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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0596.PDF
596 FLIGHT Wright J65-W-6. Single-shaft turbojet with afterburner. Thirteen-stage com-pressor, annular combustion chamber with 36 vaporizing burners and two-stage turbine. Diameter, 37.9in: length, 195in; dry weight, 2,780 Ib; mass flow, 120Ib/see; pressure ratio, 7:1; maximum thrust, 11,200 Ib with reheat,at 8,200r.p.m., with s.f.c. of 1.97. The basic engine has a dry rating of 7,800 Ib thrust with s.f.c. of 0.91. AERO ENGINES 1956 ... at N.A.S. Olathe. Production orders almost ran out last year; thisminimized the effects of a nine-week strike and a new contract with the U.A.W. has now been reached.Development of the J40 and 46 has virtually ceased, but in 1953 an eight-year agreement with Rolls-Royce was signed, providing forclose co-operation in research and development and giving Westinghouse American sales and manufacturing rights to R-R. engines not imported inairframes. Production of the Dart was contemplated, but (at £30,000 ex-Westinghouse) was considered too expensive. The Tyne, however,is being seriously considered for licence production. Westinghouse also handle the modification to U.S. requirements of the Rolls-Royce Soarturbojet imported by Radioplane, Inc. for target applications. In reverse agreement, Rolls-Royce Canada, Ltd., will overhaul the WestinghouseJ34s of the Royal Canadian Navy. J40. Failure of this large turbojet hit the Navy hard, and broughtabout serious redesign-delays with several important aircraft. Even- tually the J40-WE-22 ran reasonably well but the 7,200 Ib dry ratingwas inadequate for such aircraft as the McDonnell F3H Demon. The more powerful WE-24 was cancelled in September 1953. A B-45 test-bed was still flying from Dallas in December 1954 to increase the re- light altitude limits of the engine. The whole programme cost £79m. J46. This axial turbojet is the only original Westinghouse designremaining in production. In many ways it can be regarded as a scaled- up J34 (the most widely used Westinghouse turbojet) with a higherpressure ratio and better s.f.c. Its most important application is the propulsion of the twin-engined Chance Vought Cutlass, a Navy missile-carrying all-weather fighter/bomber, which has two WE-8s, illustrated. A later engine, the 6,100 Ib-thrust WE-18, would have powered theA2U Cutlass development, but these 96 aircraft were cancelled, at a saving of £27m, in 1954. Marine experience is being gained with pairsof J46 engines in the Convair F2Y hydroski programme. These units, J46-WE-12s, are equipped with a fresh-water spray which is used toflush the engines before take-off to remove salt deposited while taxying. J54. Many good features characterize this light and slim axial turbo-jet, which is probably the best American engine in its power class. It was originally a private venture designed in close co-operation withRolls-Royce with the company designation PD-33. It was aimed at the U.S.A.F. and Navy, and the latter is now the major sponsor of itsdevelopment. It has been reported that the compressor owes much to the work ofArmstrong Siddeley and to the compressor of the 200-series Avon. No fewer than 16 stages are fitted on the same shaft, although theblading is divided into low- and high-pressure sections separated by an intermediate diffuser incorporating air-extraction faces. British workis also reported to have influenced the design of the annular combustion chamber.The design thrust was 6,000 lb and this was achieved early last year, shortly after the first run. A 50-hr test was run last summer, duringwhich the engine met the specified thrust and s.f.c. figures. Most of the running is now in the region of 6,500 to 7,000 lb maximum thrust and,with its high efficiency and low frontal area, there is every chance that the J54 will see production. The engine has been made available to theNavy at the nominal sum of $1. Two prototypes were accepted by the Navy last December, and they have since been carrying out evaluationrunning at the Air Turbine Test Station at Trenton, N.J. XJ74. A medium-thrust turbojet project for the U.S. Navy. J81. Reported to be a high-pressure turbojet, again based on Rolls-Royce design studies, with an output greater than that of the J54. The fact that the number is odd denotes Air Force sponsorship.. WRIGHT. The Wright Aeronautical Division of the Curtiss-Wright Corpn., Wood-Ridge, N.J. When our last issue of this type was being written two years ago, it looked as if this famous company was falling Wectinghouse XJ54-WE-2. Turbojet. Sixteen-stage compressor, annularcombustion chamber with 24 vaporizing burners and two-stage turbine. Overall diameter, about 33m; length as shown, about 135in; dry weight, about 1,5001b;mass flow, about 100lb/sec; pressure ratio, about 9:1; maximum thrust, about 7,000 Ib design dry rating at about 11,000 r.p.m. with s.f.c. in the range 0.82-0.84. behind its competitors in the technological race. Now, however, newdevelopments in ramjets and rockets are placing Wright Aeronautical in a stronger position. Apart from the Turbo-Compound, described later, the bulk of thecompany's output for conventional aircraft comprises various versions of the J65 turbojet, which has been evolved from the Armstrong SiddeleySapphire. Close liaison with Armstrong Siddeley has been maintained for some six years and, although