Turbomeca Palouste

Palouste

Picture - Turbomeca Palouste

Type: Gas turbine
National origin: France
Manufacturer: Turbomeca, Blackburn Aircraft, Rolls-Royce Limited, Lucas Aerospace
Major applications: Sud-Ouest Djinn

The Turbomeca Palouste is a French gas turbine engine, first run in 1952. Designed purely as a compressed air generator, the Palouste was employed for helicopter rotor tip propulsion but was mainly used as a ground-based aircraft engine starter unit.

Design and development

Designed and built by Turbomeca, the Palouste was also built under license in Britain by Blackburn and Rolls-Royce. Originally conceived as an aircraft ground support equipment starter gas generator it was also used as propulsion for the Sud-Ouest Djinn and other tip jet powered helicopters.

The Palouste was a very simple unit, its primary purpose was to supply a high flow rate of compressed air to start larger jet engines such as the Rolls-Royce Spey as installed in the Blackburn Buccaneer (this aircraft had no on-board starting system). Air from the centrifugal compressor was divided between external supply (known as bleed air) and its own combustion chamber.

Several British naval aircraft were adapted to carry a Palouste in a wing mounted pod installation to facilitate engine starting when away from base.

A novel use of a surplus Palouste engine was its installation in a custom-built motorcycle known as the Boost Palouste. In 1986 this motorcycle broke an official ACU 1/4 mile speed record at 184 mph (296 km/h). The builder modified the engine to include a primitive afterburner device and noted that pitch changes due to braking or acceleration caused gyroscopic precession handling effects due to the rotating mass of the engine.

Applications

Bell Model 65
Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter
Sud-Ouest Djinn

Specifications (Blackburn Palouste)

Data from Hobby Gas Turbinesand Flight

General characteristics

Type: Gas generator
Length: 33.42 in (849 mm)
Diameter: 17.72 in (450 mm)
Dry weight: 187.5 lb (85 kg)

Components

Compressor: Single stage centrifugal
Combustors: Annular combustion chamber
Turbine: Two-stage axial flow
Fuel type: Kerosene
Oil system: Dry sump

Performance

Maximum power output:
Overall pressure ratio: 3.6:1
Thrust-to-weight ratio:
Air output: 1.65 lb/sec at 37 psi

Related development

Turbomeca Artouste

Comparable engines

Napier Oryx

Related lists

List of aircraft engines

Bibliography

Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9

Turbomeca Palouste Pictures and Turbomeca Palouste for Sale.

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia