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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0028.PDF
Rolls-Royce RB.I78-6I twin-spool demonstrator turbofan. No design details revealed. Air mass flow, 700lb/sec. By-pass ratio, 2.75:1. Rating, 27,5001b. Diameter, 62.5in AERO ENGINES . . . Total civil flying time is more than 3.8 million hours, and maximum t.b.o. is 4,700hr. The 3,600 sii.p. marine Tyne has also been ordered for the Grumman PG(H) hydrofoil gunboat, this contract being the first for a marinised R-R turbine. R-R's sole example of a helicopter engine, the Gazelle free turbine turboshaft of Napier origin, continues in production at the Scottish factories as the 1,540 h.p. NGa.13 for the Westland Wessex 30 Series, and the higher-rated 1,600 h.p. NGa.22 constitutes an NGa.13 conversion for Wessex 3 and 32 Series aircraft. No further development of this engine is being under- taken by R-R at present. Only other production engine is the Avon turbojet, now in its sixteenth year of manufacture. Of its numerous civil and military applications, two are still being delivered, the Sud Aviation Caravelle VI N and R now at the end of their produc- tion run and powered respectively by the 12,2001b Mk 531 and 12,6001b Mk 533R variants of the Avon RA29/6, and the BAC Lightning T.5 and F.6, each powered by two RB.146 Avon Mk 301s of 13,2201b basic thrust, rising with afterburning to 16,3601b. Civil Avons have completed more than eight million hours' flying and have a maximum t.b.o. of 6,700hr. In military operation the Avon has more than six million hours to its credit. Avon gas generators are being supplied for industrial duties, in particular for peak- lopping turbo-generator sets and for gas pumping stations where the engines run on natural gas. In a recent R-R scheme, a marine Avon gas generator has been proposed for energising individual free turbines driving ACV lift and propulsion fans. Engines under development comprise the RB.153 turbofan, RB.162 lift jet, RB.172 and 178 turbofans, and the RB.193 vectored thrust turbofan. The RB.153 is the subject of a joint development agree- ment with MAN Turbo, and bench running of the engine continues primarily to pro- vide component operating experience, including the testing of Phantom Spey after- burners, and special designs of cooled turbine blading capable of entry tem- 30 peratures as high as 1,500-K. The sole application for the RB.153-61R engine with afterburner and switch-in thrust deflector was the EWR VJ101D V/STOL strike fighter which was cancelled during 1965. Basic thrust is 6,8501b, rising with after- burning to 11,6851b. As the RB.153-80, however, the engine was proposed by R-R last year as an alternative power unit for the Anglo-French VG project for which the SNECMA/BSE M45G has been designed. Substitution of the RB.153 would presumably assist in reducing development costs. Development continues of the RB.l 62, R-R's second generation lift jet, primarily for the VAK 191B V/STOL strike fighter which is programmed to fly next year. Other applica- tions are the Dornier Do31E which was scheduled to fly last month (without lift pods), and the Dassault Mirage III V, the second prototype of which crashed in November, only five months after its first flight. The VAK 191B will have two later RB.162-ls, the Do31E which is now apparently proceeding on a reduced budget, has eight 4,4001b RB.162-4Ds, and the Mirage III VO2 had eight 3,6401b RB.162-ls. Other possible applications for the lift jet include the Trident 3B, as a take-off and climb booster, and the Dornier Do-HSl project. Over 60 RB.162s have now been built out of a total programme of 86, and latest variant to be announced is the RB.162-81 of 6,0001b thrust and around 16:1 thrust/ weight ratio. This has the same external dimensions as the lower rated RB.162-30 but introduces an air-cooled turbine for the first time. Development of the RB.162 is funded by the British, French and German governments, and R-R. Most promising outlet for R-R's many years of lift jet work is likely to be via the US /UK government - to - government agreement of 1965 for development of an advanced lift jet. This agreement took practical shape in March last year when Allison was announced as the American company to partner R-R in the project. Although undoubtedly the resulting design will rely extensively on R-R's third generation lift jet project, the RB.l 89, the programme is under an Allison manager. Funding is being shared 50/50 by the two countries, and a demonstrator unit is scheduled to be on test this summer. A likely application for the ALJ is the US- FRG V/STOL fighter project to be designed by Republic and EWR-Sud. In addition to two vectored thrust turbofans, the aircraft is to have four 9,0001b lift jets of 20 to 24:1 thrust/weight ratio. The R-R/Turbomeca RB.172-T260 after- burning turbofan is the power unit for the BAC/Breguet Jaguar advanced trainer/light strike fighter, and is the subject of an Anglo-French government contract for joint R-R/Turbomeca design, development and manufacture. Rated at 4,5001b, rising with afterburning to about 7,0001b, the engine is scheduled to run in April and first flight of the Jaguar is planned for next year. R-R is responsible for design of the combustion system, turbines and afterburner, and Turbomeca for the fan, compressor and external wheelcase. Named Adour after a river passing near Turbomeca's plant in the Basses-Pyre^es, the engine has considerable potential as a major product for both companies. France plans to order 300 Jaguars, and Britain 150. Germany is also interested in the trainer version, and sales prospects for about 2,000 aircraft have been forecast by Breguet. An improved military version of the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 is also proposed as a possible RB.172 application. In July last year a jointly owned company, Rolls-Royce FLIGHT International, 5 January /967| Turbomeca Ltd, was formed to be respon-j sible for the development and manufacturing] programmes for the Adour. A civil derivative of the RB.172, desig-j nated RT.172 and rated at 4,4001b, has been] projected for use in executive and small) transport aircraft. One application at present under discussion is the Hawker I Siddeley HS.125. Third in a series of joint R-R/MAN j turbines, the RB.193 turbofan is being] developed as the lift-cruise engine for the] VAK 191B under an £8 million German Defence Ministry contract. Rated at 10,0001b, the RB.193 embodies BSE's vectored thrust principle and the Bristol company is to undertake a proportion of R-R's component manufacture. The engine I is scheduled to run this year, and flight I standard engines delivered in 1968. The VAK 191B will be powered by a single ] RB.193 and two RB.162s. Most recent engine to start development 1 testing is the 27,5001b RB.178-61 twin-spool demonstrator for the RB.178 family of unique triple-spool turbofans. Bench test- ing started in June last year and much useful data has been gained, this originally being intended to assist with the design of the 44,0001b tri-spool RB.178-51 of 6:1 b.p.r. This latter engine has sub- sequently been discarded as being rated too closely to the 41,0001b to 47,0001b P&W JT9D turbofan. However, the experience on the -61 is applicable to the full range of R-R's new advanced technology engines, I including the Trent, RB.204, RB.205 and] RB.207 projects with thrusts ranging from I 9,7301b to 52,0001b. All of these are tri-spool turbofans offer-1 ing a series of outstanding technical] features including low noise-level through! independent control of fan speed, a low! s.f.c. through the use of a high pressure ratio and high b.p.r., simple mechanical construction through omission of variable I stators and blow-off valves; good engine I handling through rapid response to control] and low starting torque. Pressure ratios as] high as 25:1, and b.p.r.s ranging from 3:1] to 6:1, are proposed. Most important at present of the com- pany's new ATEs is the RB.207. This I engine, which has a basic rating of 47,OO01b but is capable of covering the 45,0001b to 52,0001b bracket, is on offer for American and European airbus projects, including] the Boeing 757, Douglas D-966, Lockheed Rolls-Royce RB.162-81 single-shaft lift jet. Six-stage j axial compressor. Annular straight-through-flow com-1 bustion system. Single-stage axial turbine. Rating, I 6,0001b. Weight, 3751b. Diameter, 29in
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