Bristol Aquila

The Aquila was a 9-cylinder one-row radial aircraft engine produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1934. It saw little use, as its power range was already covered by existing designs. Its primary use was to supply mechanicals to a 14-cylinder version, the Taurus.

The Aquila was developed at the same time as the somewhat larger Perseus, both being sleeve valve designs. The primary difference was in size, the Perseus was based on the 5.75x6.5" cylinder used in the famous Jupiter engine, while the Aquila used a new and smaller 5x5.4" sized cylinder. The result was a reduction in displacement from 1520 cubic inches, to 950.

The first Aquila engine delivered a modest 365 horsepower, which was hardly spectacular for an engine of this size. It soon developed into more powerful versions as improvements were worked into the line (as well as similar changes to the Perseus), and by 1936 it had improved to 500hp. This made it an excellent replacement for the Jupiter, which ended production at 590hp three years earlier, but by this time almost all interest was on ever-larger engines. The Aquila saw almost no use.

Specifications

Layout: nine-cylinder, one-row, radial

Bore/Stroke/Displacement: 5"/5.4"/950cu in (15.6l)

Compression ratio: 7.3:1

Power: 500hp at 3000 RPM

Weight: 830 lbs (377 kg)