MidWest AE series
The MidWest AE series are lightweight, liquid-cooled, single- and twin-rotor Wankel engines, with dual ignition, designed for light aircraft. They were produced by Mid-West Engines Ltd. at Staverton Airport, Gloucestershire, UK. History This engine design traces its origins to the Birmingham Small Arms Company Umberslade Hall research unit in Birmingham. David Garside, a BSA engineer, designed an air-cooled twin-rotor motorcycle engine that was based on the Fichtel & Sachs motor later used in the Hercules motorcycle. Wankel engines produce large amounts of heat, so Garside gave this air-cooled motor interior cooling air that was drawn first through the rotors and into a large plenum chamber before entering the combustion chambers via the carburetors. Only 100 of the air-cooled Norton Classics were produced. The later Norton Commander had liquid-cooling, but with the same air-cooled rotors as the Classic model. These Norton engines had a total-loss oiling system, similar to an oil-injected two-stroke engine. Development Very closely based upon the Norton engine, the MidWest engine developed the design further. The lubrication system became a semi-total-loss system whereby Silkolene 2-stroke oil was directly injected into the inlet tracts and onto the main roller bearings, but the oil that fed the bearings became an