Cushman Motor Works has built engines and many other products, most of which used their own engines, since about 1902 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The corporate history shows many different owners. The firm was founded by Everette and Clinton Cushman, who left the company in 1922. Charles Ammon purchased the firm in 1933. Outboard Marine Co. (OMC) acquired Cushman in 1957 and operated them as a subsidiary until 1961, at which time they became a division of OMC. In 1989, Ransomes PLC of the UK purchased Cushman and included them in the sale of their assets to Textron in 1998. Cushman history can be found under the "Cushman Time Line" heading here. The most famous Cushman products were motor scooters (from 1936-1966) and three-wheeled delivery vehicles, including Trucksters, Tracksters, and golf carts (from 1952-1975). An aircraft-engine conversion of the OMC Cushman O-43 horizontally-opposed Truckster engine is described below, along with a larger-stroke O-48 version. The information below has been provided to the compiler by Phil Dorothy and Merrill Isaacson, to whom he is indebted.
BGP reports a two-stroke cycle OMC Cushman engine with a displacement of 12.2 cu.in. (200cc). This seems to be small even for ultralight flight. However, it is possible that this different Cushman engine could have been used besides the four-stroke cycle engines described below.
O-43 -- {3.5 / 2.25 / 43.3} / {88.9 / 57.2 / 710}
2cyl; OMC Cushman 18hp Truckster; 18hp@3600rpm; 1966-1977; Wt = 80#; TC = none.
Single-ignition engine.
aerofiles.com; J65-66 (SNS-1 application); SA10/77 (SNS-2 application).
Applications: (US) Sorrell SNS-1 [N2976G], SNS-2 Guppy [N2180] ultralight biplanes.
O-48 -- {3.5 / 2.5 / 48.1} / {88.9 / 57.2 / 788}
2cyl; OMC Cushman 22hp Truckster; 22hp@3600rpm; 1966-1977; Wt = 80#; TC = none.
Single-ignition engine.
None found.
Applications: None found.