Airspeed 2000. In 1933, brothers George and William Bessler, in the USA, this device with a steam engine was designed and built!
The engine is V-shaped, two-cylinder, developing a power of 150 horses. Two-blade wooden screw.
This aircraft did not lose engine power at high altitudes, like an internal combustion engine, where you have to compensate for the drop in atmospheric pressure with all kinds of pressurization. And if it was inferior on engines powered by kerosene in power at altitudes up to a kilometer, then starting from an altitude of 2000 meters it confidently surpassed them.
I consumed 45 liters of water per 600 km. flight. They write that the flight was so quiet that conversations between the pilot and the passenger were heard. Only the roar of the propeller was heard. Great prospect for exploration, huh?
No oils were required for operation, and the simplicity of the design made it more maintainable with long service intervals, and less likely to break than a classic ICE! Accordingly, the operation of this password was more profitable commercially.
Well, such a feature as the ability to rotate the propeller in the opposite direction made it possible to slow down the aircraft faster!
Promotional video:
The plane worked for several years at the post office. Was made in a single copy..
I still do not understand why it is worse than the Engine on "gasoline". Is that the flight range, so not everyone should fly far. It's funny to say, but all sorts of atomic icebreakers, submarines - in fact, steam engines zhezh … And here it was not useful …