The Blackburne Tomtit was a 670 cc V-twin aero engine for light aircraft that was designed and produced by Burney and Blackburne Limited. Burney and Blackburne was based at Bookham, Surrey, England and was a former motorcycle manufacturer.

Design and development

The Blackburne Tomtit engine was developed from Blackburne's motorcycle engines. The first one adapted to aircraft use was the best performing engine at the Lympne light aircraft trials of 1923, despite its lack of refinement. The Tomtit was a modified version of the Lympne 696 cc V-twin, marketed specifically for flight.

The Tomtit could run upright or inverted and was the first British engine to fly inverted, in the ANEC I. The inverted configuration was more common, but the Avro 558 used it in the upright arrangement, and the Avro 560 flew with both upright and inverted Tomtits.

Applications (including early Lympne 1923 version)

ANEC I

Avro 558

Avro 560

BICh-3 (the world's first flying wing)

Dabrowski D.1 Cykacz

Darmstadt D-11 Mohamed

de Havilland Humming Bird

Gloster Gannet

Gnosspelius Gull

Gribovsky G-5

Handley Page H.P.23

Heath Parasol

Parnall Pixie II

Reid biplane

Short Cockle

Wheeler Slymph

Specifications

Data from Flight

General characteristics

Performance

  • Power output: 16 hp (12 kW) at 2,400 rpm
  • Specific fuel consumption: 0.58 pint (0.33 litre) per hp per hour
  • Oil consumption: 0.035 pint (0.02 litre) per hp per hour

See also

Related lists

Notes

Bibliography

  • , Flight (29 May 1924): 581, archived from on 15 October 2012
  • , Flight (12 February 1925): 581, archived from on 29 September 2012
  • , Flight (18 June 1925): 371, archived from on 15 October 2012
  • Jackson, A.J. (1965), Avro Aircraft since 1908, London: Putnam Publishing
  • Jackson, A.J. (1960), British Civil Aircraft 1919-59, vol. 2, London: Putnam Publishing

Douglas Light Aero engines from Kingswood to Cathcart.Page 106 Brian Thorby 2010 Redcliffe Press, Bristol ISBN 978-1-906593-25-4