Thanks Renaud.  This is very useful.

“No high point in the piping installation without possible release of air and steam (on the ground, in ascent or in horizontal flight).

The radiator (or feeder) must be loaded on top of the cylinders, both in climbing and horizontal flight.

Water outlet pipes with a minimum internal diameter of 34 mm must run upwards to the radiator (or feeder) in both climb and horizontal flight. (...)”

This passage tells us that it was not unusual to proceed with a water tank on top of the cylinders ("nourrice"), as the cold and hot water stream pipes had to be placed and routed in a way that favored fluid dynamics, circulation and the evacuation of steam in the event of overheating.

Agreed.

I was also able to check that the capacity of the water jackets was 19 liters for a total of 26 liters including the piping (not counting the radiators? I don't know for sure...).

A comment in the manual also states that in the event of a water shortage, the operating time without abnormal overheating is only a few minutes...

The question is, in the case of l'Oiseau Blanc, how long is a few minutes? That logically depends on the power setting (how much heat are the cylinders generating?); outside air temperature (the colder the better) and, primarily, how fast it's losing coolant.  Witnesses in the town of St. Mary's saw the plane "on fire" (trailing steam mistaken for smoke) headed west across St. Mary's Bay and last seen in the vicinity of Red Head on the eastern coast of the Cape Shore peninsula.  That's a distance of 14 miles.  From Red Head to Gull Pond is 8 miles, for a total of 22 miles.  At l'Oiseau Blanc's cruising speed of 100 mph, that would take 13 minutes – call it 15 minutes with a headwind.   

In your opinion, what is the capacity of the 'feeder' on the cylinder tops ?  Judging by the proportions, I'd say between 120 and 140 liters.

It's an important point.  The trail of steam suggests the pipe delivering hot water to one of the radiators burst. With one of the radiators still working, the cylinders are still being cooled to some degree until the coolant is exhausted.  How fast coolant is lost depends on the water pressure and the diameter of the failed pipe.  Once the water in the reservoir is depleted the engine will overheat until it eventually seizes.  We don't have enough data to quantify the time between the failure of the pipe and engine seizure, so we're left with a gut guess.  Is 15 minutes a reasonable ?

Hello Ric,

I've started translating the pages about the cooling system. There are some interesting data. I hope to make progress by the end of the week.

As for what interests you most, I've already attached the interesting part:

page 36:

“No high point in the piping installation without possible release of air and steam (on the ground, in ascent or in horizontal flight).

The radiator (or feeder) must be loaded on top of the cylinders, both in climbing and horizontal flight.

Water outlet pipes with a minimum internal diameter of 34 mm must run upwards to the radiator (or feeder) in both climb and horizontal flight. (...)”

This passage tells us that it was not unusual to proceed with a water tank on top of the cylinders ("nourrice"), as the cold and hot water stream pipes had to be placed and routed in a way that favored fluid dynamics, circulation and the evacuation of steam in the event of overheating.

I was also able to check that the capacity of the water jackets was 19 liters for a total of 26 liters including the piping (not counting the radiators? I don't know for sure...).

A comment in the manual also states that in the event of a water shortage, the operating time without abnormal overheating is only a few minutes...

In your opinion, what is the capacity of the 'feeder' on the cylinder tops ?  Judging by the proportions, I'd say between 120 and 140 liters.

LTM

This is her birthday (102).  The specific link I'm finding now for the PattersonIrrigator.com obituary, referenced at reply #23 of this thread, is:

https://www.ttownmedia.com/patterson_irrigator/news/obituaries/helen-betty-brown/article_480a3af9-4e73-54da-b421-ec842a9b661c.html

There's another obituary, behind a paywall, for which I paid $0.99 this morning.

