Charles B. Kirkham
Born1882
Died1969
OccupationEngineer
Known forAircraft engines
ParentJohn Kirkham
RelativesClarence Kirkham, Percey Kirkham[1]

Charles B. Kirkham (1882–1969) was an American engineer of aircraft engines and aircraft.

Early life

A vertically opposed Kirkham motor on display

Kirkham started engineering by building motorcycle engines. In 1903, Kirkham and Curtiss delivered an engine to Thomas C. Benbow for future use in a dirigible.[2] In 1905 he founded the Kirkham Motor and Manufacturing Company in Bath, New York with two others and $25,000 in capital.[3] His father John Kirkham cast engine blocks for Glen Curtiss up until 1905.[4] Kirkham worked in Senaca Falls, becoming sick and returning home. Kirkham enrolled in a mechanical engineering correspondence course while recuperating. In 1910 Kirkham built his first aircraft engine of his own design.[5] The Kirkham B-6 was used on the 1910 Burgess Company Model F.[6] In 1913 Kirkham started another company, the Kirkham Aeroplane and Motor Company with $100,000 in capital.[7] Kirkham joined Glenn Curtiss and went to work for Curtiss Aeroplane in 1915 as Chief motor engineer[8] for the popular Curtiss OX and sole VX engine that powered the speedboat "Miss Miami".[9]

Later Kirkham would top rival Hispano Suiza with the Curtiss AB, a 300 hp aluminum blocked, twelve-cylinder engine for fighter use. This engine would evolve into the K-12.[10] Kirkham designed a Curtiss Triplane in 1919 to take full advantage of the K-12 engine. A Seaplane variant became the world's fastest seaplane in 1920 at 138 mph. A biplane variant for the U.S. Army label the Curtiss P-86, was dropped after the crash of a prototype.[11]

In 1919 Kirkham left Curtiss to form Kirkham Products.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cecil R. Roseberry. Glenn Curtiss, pioneer of flight. p. 34.
  2. ↑ Kirk W. House. Hell-rider to king of the air: Glenn Curtiss's life of innovation. p. 34.
  3. ↑ The Horseless Age: 145. 25 January 1905. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Cecil R. Roseberry. Glenn Curtiss, pioneer of flight. p. 23.
  5. ↑ Aircraft: 317. September 1911. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "Kirkham B-6". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Mill supplies, Volume 3. p. 229.
  8. ↑ Aerial Age Weekly: 84. 12 April 1915. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "Smithsonian Annals of Flight" (PDF). Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Smithsonian Annals of Flight" (PDF). Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  11. ↑ PART 2 Test of Strength 1917-1919 Retrieved: 13 January 2011.
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