.

the car junkie daily magazine.

.

Video: An Idea Behind Its Time: The Besler Steam Airplane


Video: An Idea Behind Its Time: The Besler Steam Airplane

The idea of a steam powered airplane was not a new one in 1934 when a man named Besler designed and built a contraption he called, in a creative manner, The Besler Steam Plane. What is not shocking is the fact that the idea didn’t go to far for Besler, but what is shocking is that the damn thing flew, and pretty well if we may add. We have the video to prove it.

Power for the plane was provided by a two-cylinder, V-type steam engine that was rated at 90 hp. It drove the propeller directly at 1,350 rpm. The steam was fed to the motor at more than 1,100 psi and 430 degrees Centigrade. That’s hot!

A couple interesting things to pay attention to while watching the video. Firstly is the speed that the prop accelerates. It goes from static to full bore in an instant, not like the old gas engine jobs that were spun by hand to start and wound up pretty slow. The prop can also be reversed in direction almost immediately. You’ll see the plane actually move forward and back to demonstrate that.

This was certainly a neat experiment and although it was completely impractical, at least they had a working prototype and had the good sense to get it on film.

We’ll leave you with a quote from the American National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics regarding steam power for planes:

“On the basis of the weight of the power plant alone steam power plants for aircraft are precluded. On the basis of economy alone, they are again precluded. On the basis of the resistance of the cooling surface required alone, they are precluded. On the basis of the sum of these three considerations they are absolutely impossible.”

Thanks for the tip Jeremy George!

 

 


  • Share This
  • Pinterest
  • 0