PlaneSpottingWorld welcomes all new members! Please gives your ideas at the Terminal.

Rolls-Royce RB.108

From PlaneSpottingWorld, for aviation fans everywhere

The Rolls-Royce RB.108 was a British jet engine designed in the mid-1950s by Rolls-Royce specifically for use as a VTOL lift engine, i.e., an engine intended primarily for providing upwards thrust rather than for horizontal propulsion.

Design and development

Of squat, compact design for mounting vertically, the RB.108 differed from conventional turbojet engines in having its bearings and oil system designed for prolonged operation in the vertical attitude. First bench-tested in 1955 by Alan A. Griffith, who had conceived the idea of a specialised lift jet in 1941, thrust was 2,130 lbf (966.15 kg) from a weight of 269 lb (122 kg), giving a thrust/weight ratio of 8:1.

Applications

The RB.108 was used in the Short SC.1, which used four for lift with an additional one mounted at an angle at the rear for propulsion, and the Mirage Balzac, which used eight vertically-mounted RB.108s for lift. The Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW) SG 1262 used five RB.108s, three mounted in tandem on the centreline, with one RB108 either side.

The RB.108 was also the intended powerplant for several other VTOL aircraft designs, including one by Dornier.

Specifications (RB.108)

Data from:[1] Template:Jetspecs

See also

Related development

Related lists

See also

References

Notes

  1. Gunston 1989, p.150.

Bibliography

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

External links

Template:RRaeroengines

Template:Aeroengine-specs

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rolls-Royce RB.108".