Rolls-Royce Avon
The
Avon turbojet was
Rolls-Royce's first
axial flow jet engine, and went on to become one of their most successful post-
WWII engine designs. It was used in a wide variety of aircraft, both military and civilian, and only ended production in 1974, after almost 25 years of production.
The Avon design started under was headed by Cyril Lovesey, who had previously been in charge of
Merlin development. The engine was intended both as an experiment in axial-flow engines, as well as (if successful) a replacement for the 5,000 lbf (22 kN)
Nene. Originally known as the
AJ.65 for
Axial Jet, 6,500 lbf which was designed by
Alan Arnold Griffith, the engine developed as a single-spool design with a 15 stage compressor,
mass flow rate of 150 lb/s (68 kg/s) and a pressure ratio of 7.45. Development started in 1945 and the first prototypes were built in 1947. Introduction was somewhat slowed by a number of minor problems.
The engine eventually entered production in 1950, the original RA.3/Mk.101 version providing 6,500 lbf (29 kN) thrust in the
English Electric Canberra B.2. Similar versions were used in the Canberra B.6,
Hawker Hunter and
Supermarine Swift. Uprated versions soon followed, the RA.7/Mk.114 producing 7,350 lbf in the
de Havilland Comet C.2, the RA.14/Mk.201 of 9,500 lbf (42 kN) in the
Vickers Valiant and the RA.26 of 10,000 lbf (44 kN) used in the Comet C.3,
Sud Aviation Caravelle, and Hawker Hunter F.6. An Avon-powered de Havilland Comet 4 flew the first scheduled transatlantic jet service in 1958. The line eventually topped out with the 12,690 lbf (56,450 N) and 16,360 lbf (72,770 N) in
afterburner RA.29 Mk.301/2 used in later versions of the
English Electric Lightning. Other aircraft to use the Avon included the
de Havilland Sea Vixen and
Fairey Delta.
The Avon was also produced under license by
Svenska Flygmotor, the RA.3/Mk.109 as the
RM5, and an uprated RA.29 as the
RM6 with 17,110 lbf (76,110 N). The RM5 powered the
Saab Lansen, while the RM6 was the main powerplant of the
SAAB Draken.
In the US, the Avon was used to power the vertical landing
Ryan X-13 Vertijet aircraft (in RA.28-49 form) and the
Martin B-57.
The Avon is still in operational service with the RAF in the Canberra PR.9.
The Avon continued production, mostly for the Caravelle and Lightning, until 1974, by which time over 11,000 had been built. The engine garnered an impressive safety record over that time.
* The Avon is also currently marketed as a compact, high reliability, stationary power source. As the
AVON 1533, it has a maximum continuous output of 21,480 shp (16.02 MW) at 7,900 rpm and a thermal efficiency of 30%. In 1982, an Avon engine on gas pumping duty in a Canadian installation ran for 53,000 hours before requiring a major overhaul. In 1994, another industrial Avon engine ran non-stop for 476 days.
* As a compact electrical generator, the type
EAS1 Avon based generator can generate a continuous output of 14.9 MW.
* On
October 4 1983, Richard Noble's
Thrust2 vehicle, powered by a single
Rolls-Royce Avon 302 jet engine, set a new land-speed record of 1,019.46 km/h (633.46 mph) at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
*
Rolls-Royce*
List of aircraft engines
