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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1042.PDF
132 FLIGHT, 26 July 1957 AERO ENGINES 1957 . . . a recent $9m contract will extend production to mid-1958. This monththe J69 should pass its 150-hr qualification test, and a civil version will thereafter be marketed. Continental's J69 for piloted aircraft carries the Model number 352.Model 354 is an up-rated engine with a mass flow of 19.6 lb/sec, intended for the propulsion of drones and missiles. One of the mostimportant of this family is the J69-T-19A, of 1,000 lb-thrust, which powers the Ryan Q-2 Firebee; now on test at Holloman A.F.B. is thenew XQ-2B variant in which the J69 has regularly flown at heights greater than 53,500ft. A related engine is used in high-speed targetdrones by Radioplane, Inc. The latest versions of the J69, and their applications, are classified. T51. In its essentials this turboshaft unit stems from the Turbo-meca Artouste, and it is similarly employed in various aeroplanes and helicopters. No production has yet been ordered but a variety of T51 unitshave flown in Bell and Sikorsky helicopters and the Cessna XL-19C of the U.S. Army. The latter Service may conceivably order the FrenchAlouette II helicopter from Republic Aviation; should this occur Con- tinental will produce a corresponding version of the Artouste II as theModel 220-2. Alternatively, if orders do not justify such a move, Con- tinental would accept engines from Turbomeca, convert them to U.S.Army requirements and up-rate them to 425 h.p. for shipment to Republic. Continental are also ready to tool for an engine correspond-ing to the Artouste III, designated Model 219; rated at 600 h.p. this would fully meet Army requirements at 6,000ft and 95 deg F. Severalfixed-wing applications of the T51 are in prospect, including projected twins by Beech and Cessna. Piston Engines. Production in the big 1.3m sq ft plant at Muskegon,Mich., is almost entirely concentrated upon flat-four and flat-six engines for a variety of light aircraft. At present Continental provide the enginesfor almost half the piston-engined aeroplanes built in the U.S.A. The most powerful unit is the GSO-526 which is used in the four-enginedCessna 620. FAIRCHILD. Fairchild Engine Division, Fairchild Engine andAirplane Corporation, Deer Park, Long Island, N.Y. Originally an airframe company, Fairchild are now branching out into a wide rangeof diverse activities, not all of which are connected with aviation. Propul- sion activity started in 1947 when the company initiated the design ofthe J44. This unit started life as a simple turbojet for drone and missileapplications, and has since been developed in versions suitable for manned-aircraft installation. To it has now beeen added a more advancedturbojet programme, the J83. Fairchild Engine Division's research laboratories at Deer Park arespecially planned for small-turbine work. The gas-turbine development laboratory, representing an investment of several million dollars, has85,000 cu ft/min and 35,000 cu ft/min compressors, driven by a 12,000 h.p. synchronous motor, for feeding or exhausting four test cells.Under construction is a supersonic research facility. Late last month ground was broken for a 34,000 sq ft engineering building scheduled forcompletion on December 1. Fairchild J44-R-20. Special-purpose turbojet. Diagonal-flow (centrifugal eye andaxial periphery) compressor, annular combustion chamber with 12 burners and single-stage turbine. Basic diameter, 22in; length as shown, 88.Sin; dry weight,335 Ib with basic accessories; mass flow, 25 Ib/sec; pressure ratio, 2.5:1; maximum thrust, 1,000 Ib at 15,780 r.p.m. with s.f.c. of 1.5. This is a "long-life" engine. J44. First planned in 1947, this small and simple engine bears littlesimilarity to any previous aircraft powerplant. Its monocoque construc- tion was a particularly daring innovation. The first, short-life versionwas run in 1948, service-tested in 1949 and flown in a U.S. Navy missile test vehicle in 1950. Many hundreds of flights followed, and short-lifeversions of the J44 have been operational since February of this year in Ryan KDA-1 Firebee drones. In these aircraft J44s have flown at highsubsonic speeds at up to 49,000ft, and have been operated under arduous conditions. At least one J44 has been recovered from the seaafter eleven successive flights without needing overhaul or major parts- replacement. By the end of 1952 a 50-hr pre-flight-rating test and a 12.5-hr quali-fication test had been completed and the J44-R-3 has now been certi- ficated (ATC.288) as a 150-hr engine for piloted aircraft. Two of thelatter were used in the first Bell experimental VTOL machine, mounted on pivots so that their thrust could be directed either downwards orrearwards. For a.t.o. assistance a number of J44s are being fitted to the wing-tips of Fairchild C-123 Providers, and T.W.A. operate a J44-assisted C-82 on European cargo services. Chief application of the missile J44 concerns Fairchild's own Petrel air-to-surface weapon ofthe U.S. Navy. Last December the Navy placed a $3.2m contract for J44 product-improvement and further production. J83. Apart from the fact that the J83 is a completely new light-weight turbojet sponsored by the U.S. Air Force, very little information on the engine is available. It is rated at 2,000 lb and at present weighsapproximately 300 lb—figures which do not match those established by the competing G.EJ85. Contrary to earlier reports, the first prototypewas not bench-run until January of this year, but development appears to be quite satisfactory. It has been reported that Marquardt areresponsible for the development of an afterburner for the engine. U.S.A.F. contracts exceed $4.6m and work is also going ahead on acommercial-transport version suitable for the Fairchild M-185 and similar machines. FORD. Aircraft Engine Division, Ford Motor Co., 7401 SouthCicero Avenue, Chicago 29, Illinois. With an employment of more than 12,000 and no less than 6,000,000 sq ft of floor space, this divisionof the