plans for manufacturing other A.S.engines have not materialized, it is likely that Wright will licence-pro- duce the Viper turbojet if the East Coast Aeronautics production of theAustralian Jindivik drone is stepped up. At present, Wright handle the imports of British Vipers for this purpose. Manufacturing licences arealso held in respect of Bristol gas turbines; one development in this connection is the J67 (discussed below), and there is a possibility thatWright may make the B.E.25. In January 1956 the company organized a Turbomotor Division forthe development of engines up to 7,500 Ib thrust for aircraft, helicopters, missiles and drones. When this division becomes active the WrightAeronautical Division will concentrate solely on very large engines. At present, the Turbomotor headquarters is temporarily at Hempstead,N.J. Three purchases, or leases, of land took place last year: 52,000 acres of central Pennsylvania are allocated to jet testing and research;100,000 acres "between the Sierras and the Rockies" are allocated to future rocket and ramjet development; and a new site in north-westNew Jersey, close to Suffern, will be the executive headquarters and the vault storage of design plans. The growth of the division is such thatthere will be no decrease in operations at Wood-Ridge. The Pennsyl- vania site is now being built into an 85-sq-mile research and develop-ment centre (an unprecedented size), to which the Corporation have given the name of Quehanna. The backlog two years ago was £295m, mainly comprising J65s.Other products of the Corporation are Turbolectric airscrews, the Elec- tronics Division's simulators, flight duplicators and radar aids; a MetalsProcessing division, including a 12,000-ton extrusion press; Marquette Metal Products making turbojet and ramjet fuel pumps; and Caldwell-Wright Airport, Inc., who offer spares and service and maintain flight- test and research aircraft. Curtiss-Wright Europa is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary in the Netherlands giving overhaul and general support, largely to J65s in European service. J65 Sapphire. In October 1950 a licence-agreement was signedbetween Wright and Armstrong Siddeley Motors as a result of which the former company "Americanized" the Sapphire and put the resultingengine into production. The sponsor was initially the U.S.A.F. and the designation was J65. By March 1951 the first J65s were running and theBuick Motor Division of G.M. were brought in as a second source at Flint, Mich. The latter company started production in 1952, in parallelwith Wright, and received contracts worth £227m for J65s and £39m for facilities, the largest assembly plant being at Willow Springs, 111.Buick have now been phased out: Flint ceased component-production last September and Willow Springs assembled the last of 4,500 engineslast November. Wright, however, will deliver advanced J65s for at least two moreyears for both the Air Force and Navy. Americanization involved over- coming several mechanical problems, including a redesign of the centre-bearing support. Wright also added a flow-modulator consisting of a ring of flaps hinged around the compressor intake; the flaps open (torestrict flow) at 5,500 r.p.m. and shut at 6,500, to improve compressor behaviour. It has since been shown to be superfluous but is still arequirement of Navy J65s. Later engines have a redesigned compressor case, without stiffening ribs, upon which many of the accessories arehung. Some fighter J(55s have an advanced afterburner, for which design work and sub-contract production is done by Solar. Reduced F-84F production in September 1953 caused 1,024 enginesto be cancelled, at a price of £28,600 apiece; present B-57 engines (non-afterburning) are priced at about £26,800 and the overhaul timelast summer (on J65-W-5s) was 125 hr. The engine is highly thought of in both the U.S.A.F. and Navy, and total deliveries probably exceed9,000. J67. When Wright obtained the licence for the Bristol Olvmpusthey did not "productionize" the engine straight away but attempted to redesign it to give a dry thrust of 12,000 lb. This has proved theirundoing (it appears), since development has been unduly protracted. Last summer the total U.S.A.F. support amounted to a developmentcontract for 20 YJ67s; later last year the company are reported to have been informed that no production order would be placed. Aircraftoriginally scheduled to receive the J67 have been given other units, although an experimental J67 may still power the Republic XF-103research aircraft. T47. Nothing further has been heard of this projected shaft-drive version of the Olympus/J67 to supplement the information published on April 9th, 1954. Like the T49 (below) this was intended to be a derated engine, with a maximum output of 10,500 s.h.p. T49. For five years Wright have been persevering with a shaft-drive engine derived from the Sapphire, retaining virtually the original compressor and combustion chamber but having a third turbine stageand a large reduction gearbox mounted centrally within the intake casting. It is now being programmed for civil use, derated to maintain 6,500s.h.p. to 25,000ft and running at top temperatures some 300 deg F under those of the fully rated engine. Curtiss Turbolectric airscrews for thederated T49 are of relatively light weight and need not be designed to
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