Using just temperature difference, hot air engines, usually called 'Stirling' engines, produce rotary motion that can be used to power anything, from boats and buggies to coolers and fans. Roy Darlington is one of the world's foremost authorities on small Stirling engines: his engines have puzzled 'experts' and yet run on the simplest of principles.They are a delight to watch and the accumulation of knowledge contained within the pages of this book will keep many a potential Stirling engineer fascinated for hours.

This book describes the design ethos and principles that are used in Roy's designs and goes on to look at the machining, workshop techniques and processes that go to build these high-quality engines. A wide selection of different types of Stirling and thermo-acoustic (lag) hot air engines is looked at in detail, and full plans for one of the most ingenious designs - the engine that powers the famous Stirling Silver II model boat - are included. Stirling and Hot Air Engines provides an essential reference to engineers, teachers, students and hobbyists, and aims to provide a thorough insight into designing and building Stirling and other hot air engines.