The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder,

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. Air-cooled designs are far simpler than their liquid-cooled ...

aero engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbin ...

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 The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...

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 The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

. Like all early Gnome et Rhône engines the Omega features a single pushrod driven exhaust valve on the cylinder head; the intake valve is 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 is provided, the pilot controls the aircraft's speed by switching off the ignition when necessary. Gnome-GA section

Variants

;Gnome 7 Omega:Single-row 7-cyl. original version; . ;Gnome 14 Omega-Omega :Two-row, 14-cylinder version using Omega cylinders; .

Applications

Gnome 7 Omega

Gnome Omega-Omega - Moteurs Gnome October 1913

Gnome 14 Omega-Omega

* Avro 501 * Blériot XIII * Bleriot XXIII * Bristol-Gordon England G.E.2 * Coventry Ordnance Works Biplane 10 * Deperdussin 1912 Racing Monoplane * Nieuport IV.H floatplane * Short S.41 Tractor Biplane * Short S.57 Seaplane * Short S.64 Folder Seaplane * Short Admiralty Type 74

Engines on display

*The very first Gnome rotary engine ever built, Gnôme Omega No. 1, is on display at the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

*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.

Specifications (7 Omega)

Footnotes

References

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External links

NASM's page on Gnome Omega No.1

Video of April 2009 ground runup of a restored Gnome Omega in the USA
{{Gnome-Rhône aeroengines

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

Air-cooled aircraft piston engines 1900s aircraft piston engines Rotary aircraft piston engines