Menasco
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| Aircraft Engine Manufacturer | |
| Industry | Aircraft |
| Fate | Renamed Menasco Manufacturing, later bought by Colt |
| Successor | Menasco Manufacturing Company |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Defunct | 1944 |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California |
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Key people
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Albert S. Menasco |
| Products | Aircraft Engines |
Albert S. (Al) Menasco organized the Menasco Motors Company in 1926 to convert WWI surplus Salmson Z-9 water-cooled nine-cylinder radials into air-cooled engines for private use. His association with John K. (Jack) Northrop and his flying wing project in the late 1920s convinced him of the need for a new configuration of aircraft engine: an inverted in-line air-cooled layout that would have the propeller shaft on top for better ground clearance and improved pilot vision.
In 1929, Menasco designed his own engine, the 4-A, the first of what was to become Menasco's main product line, the inverted, in-line engine. Menasco designed and built a variety of four- and six-cylinder inverted air-cooled aircraft engines, some with supercharging.
During WWII, Menasco manufactured aircraft landing gear for North American, Lockheed, Republic, General Dynamics, and others. After WWII, aircraft landing gear became Menasco's main product.
The best-known Menasco engines are the air-cooled, inverted inline four- and six-cylinder engine series known as the Pirate and Buccaneer, respectively. Al Menasco was deeply involved with air racing and his engines were popular with racers who needed a small displacement engine. None of the early supercharged engines were production designs with ATC ratings. One of the less obvious benefits Menasco offered was his willingness to build custom engine combinations to fit special airplanes for reasonable prices.
An important advantage of owning a Menasco engine was Al's appreciation of the economics of using off the shelf interchangeable parts whenever possible. This company was the only supplier of inverted in-line engines in the early thirties. They had reasonably high power, and a ready availability of complete engines and repair parts.
Production of certified engines did not begin until 1936 when Art Chester was hired by Menasco for research and development for the C4S (220-230 hp) and B6S (290 hp) engines. Chester was a race pilot who had a reputation for getting the most horses out his four-Cylinder Menasco, and keeping it reliable at the same time.
A new engine was introduced in 1937: the six-cylinder C6S-4 model, rated at 400 hp at 3300 rpm and 70 in of manifold pressure. It was the first Menasco that really had the power potential to win the Thompson Trophy race. The first prototype went to Rudy Kling for his new Folkerts SK-3 racer in early 1937. In 1938 the commercial version of the C6S-4 was ATC certified at 260 hp.
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Wikipedia