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."

FMI: www.eaa.org