone knows a bit about them and can make a few comments that I can expand a bit!
Eng
A magneto generates the electricity itself from using magnets and a rotating armature. The movement of the armature is geared to the engine crankshaft and, whenever the crank turns, the magneto turns. The magneto also times the sparks at precise moments to fire the fuel/air mixture and it also contains a distributor that sends the sparks to the correct sparkplug.
Most aero-engines have two sparkplugs per cylinder and for redundancy two magneto's, each one firing a plug in each cylinder, so that you can still have a working engine if a single magneto fails. There are a lot of technical details with magneto's and they are an interesting technical subject in themselves. I am hoping someone knows a bit about them and can make a few comments that I can expand a bit!
Eng
Snautzer01
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I am i need of a lecture about magnetos, so if you would describe a " Magntos for dummies " i am game.
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cammerjeff
Staff Sergeant
It does not use the drive coupling that was common to an American Radial engine, so I would eliminate PW & CW engines. But I don't have any personal experience with any other engine types of the era. I suspect an inline engine by the drive flange type. That's about all the help I can give.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
In the early days of engines, the magneto was a device that generated the nessecary voltage to power the ignition coil.
In the old WWI movies, where the pilot would yell "switch on!" before the ground crew threw the prop, he was referring to turning the magneto circuit switch on.
As the engine rotated, the magneto started creating power to the ignition coil/distributor. The magneto was most often driven by the distributor shaft.
Early automobiles were set up the same way - switch on, hand crank the engine and you were good to go.
With the advent of generators (and later alternators), automobiles no longer needed magnetos, with the exception of race cars, which still use them.
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OK, thanks for the posts. But, here is the low-down on these Magneto's, both of which are from famous V12 engines.
The first is from a P-51D. This was from a Swiss Air Force aircraft. Switzerland bought some 130 War surplus P-51D's, mostly from the USA disposal parks in Germany, after WW2. Some were war veterans, others were post-war stock. The Swiss scrapped them in the late 50's, early 60's and some were used for weapon training or fire exercises. I bought this magneto about 15 years ago, it was blackened and damaged by fire, so the front plate and the big bakelite terminal block are missing and the points cover has lost its zinc plating. However, it is a great piece and it still functions. It is possible that it is a WW2 veteran. As it says on the plate, this is a North/East Magneto, produced by GM at Rochester as a Delco part. This magneto is an S12 LAP4 intake mag (fires the intake side plugs) and was fitted to the Packard Merlin V-1650-7 engines. The mechanical drive does have a vernier intermediate coupling piece that fits over the bronze drive wheel and provides fine adjustment of the timing setting when the Mag is fitted to the engine.
Overall, this is a great historic item, from one of the most important piston aero-engines.
Eng
The first is from a P-51D. This was from a Swiss Air Force aircraft. Switzerland bought some 130 War surplus P-51D's, mostly from the USA disposal parks in Germany, after WW2. Some were war veterans, others were post-war stock. The Swiss scrapped them in the late 50's, early 60's and some were used for weapon training or fire exercises. I bought this magneto about 15 years ago, it was blackened and damaged by fire, so the front plate and the big bakelite terminal block are missing and the points cover has lost its zinc plating. However, it is a great piece and it still functions. It is possible that it is a WW2 veteran. As it says on the plate, this is a North/East Magneto, produced by GM at Rochester as a Delco part. This magneto is an S12 LAP4 intake mag (fires the intake side plugs) and was fitted to the Packard Merlin V-1650-7 engines. The mechanical drive does have a vernier intermediate coupling piece that fits over the bronze drive wheel and provides fine adjustment of the timing setting when the Mag is fitted to the engine.
Overall, this is a great historic item, from one of the most important piston aero-engines.
Eng
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- #100
This other Magneto is a WW2 Bosch GE12 DRS 195 which is a mid/late war Magneto for a Junkers Jumo 211 F/J engine. This is an unused original part in perfect condition and still fitted with its cardboard blank plugs on the wiring apertures. This magneto is very similar to the earlier version fitted to the previous versions of the Jumo 211 and before that, the Jumo 210.
This Magneto was important in that it powered many of the "Backbone" aircraft of the Luftwaffe, bombers and transport aircraft. However, it did power a fighter as well, the post-war AVIA S199. So, although unused, this is another historic Magneto. BTW, although the drive coupling of this mag has 2 simple "dogs", the fitting adjustment includes the slotted mounting flange that allows the accurate basic timing adjustment when fitting the mag to the engine. BTW, this is "left side" fitment magneto on the 211.
Eng
This Magneto was important in that it powered many of the "Backbone" aircraft of the Luftwaffe, bombers and transport aircraft. However, it did power a fighter as well, the post-war AVIA S199. So, although unused, this is another historic Magneto. BTW, although the drive coupling of this mag has 2 simple "dogs", the fitting adjustment includes the slotted mounting flange that allows the accurate basic timing adjustment when fitting the mag to the engine. BTW, this is "left side" fitment magneto on the 211.
Eng
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