the engine was soon delivering , double its previous output. This version was soon in place on a -scale model of the "Great Aerodrome", which flew successfully in 1901. Encouraged by this success, Manly started scaling up the engine with larger cylinders and new lightweight pistons. The resulting design weighed , and delivered , making it by far the most powerful lightweight engine of its era, far outperforming the one that would eventually be successful on the Wright Flyer. The engine was delivered in March 1903 and installed on the Aerodrome for testing that summer. In September the aircraft was moved to a launch platform on a houseboat in the Potomac River. With Manly aboard as pilot, the Aerodrome crashed in spectacular fashion in its first test on October 7. Langley had also fallen prey to the "scale it up" problem, and the full-sized model of what was a sturdy -scale model was hopelessly fragile. A second test also ended in a crash into the river on December 8. Manly survived both times. In 1914 Glenn Curtiss used the engine in the heavily modified Aerodrome in an effort to break the Wright brothers aircraft control system patent. In additional flight tests the Curtiss team used a different and more modern engine. Years later the Smithsonian Institution asked Manly for a monograph about the engine, and he wrote an account that significantly downplayed Balzer's contribution, reducing it to supplying a non-working design that he rebuilt. Balzer's family was upset, and the Smithsonian eventually wrote a much more balanced version. Specifications References A History of Aircraft Piston Engines, Herschel Smith, Sunflower University Press, 1986, External links Balzer automobile patents - has several images of Balzer's engine patents, and a picture of the engine itself 1900s aircraft piston engines Aviation pioneers History of aviation Water-cooled radial engines