Turbomeca Palouste
| Industry | Aerospace engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1938 |
| Headquarters | Bordes , France |
| Products | Gas turbine engines, including the Palouste |
| Website | www |
The Turbomeca Palouste is a French-designed gas turbine engine that first operated in 1952. Its primary function was to serve as a compressed air generator, predominantly utilized as an aircraft starter on the ground. Additionally, it was employed to power rotor tip jets on various helicopter models.
Design and development
Manufactured by Turbomeca and produced under license in the United Kingdom by both Blackburn and Rolls-Royce, the Palouste's initial purpose was to act as a gas generator for ground support starters. Beyond this, it provided propulsion for the Sud-Ouest Djinn and other helicopters equipped with tip-jet systems.
This engine delivered a high volume of compressed air to initiate larger jet engines, such as the Rolls-Royce Spey powering the Blackburn Buccaneer, which did not have built-in starting mechanisms. Airflow from its centrifugal compressor was divided between supplying external systems (bleed air) and feeding its own combustion chamber.
A number of British naval aircraft incorporated Palouste units housed within wing-mounted air starter pods, enabling engine ignition in locations away from their home bases.
In an innovative adaptation, a surplus Palouste engine was transformed into the Boost Palouste motorcycle, which established an official ACU quarter-mile speed record at in 1986. This version included a rudimentary afterburner, and the engine’s rotating mass induced distinctive handling characteristics due to gyroscopic precession.
Variants
- Palouste IV
- Gas generator used for powering the Sud-Ouest S.O.1221 Djinn and other helicopters utilizing tip-jet propulsion.
- Palouste IVB
- Palouste IVC
- Palouste IVD
- Palouste IVE
- Palouste IVF
- Palouste 502
- (P.102 and P.104) Manufactured by Blackburn / Bristol Siddeley / Rolls-Royce specifically for air-starter applications.
- Autan
- An evolution of the Palouste delivering increased compressed air mass flow.
- Autan 2
- Incorporates one axial and one centrifugal compressor stage.