Image of the Air Force wings with the museum name underneath

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Kirkham Four-Cylinder

Charles B. Kirkham of Savona, N.Y., made this four-cylinder, water-cooled engine around 1912-1914. Its exact origin is unclear, but Hillery Beachy, a well-known early aviator, was likely involved in its design or use. Though it resembles an auto engine, similar Kirkham motors powered several early aircraft. Roe Tanner, a brick mason and inventor, used this 40-hp Kirkham in Attica, Ohio, around 1914 to ground test ideas for variable-pitch propellers.

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