What Made It Tick?
Jim and Steve Hay
(right) adjust their 1903 Wright engine reproduction as it runs in
Ford's Dynamometer Lab. "No single set of drawings in existence
will make an engine you can put together," Steve Hay said. "It was
a real detective job."
When the engine runs, it is loud, smoky, leaks oil, isn't very
fuel-efficient and is susceptible to wear and tear -
characteristics consumers would never accept in a modern
automobile. "It was an experiment," Jim Hay said. "The Wright
brothers designed it to do a specific job and run for just a few
minutes."
The Hay brothers let out a whoop as the engine sputtered and
came to life for the first time in one of Ford's specialized
single-cylinder dynamometer test cells. It was the first time
anyone saw the historic engine in full operation. "Thanks to Ford,
we're getting data even the Wright brothers never had," Jim Hay
said as instruments churned out performance numbers for the crude
engine.
Multiple sensors were installed on the engine and the
dynamometer to provide torque, speed and temperature information
vital to understanding how the engine is performing. In-cylinder
pressure transducers were also used to provide an "inside view" of
what was actually occurring inside the engines combustion chambers.
This same data is collected and used on a daily basis by Ford
engineers to develop the powertrains for its vehicles.
"The engine is an incredibly simple solution to the problems the
Wrights faced," Brooks said. "They knew they needed to develop an
engine with just the right amount of horsepower that would drive
the propellers and provide the necessary thrust and still be as
light as possible."
The tests pinpointed issues with the engine the Hays could not
have found on their own, Brooks said. "For example, Ford engineers
were able to suggest modifications to the intake manifold to make
the engine run successfully under full power load," he said. "If
they had run this engine at Kitty Hawk on the 100th anniversary
without that knowledge, the plane probably wouldn't fly."
Ford's Role In The Build Process
Earlier in the plane
reproduction process, Ford analyzed 17 different samples of
materials taken from the Wright brothers' test engine on loan from
the Engineers Club of Dayton, Ohio, as well as metal wires for the
wing struts to determine their physical and chemical
characteristics.
"The testing we performed at the Ford facilities is important
because we're reaching the end of an era of Wright family members
from whom we can glean more information," said Gayle Gullen, the
Ford materials engineer who led a 10-person team at the company's
materials testing laboratory in Dearborn. "Our aim was to identify
materials used 100 years ago and reference to modern-day materials
to ensure authenticity of the reproduction. We expected to find
more raw materials, but many of the parts were more refined than we
thought. For example, the oil pan residue we found was mostly the
same type of mineral oil used in today's engines."
This testing involves the same processes and equipment Ford uses
to improve the quality and performance of its vehicles. "By having
metallurgical, chemistry and polymer labs within one department, we
can get to the root of almost any problem through chemical,
environmental or physical testing," said Bob Mull, director of Ford
Product Analysis and Verification.
Ford also provided specialized equipment for shop operations
required to manufacture specific parts of the wooden airplane and
propellers and was consulted on wing fabric material and
remanufacture.
The efforts further strengthen the historic connection between
Ford Motor Company and the Wright brothers. "I think if Henry Ford
were here today, he would marvel at the ingenuity of the Wrights
and how their dreams - his and the Wrights' - truly did change the
world," said Jan Valentic, Ford Motor Company vice president,
Global Marketing. "Today the stories of these three incredible men
should serve as a lesson regarding the power of innovation. Through
the past 100 years it has served as the foundation of Ford, as has
our fascination with aviation."