they say wright brothers plane caries a 16 hp engine.?
if we compare with modern engine will it be equal to 250 cc motorbike engine
Yes, but the 250cc engine has to rev to many thousand rpm to produce that power, and that would require some sort of gear reduction to get the drive-speed of the props down to their efficient operating range, only a couple of hundred rpm.
The additional weight of a drive-speed reducer would prevent the machine from flying with that engine!
The Wright home-made engine turned only about a 800rpm and used a light-weight sprocket and chain drive (a’la their bicycles) to get the necessary drive-speed reduction.
Also, the fuels available then were pretty wretched. That 250cc engine might not even run on it! But even it did, it certainly wouldn’t produce anywhere near its rated hp.
The Wright design was far from perfect, and the machine barely flew, but it was better than anything else in the world in 1903!
Now, if you could design a machine that could put a payload in earth orbit for $100 per pond, you could garner equal fame and fortune as the Wrights!
Good luck! 
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July 3rd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
a modern 250 cc bike engine would destroy the wright bros. engines, which were home-made by the wrights themselves. No existing engine at the time was light enough.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Modern day ultra lights fly with a couple of chainsaw engines,120 cc total.their plane had to be so big to carry such a heavy engine but it was as light as they could make it with the technology of the time.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Actually it was 12hp,and there has only been over 100 YEARS of technology since then,so of course a modern engine would be far more efficient.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
first of all, the wright brothers engine was a 12 horse power engine. first of its kind with its external combustion chambers, and also the lightest engine in that time for the power it gave out.
with todays technology, it couldnt possibly keep up with a lawn mower engine, never mind a 250 cc bike.
but in comparison, for the technology they had back then, it would actually be about the same power availible.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 6:06 pm
in what way ?
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July 3rd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Yes, but the 250cc engine has to rev to many thousand rpm to produce that power, and that would require some sort of gear reduction to get the drive-speed of the props down to their efficient operating range, only a couple of hundred rpm.
The additional weight of a drive-speed reducer would prevent the machine from flying with that engine!
The Wright home-made engine turned only about a 800rpm and used a light-weight sprocket and chain drive (a’la their bicycles) to get the necessary drive-speed reduction.
Also, the fuels available then were pretty wretched. That 250cc engine might not even run on it! But even it did, it certainly wouldn’t produce anywhere near its rated hp.
The Wright design was far from perfect, and the machine barely flew, but it was better than anything else in the world in 1903!
Now, if you could design a machine that could put a payload in earth orbit for $100 per pond, you could garner equal fame and fortune as the Wrights!
Good luck!
References :
Glasair flyer