Safran Helicopter Engines
| Safran Helicopter Engines | |
|---|---|
| legal form | |
| founding | 1938 |
| Seat | Bordes , France |
| Number of employees | 4905 |
| sales | 727 million euros |
| Branch | Engine manufacturer |
| Website | www.safran-helicopter-engines.com |
| Status: 2005 | |
Safran Helicopter Engines ( formerly: Turboméca ) is a French manufacturer of gas turbines for the aviation industry based in Bordes , Pyrénées-Atlantiques and a division of the Safran Group. The company was founded in 1938 by Joseph R. Szydlowski and André Planiol to develop and manufacture blowers, compressors and turbines for aviation. Emeric d'Arcimoles has been CEO since March 1, 2001 . The turnover in 2005 was 727 million euros, the number of employees was 4905 (12/2005), of which 997 were outside France. A total of over 50,000 units were manufactured up to and including 2006, of which around 14,000 are currently still in operation.
history
The first factory opened in Mézières-sur-Seine in 1939 , producing compressors for Hispano-Suiza . According to Jane’s , in June 1940, apparently shortly before the armistice (June 22, 1940), the company was instructed to relocate the plant to Bordes at the foot of the Pyrenees, today's headquarters. However, Turbomeca cites 1942 as the date when work began at the new location. Loaders for Hispano-Suiza and Gnôme-Rhône were also manufactured there .
After the Second World War, a group of 125 German engineers was assembled in Bregenz under French supervision in November 1945 , most of whom came from the former Daimler-Benz engine development department and arrived in Pau in July 1946 . The head of the group was the later chief designer of Daimler-Benz, Fritz Nallinger . At his suggestion, Turbomeca had campaigned to develop a jet engine with 59 kN thrust for a six- engine transatlantic aircraft, for which the company even received an order from the government. In addition, it was necessary to develop a shaft turbine with 2500 HP. However, it soon became apparent that a jet engine of this performance was not yet possible at that time. As a result, development was discontinued at the end of 1947 and most of the German employees returned home. However, 2 groups stayed with Turbomeca, who were now offered normal employment contracts. One group developed an axial compressor for the Aspin turbofan engine, the other developed the original model of the Turbomeca annular combustion chamber, which is still in use today.
The company management decided to concentrate entirely on small gas turbines. After the first with a radial compressor, annular combustion chamber and axial turbine of 44 kW had already been developed in 1946, the company received the order in 1947 for the further development of the TT 782 with an output of 74 kW. This service should also be delivered at an altitude of 6000 m. The engine was intended to drive a generator. This in turn resulted in the 118 kW Turbomeca Orédon shaft turbine, which went into series production.
The Turbomeca Arrius compressor unit then supplied the air for the blade tip drive of the series-built Sud-Ouest SO 1120 Ariel III helicopter , which was the first to be equipped with a gas turbine. The breakthrough came with the Turbomeca Artouste for the Aérospatiale Alouette II . For the development of this engine line were essentially Georg Oberlander and Dr. Ing. Heinrich Kühl is responsible.
In 1965 another plant was built in Tarnos . In 1966, Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Limited was founded with Rolls-Royce to jointly develop the Adour engine for the SEPECAT Jaguar .
In total, over 50 different turbo engines were developed, of which around 15 were produced in several variants in larger series.
In addition to the factories at the three locations, the company also owns the CGTM, a flight test center based at Pau Pyrénées Airport . The company Micro Turbo , based in Toulouse is also a subsidiary of Turbomeca, but is managed independently.
Current products
- Turbomeca Arrano
- Turbomeca Arrius
- Turbomeca Arriel
- Turbomeca TM 333
- Turbomeca Ardiden
- MTR390 (with MTU Aero Engines and Rolls-Royce )
- Turbomeca Makila
- Rolls-Royce / Turbomeca RTM322
- Turbomeca Astazou
- Turbomeca Artouste
- Turbomeca Turmo
- Rolls-Royce Turboméca Adour
Further products
- Turbomeca TT 782
- Turbomeca Orédon
- Turbomeca Aspin
- Turbomeca Astafan
- Turbomeca Arbizon
- Turbomeca Arrius
- Turbomeca Marboré
- Turbomeca TR281
- Turbomeca Bastan
- Turbomeca Turmastazou
- Turbomeca Palouste
- Turbomeca Palas
literature
- Kyrill von Gersdorff, Helmut Schubert, Kurt Grasmann: Aircraft engines and jet engines . Bernard & Graefe publishing house, 1995, ISBN 3-7637-6107-1
- Jane's all the world's aircraft 1979/80
- Jane's all the world's aircraft 1953
