Rolls-Royce Soar
| Soar/J81 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Turbojet |
| Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Limited |
| First run | January 1953 |
| Developed into | Rolls-Royce RB108 |
The Rolls-Royce RB.82 Soar, also given the Ministry of Supply designation RSr., was a small, expendable British axial-flow turbojet intended for cruise missile use and built by Rolls-Royce Limited in the 1950s.
Design and development
The Soar was developed in the early 1950s, and was first demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow in 1953 on each wingtip of a Gloster Meteor flying testbed.
The output of the improved RB.93 Soar was 1,750 lbf (7.8 kN). As an expendable device the life of the Soar engines was limited at 10 hours.
Applications
It was to be the intended powerplant for the "Red Rapier" missile project[1] one of the projects coming from the UB.109T operational requirement. Red Rapier was to be built by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd, Weybridge, Surrey as the Vickers 825. Development was cancelled in 1953. Three Soar engines were used on this design, two on the tips of the tailplane, and one on the tip of the fin. One-third scale models without engines were built and air launched from a Washington bomber (the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in RAF service) on the Woomera missile range to test the aerodynamics and autopilot operation.[2]
As the Westinghouse J81 it was a powerplant for the US AQM-35 missile [3]
It was employed as an auxiliary powerplant for the Italian Aerfer Ariete fighter design and also considered as a JATO powerplant for other aircraft.
The Soar project was cancelled in March 1965, at a reported total cost of £1.2 million.[4]
Specifications (RB.93 Soar)
Data from Gunston[5]
General characteristics
- Type: Single spool turbojet
- Length:
- Diameter:
- Dry weight: 267 lb (121.1 kg)
Components
- Compressor:
- Combustors: Annular
Performance
- Maximum thrust: 1,810 lb (8.04 kN)
- Thrust-to-weight ratio: 6.78 lbf/lb (0.066 kN/kg)
See also
- Related development
- Related lists
References
Notes
- ↑ Skomer.net,
- ↑ Ozz files - Drury affair
- ↑ US designation systems
- ↑ "Cancelled projects: the list up-dated" (PDF). Flight: 262. 17 August 1967.
- ↑ 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
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