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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0809.PDF
402 FLIGHT AERO ENGINES 1959 . . . maximum rating (5 min) is 493 h.p. at2,300 r.p.m.; dry weight is 785 lb. Alcion Still in the development stage, asmall number of prototypes have been sub- jected to extensive beiich testing and one ofthese will shortly be submitted to the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeronautica, EstebanTerradas, for official type-testing. Tigre G-IV-B.5 Made in great numbers inseveral versions, the Tigre remains in reduced production in its latest B.5 form. An inverted,air-cooled, four-in-line unit, it is ungeared and unsupercharged and has a maximum rating of148 h.p. at 2,300 r.p.m. Flecha The first Spanish flat-four, theFlecha was awarded a "Oficialmente Homo- logado" by the I.N.T.A. last year. Only asmall batch has been constructed up to the present time. SWEDEN FLYGMOTOR Svenska Flygmotor A.B.,Trollhdtten. Since 1950 this company has concentrated its activities chiefly upon twoturbojets, both originally of British design. These engines, which are described below,have both been extensively developed in Sweden, and Flygmotor are virtually self-sup-porting in being able to evolve improved types of engine and to design and develop completecontrol systems, accessories, afterburners and other equipment, completely unaided. Anindication of their ability is afforded by the fact that more than 1,000 RM2s and severalhundred RM5s have been delivered, and their failure rate in arduous military service hasbeen very low. Flygmotor are also developing an aircraft rocket motor, described below, andare working on subsonic and supersonic ramjets. RM2 This is the Swedish designation ofthe Flygmotor-buUt de Havilland Ghost. Bas- ing their work on the British Ghost 50, theSwedish engine is the only fighter Ghost to have a central (i.e., not bifurcated) intake.Production began in 1950, and some thousand had been delivered when contracts were com-pleted three years ago. All are fitted to the three versions of the Saab-29 fighter, attackand reconnaissance aircraft, and virtually all RM2s have been brought up to RM2Bstandard by fitting a short afterburner of Flyg- motor design. This was the first Swedishafterburner, and it established a national pat- tern in employing fully variable reheat aug-mentation, flameholders integrated with the burners and a reheat fuel pump driven by ableed-air turbine. The RM2B weighs 2,510 lb and has maximum ratings of 4,750 1b dry and6,200 lb with maximum reheat. RMS Under this designation Flygmotorhave manufactured a large number of Rolls- Royce Avon 100-series turbojets, under licencefrom the British company. The standard ver- sion is the RM5A, data for which are given in apanel; the basic engine corresponds closely to the British RA.7/RA.21 family, and the Flygmotor Avon RM5A (not illustrated). Military turbojet with afterburner, based on the Rolls-Royce Avon 100 series. Twelve-stage compressor, eight combustion chambers, two-stage turbine and S.F.A.- designed afterburner with two-position nozzle. Max diameter, across combustion chambers, 42.2in; overall length, cold, 2S1.96in; dry weight. 2,960.8 Ib; max sea- level static ratings, 9,480 Ib with reheat or 7,500 Ib dry at 7,950 r.p.m. with s.f.c. of 1.9 and 0.92, respec- tively, the mass flow and pressure ratio being 119 Ib/secand 6.5:1. Swedish derivative, equipped with a variable-augmentation afterburner, is the powerplant of the Saab-32A Lansen two-seat attack aircraft.The RM5A is no longer in production. RM6 Full production is now in progressupon a Swedish version of the Avon 200 with afterburner. The first Flygmotor model toreach the production stage was the RM6B, illustrated, which powers the Saab/32B Lansenall-weather fighter. The basic turbojet is a 10,000 lb thrust engine essentially similar tothe British RA.28, and it has been matched with a Flygmotor-designed afterburner of highefficiency. Features of the latter include a sharply diverging diffuser, a clearly definedmaximum-area section at which is located the assembly of circular vee-gutter flameholdersand fuel burners, and a fully variable nozzle wirh left- and right-hand eyelids. Production has also commenced upon amore advanced engine for the Saab-35A Draken all-weather intercepter. The basicturbojet in this case is a Swedish counterpart of the latest British fighter Avons of RA.24standard, undoubtedly with air-cooled turbine blades and a steel compressor casing to with-stand the internal pressures generated during supersonic flight at low altitudes. The ratingsof the Draken engine have not been divulged, but may be assumed to be approximately11,250 lb dry and 15,000 lb with full reheat from the Flygmotor afterburner. The latterassembly is of a later design than that fitted to the RM6B, and has a larger final nozzle. VR3 Under this designation Flygmotorhave been engaged in the development of a small liquid-propellant rocket motor, tailoredto the boost propulsion of aircraft. The propel- lants are H.T.P. and kerosine, and they are fedby turbopump to a single throatless chamber. Thrust is variable between 40 Der cent. and100 per cent under the control of a single lever which also governs the automatic start-ing and shut-down circuits. Oyerall length is approximately 3ft 3in; dry weight is 165 lb,exclusive of the