Danville Commercial-News (Danville, Illinois), June 24, 2014.

https://obituaries.commercial-news.com/obituary/helen-brown-718122221

Helen "Betty" Brown passed away on June 18, 2014, in Turlock, Calif. She had just celebrated her 92nd birthday with her family.. She was born May 24, 1922, in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. She lived in the Rossville-Hoopeston area for 63 years and then moved to Patterson, Calif., in 2005 after her husband, Oliver Daniel Brown, passed away in October of 2004. She also was preceded in death by her parents, Kenneth and Olive Klenck, and her sister, Jeanne Klenck Tomasieski.. She was an amazing woman! Her life was full of adventuresome and interesting events - from how she met and married her husband "Brownie" to hearing distress calls from Amelia Earhart on her ham radio when she was just 15 years old. Her hand-written "notebook" is now in the Smithsonian Institute and has helped the "TIGHAR" Group in its continuing search for Amelia's plane. She had appeared in documentaries for both The Discovery Channel and The National Geographic Channel.. She also was an artist and an avid genealogy buff and had researched the family history back to the 1300s AD.. Her great love for her family gave her much happiness and enjoyment. She is survived by her daughter, Dona Brown Harper; her son, Daniel (Judy) Brown; and seven grandchildren, Timothy (Tobie) Moyles, Michael (Monica) Moyles, Sheila Moyles (Greg) Garfield, Shannon Moyles, Daniel Oliver (Kelly) Moyles, Toby (Paige) Brown and Tanja Brown Weinard; 14 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.. Per her wishes she was cremated. A visitation will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday June 30, at Anderson Funeral Home, 427 E. Main St., Hoopeston. A memorial service will follow the visitation at 1 p.m. Monday, June 30, at the funeral home with the Rev. James Batchelor officiating. Burial will be in Floral Hill Cemetery in Hoopeston.. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the TIGHAR Group-Amelia Earhart Project at www.tighar.org.

It turns out that you can't identify the grave site, at FindaGrave.com, by searching on Hoopeston, because Floral Hill Cemetery is listed there under Lovejoy Township, Illinois.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131990949/helen-brown

A township turns out to be a larger Illinois-specific geographic unit.  Google Maps show the cemetery to be north of Hoopeston about a mile, inside the township, with Hoopeston itself slightly outside the township (maybe why the FindaGrave listing is how it is).

I would be interested to know what it says about the cooling system, especially if there is reference to a "nurse tank".

D'accord Ric, i will see if i could find some free time this week end to find this kind of informations if mentioned ! 

From memory, it seems to me that the manual only recommends the position of a possible feeder.

The feeder has to be on top of the engine and the filler port for the water reservoir has to be at the highest point, which is where we see it in the photos.

I think you're absolutely right. The E2b engine was fitted on a very large number of aircraft, so it seems logical that each manufacturer had to adapt its accessories.

The Grand Raid PL8 undoubtedly needed an additional water supply, which required some adaptation by the Levasseur workshops. And you're right that this builder was more of a craftsman than an assembly-line manufacturer. That's why it's so difficult to obtain standard data for this aircraft builder. For an example, you may have read my topic on the PL8's alferium propeller...

From memory, it seems to me that the manual only recommends the position of a possible feeder.

That fits to me. Il will tranlate only the pages that refer to the cooling system and apparatus. I recall that there was a reference to a water feeding item somewhere but from my remembrance, it was quite brief... 

Yeah, my impression is that the shape and dimensions of the water reservoir or "nurse tank" was left up to the manufacturer of the particular aircraft that would use the engine. The PL-8 was purpose-built to be a very long-range aircraft so the amount of all the consumables required  (gasoline, oil and water) would be much greater than for other types.

That fits to me. Il will tranlate only the pages that refer to the cooling system and apparatus. I recall that there was a reference to a water feeding item somewhere but from my remembrance, it was quite brief... 

I can translate it for you, of course, and with pleasure. It will take me quite some time though.

I'll do it as I go along, if that's okay for you ? 

That's a lot of work.  I'm not sure we need the whole thing, but I would be interested to know what it says about the cooling system, especially if there is reference to a "nurse tank".

Good evening Ric. Wilco. I can translate it for you, of course, and with pleasure. It will take me quite some time though.

I'll do it as I go along, if that's okay for you ?