Menasco Motors Company
The Menasco Motors Company was an American aircraft engine and component manufacturer. History The company was organized by Albert S. Menasco in 1926 to convert World War I surplus Salmson Z-9 water-cooled nine-cylinder radials into air-cooled engines for private use. His association with John K. (Jack) Northrop and his flying wing project in the late 1920s convinced him of the need for a new configuration of aircraft engine: an inverted in-line air-cooled layout that would have the propeller shaft on top for better ground clearance and improved pilot vision. In 1929, Menasco designed his own engine, the 4-A, the first of what was to become Menasco's main product line, the inverted, in-line engine. Menasco designed and built a variety of four- and six-cylinder inverted air-cooled aircraft engines, some with supercharging. During WWII, Menasco manufactured aircraft landing gear for North American, Lockheed, Republic, General Dynamics, and others. After WWII, aircraft landing gear became Menasco's main product. Menasco engines In 1935 Menasco took over American Cirrus Engines (A.C.E.). A.C.E. manufactured a range of air-cooled four-cylinder inline aero engines, originally licensed from the UK. The best-known Menasco engines are the air-cooled, inverted inline four- and six-cylinder engine series known as the Pirate and