turbopump group, and the thrust at 65,000ft is 5,700 lb. SWITZERLAND SINCE 1951 Sulzer Brothers at Winterthurhave manufactured at least 250 Ghost turbo- jets under licence from de Havilland Engines.A licence may be obtained in respect of a more advanced unit, such as the Sapphire 7 or J79. AEROJET Aerojet-General Corporation(Subsidiary of the General Tire & Rubber Company), Azusa, Cal. Aerojet-General claimto be the largest American rocket company and they are certainly the world's biggest producerof missile boosters and a.t.o. rockets. The company's largest propulsion contractis that for the XSM-68 Titan intercontinental ballistic missile for the U.S. Air Force. Thefirst stage of this huge weapon is powered by Flygmotor Avon RM6B (below). Military single- shaft turbojet with afterburner. Fifteen-stage com- pressor, can-annular combustion chamber with eight flame tubes, two-stage turbine and high-augmenta- tion afterburner with fully variable nozzle. Max diameter of engine, 41.5in; max diameter over after- burner, about 45in; overall length as depicted, about 270in; dry weight, probably about 3,400 Ib; max rating, probably about 10,000 Ib dry and 14,000 Ib with full reheat. an XLR87-AJ-1 package which incorporates apair of gimbal-mounted chambers, each rated at 150,000 lb at sea level and running on liquidoxygen and RP-1. The second stage has a single-chamber XLR91-AJ-1 rated at 60,000 lbat sea level on the same propellants. Aerojet are also likely to handle the bulk of theadvanced development and production of the solid-propellant propulsion system (the firststage of which incorporates four nozzles with jet deflectors) for the U.S. Navy Polaris ballisticmissile. AIRCOOLED MOTORS Air cooledMotors Inc., Liverpool Road, Syracuse 8, N.Y. Having lost most of the fixed-wing businessto Continental and Lycoming, Aircooled— manufacturers of the Franklin engines—areconcentrating on helicopter propulsion. The 6V4 flat-four and 6V6 flat-six vertical-crank-shaft engines are made in great quantity for Bells, Hillers and other applications. Thesewere described in our earlier engine issues, and the most recent development is the turbo-supercharged flat-six engine. Designated 6VS, and briefly described in our July 26, 1957,issue, this engine can hold its power of 225 h.p. up to 10,000ft. ALLISON Allison Division of Genera'Motors Corporation, Indianapolis 6, Indiana. Since our last engine review was written,Allison have concentrated their aero-engine work on a rather narrower front than pre-viously and are today devoting the major part of their effort to turboshaft engines. Never-theless, more than 90 per cent of the com- pany's engines at present in service are turbo-jets, the most important types being J33, J35 and J71. Full details of these have been givenin previous engine review issues (the last being on July 26, 1957) and there is very little thatcan be added, in view of the almost complete cessation of development of these three well-proven and well-known units. The only turbojet on which Allison have beenbusily engaged in recent years is a large single- shaft engine, rated at some 25,000 lb dry,intended for flight Mach numbers in excess of 2.5. A great deal of rig running has beencompleted and extensive experiments have taken place using a variety of high-energyfuels, but it now seems certain that the engine will not succeed in the face of the G.E. J93and the P. & W. J58. The military type num- ber for this engine was J89. After an unhappy and abysmally uninspiringdecade trying to evolve a good turboprop, Allison finally found the right formula withthe T56. This engine, which was really a direct outgrowth of the earlier T38 but properlyengineered, is now in wide service with the U.S.A.F. and R.A.A.F. and is performingadmirably. Its success has been instrumental in enabling the company to achieve commercialrewards with the closely related Model 501 turboprop, now entering large-scale airline ser-vice as the powerplant of the Lockheed Electra. Its successor is the entirely new Model 550,which now has a U.S.A.F. development con- tract as the T61. Allison's new hope for thefuture lies in the outstanding Model 250 turbo- shaft engine, which is likely to be the first gasturbine in the 250 h.p. class to offer an effec- tive combination of low specific consumptionand modest capital cost. Model 250/T63 As the aero division ofthe world's iargest privately owned automotive company, Allison are, from several viewpoints,in a singularly fortunate position. Their sheer size is, with the Model 250, enabling them totackle a task in which success has eluded all who have previously attempted it: to developa gas turbine rated at around 250 h.p. which can hold its own in first cost and operatingeconomy with established reciprocating engines. Allison are likely to succeed asa result of their engineering experience, exten- sive research facilities and ability to cost pro-duction engines over a tremendous total manufacturing run. It is to the U.S. Army that Allison owe thechance to go ahead with this engine. In the winter of 1957-8 that Service held a hard-fought competition for a 250 s.h.p. engine suit- able for the propulsion of a wide range ofvehicles, including fixed-wing aircraft, heli- copters, flying platforms, surface and amphi-bious craft and even small ships. Allison's
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