Franklin 6V4-200 Engine

Franklin 6V4-200 Engine


Country of origin: USA
Built: Syracuse NY, USA, c. 1955
Manufacturer: Franklin Engine Company
Engine: 225 hp six-cylinder, air-cooled piston engine

Type: Piston engine

Note: Used in versions of the Bell 47 helicopter including the Bell 47H Bellairus civil helicopter.

Details: The Franklin 6A and 6V engine (company designations O-335) was an American air-cooled aircraft engines of the 1940 and 50s. The engine was of six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed layout and displaced 335 cu in (5.5 L). The power output of later variants was 225 hp (168 kW).

These engines were usually vertically mounted and used to power many early helicopters in the United States including the Bell 47E military helicopters and the Bell 47H Bellairus civil version. A rare example of the Bellairus Deluxe version of the Bell 47 and the only one to come to Europe can be seen here in The Helicopter Museum.

In various subtypes, the 6A and 6V remained in continuous production from 1945 to the time Franklin's United States operations ceased in 1975, with versions continuing in Polish production into the 1990s.