@ Michael W. The range of the Besler modified Travel Air 2000 plane was estimated at 400 miles and it did actually have a condenser. Typically the Doble steam cars from which the engine was taken could manage 1500 miles on 24 gallons of water. The Besler-Doble steam engine gave out 150 hp at 1,650 rpm and weighed 480 lbs. It was a 2-cyliner air-cooled Vee of 3 in (High Pressure) and 5.25 in (Low Pressure) bore, and a 3 in stroke. Steam pressure was 1200 psi.
The 1927 Travel Air 2000 model had a range of 500 miles. Its Curtiss OXX-6 engine gave out 100 hp at 1,400 rpm and weighed 401 lbs. It was a 8-cylinder water-cooled Vee of 4.5 in bore, and a 5 in stroke. Compression ratio was 4.92:1 or about 72-86 psi.
However the steam engine used was not designed for a plane and was a standard car engine, also no attempt at lightening it was made. It was expected that performance would've improved with the use of lighter aircraft materials. So really there wasn't that much of a difference in performance and I certainly wouldn't say that plane was impractical.
The 1927 Travel Air 2000 model had a range of 500 miles. Its Curtiss OXX-6 engine gave out 100 hp at 1,400 rpm and weighed 401 lbs. It was a 8-cylinder water-cooled Vee of 4.5 in bore, and a 5 in stroke. Compression ratio was 4.92:1 or about 72-86 psi.
However the steam engine used was not designed for a plane and was a standard car engine, also no attempt at lightening it was made. It was expected that performance would've improved with the use of lighter aircraft materials. So really there wasn't that much of a difference in performance and I certainly wouldn't say that plane was impractical.