Ford Motor Company is the second source for the J57 and J75 turbojets designed by Pratt and Whitney. Considerably more than3,000 J57s have been shipped to the U.S. Air Force from Chicago, and a recent order for B-52 and KC-135 engines worth $73.6m brings thetotal backlog to almost $1B and will extend production into the early part of 1959. GENERAL ELECTRIC. The General Electric Company, AircraftGas Turbine Division, P.O. Box 198, Cincinnati IS, Ohio. In 1942, a mere fifteen years ago, General Electric had never built or designed anaero engine; today their flight propulsion activities are as versatile and widespread as those of any company in the world, and during the ensu-ing decade they should acquire a commanding position. As the General Electric Company is one of the world's industrial giants it is possiblefor its aero-engine business to operate in an unusually favourable manner. Research programmes can be allowed to consume exceedinglylarge sums without any direct return, and facilities for research, develop- ment and production can be provided irrespective of governmentassistance. During the 1930s G.E. developed and produced turbo-superchargersfor piston engines, and several hundred thousand of these were built for the U.S. Army Air Force during World War 2. This experience ledto the company's selection as the organization for developing and manu- facturing gas turbines of basically Whittle design when the latter wereintroduced to America in 1942. The first engine was the General Electric 1-A, virtually a Rolls-Royce Welland re-engineered to U.S. standardsand with design points changed to conform to constants already estab- lished for industrial compressors. The first wholly-G.E. turbojet wasthe 1-40 (now built as the Allison J33) and the company then boldly switched to the axial compressor. The first axial was the TG-180 (builtby Allison as the J35) which was followed by the refined TG-190 which became the J47. The company also designed an unsuccessful turbo-prop, the TG-100 or T31. During the past ten years G.E.'s prime aero-engine commitment hasbeen the manufacture of the J47 in vast quantities. While this was in progress the company developed for the U.S.A.F. a large and ambitiousturbojet designated J53; although successfully run at thrusts up to 23,750 lb with afterburner, no airframe application presented itselfand the engine never flew. From the J47 a more advanced turbojet designated J73 was evolved; this was built in moderate quantities and isnow also proving valuable as a hack in various research programmes. Later gas turbines are reviewed below. General Electric are also primecontractors in the fields of rocket motors and engines running on high- energy or nuclear fuels, and these operations are discussed under appro-priate sub-headings. A development which may find wide application is the use of enginecasings made from stainless honeycomb brazed at 2,500 deg F. Another factor affecting all the company's engines is their background of experi-ence in the overhaul of thousands of turbojets for the fighting services. They intend to maintain this work in future engines for both militaryand commercial operators. Other aviation fields in which the company is working include thedevelopment of complete missile systems; guidance for the Titan ICBM for the U.S.A.F.; design and manufacture of nose-cones for Atlas andThor, two more U.S.A.F. ballistic weapons; aircraft and missile elec- trical systems capable of operation at up to 500 deg C; armament systems,including the Vulcan multi-barrel gun; and such diverse fields as elec- tronics, instruments, fuel technology, aircraft accessories and pneumaticdrives, hydraulic systems and servomechanisms. Chief of the company's flight-propulsion organizations is the AircraftGas Turbine Division, with headquarters at Evendale, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The Evendale plant was opened in 1948 and has since been thechief production source for aero engines, as well as the centre for design, development and testing. Automatic computers and data-reductionequipment allow the engineers at Evendale to have final results while the engine is still cooling down. An exceedingly ambitious researchestablishment at Evendale is now almost complete, and the A.G.T. Division's facilities now represent an investment of almost exactly$100m, with an outlay of $15m annually for expansion. With the designation Small Aircraft Engine Department a sub-organization has responsibility for all operations relative to powerplants rated up to 7,500 h.p. or 5,000 lb unaugmented thrust, for applicationsin all airborne vehicles as well as marine craft, ground vehicles and transportable powerplants. The S.A.E.D. has over 6,000 employees, ofwhich 410 are qualified engineers, and it occupies over lm sq ft of floor in Lynn and Everett, Massachusetts, and Ludlow, Vermont. The depart-ment is at present working on numerous turbojet, turboshaft, turbo- prop and turbofan engines for supersonic traineis and fighter/bombers,missiles, drones, helicopters and a variety of transports. During the heyday of the J47 production at Evendale reached 900units per month. In 1956 the plant manufactured less than 200 engines during the year, and the company are taking steps to ensure that suchfluctuation—which can never be removed from all-military contracting —will not be repeated. The decision to enter the field of commercialoperations was taken over a year ago and the immediate product in this field is the CJ-805 turbojet. Sales of this engine alone could neverrecover the investment of more than $40m which is the initial outlay involved in entering the civil market. In fact the whole of the com-pany's flight-propulsion operations are being scheduled according to an overall study of requirements during the next 25 years. J47. This single-shaft turbojet has been built in greater numbersthan any other gas turbine. Since 1951 G.E. delivered over 31,000, and Studebaker and Packard contributed another 5,000, the majority being
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