Piston-engined fighters ruled the roost for thirty years. A brutal survival of the fittest ensured a rapid evolution of these characterful machines; the final fighters were over six times faster and ...

If you've ever stood near a runway and watched planes take to the skies, you've probably also been awestruck by the sheer size of the engines that make it all possible. On large commercial planes, ...

The first recognizable internal combustion engine was developed by Nikolaus Otto in 1861. Since then, the gasoline-powered engine has evolved immensely. However, the principles that underlie how ...

In this fifth number of Smithsonian Annals of Flight Leonard S. Hobbs analyzes the original Wright Kitty Hawk Flyer engine from the point of view of an aeronautical engineer whose long experience in ...