Napier Eland
| Eland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Napier Eland on display at the Helicopter Museum (Weston). | |
| Type | Turboshaft/turboprop aero-engine |
| Manufacturer | Napier & Son |
| First run | 1953 |
| Major applications | Fairey Rotodyne Convair CV-540 |
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The Napier Eland was a British turboshaft or turboprop gas-turbine engine built by Napier & Son in the early 1950s. Production of the Eland ceased in 1961 when the Napier company was taken over by Rolls-Royce.[1]
Design and development
The Eland was first tested in 1953 in a Vickers Varsity aircraft.[2] Further flight proving was carried out from 1955 using the first production Airspeed Ambassador 2.[3] The Eland was dropped from production when Napiers was acquired by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1961.[2]
The Eland was used to power various aircraft including the Westland Westminster heavy-lift helicopter, the Canadair CL-66; a turbine-powered version of the Convair CV-340 for the Canadian military[2](later converted to Allison T-56 propjets after a number of engine failures), and the Fairey Rotodyne gyroplane. In the Rotodyne, the Eland powered the tractor propellors for forward flight and a compressor, via a clutch and shaft arrangement, to feed the rotor tip-jets with compressed air for vertical flight.[4]
Variants
- Eland N.El.1
- 2,690 hp (2,010 kW) + 825 lbf (3.67 kN) residual thrust, static at sea level ICAN conditions.[5]
- Eland N.El.3
- Powerplant for the Fairey Rotodyne driving the propeller and an auxiliary compressor to feed the rotor tip jets 2,805 hp (2,092 kW) + 500 lbf (2.22 kN) residual thrust, static at sea level ICAN conditions.[5]
- Eland N.El.4
- 3,765 hp (2,808 kW) + 610 lbf (2.71 kN) residual thrust, static at sea level ICAN conditions.[5]
- Eland N.El.6
Applications
Turboshaft
Turboprop
- Airspeed Ambassador
- Canadair CC-109 Cosmopolitan
- Canadair CL-66
- Convair CV-540
- Fairey Rotodyne
- Vickers Varsity (one aircraft as an engine test bed in 1954)
Engines on display
A turboshaft Eland is on display at the The Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare.[6]
Specifications (Eland N.El.6)
Data from Flight [7]
General characteristics
- Type: Single-shaft turboprop
- Length: 120 in (3,048 mm)
- Diameter: 36 in (914 mm)
- Dry weight: 1,735 lb (787 kg)
Components
- Compressor: 10-stage axial flow
- Combustors: 6 chambers
- Turbine: 3-stage
- Fuel type: Jet fuel
Performance
- Maximum power output: 3,500 eshp (2,610 kW)
- Overall pressure ratio: 7:1
- Air mass flow: 31 lb/sec (14 kg/s)
- Specific fuel consumption: 0.595 lb/hr/eshp
- Thrust-to-weight ratio: 2.0 eshp/lb (3.3 kW/kg)
See also
- Comparable engines
- Related lists
References
Notes
- ↑ Gunston 1989, p.107.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Napier Eland 504A", Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, retrieved 2008-05-26
- ↑ Jackson 1973, p. 26
- ↑ "A History of Fairey Engineering" (doc), WFEL.co.uk, retrieved 2008-05-26
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Taylor, John W.R. FRHistS. ARAeS (1955). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955-56. London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co Ltd.
- ↑ The Helicopter Museum - Fairey Rotodyne Retrieved: 28 July 2009
- ↑ Flightglobal archive - Flight, August 1958 Retrieved: 28 July 2009
Bibliography
- Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9
- Jackson, A.J. (1973), British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume I, Putnam & Company Ltd, ISBN 0-370-10006-9
External links
- Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum - Napier Eland 504 information sheet
- "Eland 1959" a 1959 Flight article
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