The Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major is a British five-cylinder (later seven-cylinder),

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

for aircraft, designed and built by

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following ...

and first run in 1928. It developed 140 horsepower (104 kW). In

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

use the seven-cylinder version was known as the Civet I. The

Feliform Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats (large and small), hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Cani ...

names used are in line with company convention, the Genet and

Civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity ...

both being large cat-like carnivores.

Variants and applications

Genet Major I

The Genet Major 1 was a five-cylinder engine of that was closely related to the Genet I but with increased bore and

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. *

Avro Avian The Avro Avian was a series of British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its descendant ...

* Avro 619 * Avro 624 * Avro 638 Club Cadet * Cierva C.19 Autogiro * Civilian Coupé *

Saro Cutty Sark The Saro A17 Cutty Sark was a British amphibious aircraft from the period between World War I and World War II, built by the British firm Saunders-Roe (also known as ''SARO''). The aircraft was named after the ship ''Cutty Sark'', rather than ...

Southern Martlet The Southern Martlet was a single-engined, single-seat biplane sports aircraft. Six were built, including the rather different and unsuccessful Metal Martlet. Design and development The Southern Martlet was the first aircraft designed by tea ...

Westland IV The Westland IV and Westland Wessex were British high wing, three-engined light transport aircraft built by Westland Aircraft. Design and development In 1928, Westland began work on a small three-engined airliner, suitable for low volume, "fee ...

Genet Major 1A (Civet I)

The Genet Major 1A (or Civet I in RAF service) was a seven-cylinder development of the Genet Major I, nominally rated at . *

Avro Cadet The Avro Cadet is a single-engined British biplane trainer designed and built by Avro in the 1930s as a smaller development of the Avro Tutor for civil use. Design and development The Avro 631 Cadet was developed in 1931 as a smaller, more e ...

Avro Rota Rota or ROTA may refer to: Places * Rota (island), in the Marianas archipelago * Rota (volcano), in Nicaragua * Rota, Andalusia, a town in Andalusia, Spain * Naval Station Rota, Spain People * Rota (surname), a surname (including a list of people ...

* Cierva C.30A Autogiro *

RWD-6 The RWD 6 was a Polish sports plane of 1932, constructed by the RWD team. It was a winner of the Challenge 1932 international tourist aircraft contest. Development The aircraft was designed specially for the purpose of competing in the internati ...

(not specified 7-cylinder Genet Major sub-type) *

* SEA-1 *

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes ...

Genet Major III

As Genet Major IA but with cylinders using cast rocker boxes.

Genet Major IV

A geared propeller drive version of the Genet Major IA, . *

ANBO V The ANBO V was a parasol wing monoplane Trainer (aircraft), training aircraft designed for the Lithuanian Army in 1931. A developed version, the ANBO 51 followed in 1936 and 1938. Design The ANBO V was of conventional configuration with fixed ...

Survivors

An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major powers

(G-AAYX) which is owned and operated by the

Shuttleworth Collection The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is the oldest in the world and one of the most prestigious, due to the variety of old a ...

at Old Warden and flies at home air displays throughout the summer months. An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major 1A engine also powers the only surviving Civilian Aircraft Co.Ltd. 1931 vintage Civilian Coupe 02 monoplane (G-ABNT), which is airworthy and owned and operated by Shipping and Airlines Ltd based at Biggin Hill Airport, England.

Engines on display

* An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major IA is on display at the

Royal Air Force Museum Cosford The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free (currently, 2022) museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departme ...

. * An Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major IV can be seen in

Polish Aviation Museum The Polish Aviation Museum ( pl, Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie) is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Ai ...

in Cracow. * Aviation Heritage Museum (Western Australia)Aviation Heritage Museum
/ref>

Specifications (Genet Major IA/Civet I)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . {{Armstrong Siddeley aeroengines Genet Major 1920s aircraft piston engines Aircraft air-cooled radial piston engines