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Nimbus | |
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| Rolls Royce Nimbus 10501 Turbo Shaft Engine |
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The Rolls Royce Nimbus gas turbine engine is related to a family of Turbomeca units which all adopt the same combustion chamber design. The core Nimbus is almost identical to the Palouste and Artouste units. The Nimbus differs with the addition of a free power turbine and a two stage axial compressor which preceeds the centrifugal impeller. Dating from the 1960s this engine was used to power the Westland Wasp and Scout Helicopters, a few of which are still flying today. Not such a small collectable engine but a straight forward power plant adaptable to a number of "Ground" applications. The Nimbus features a fully mechanical fuel control system with a compressor and power turbine governor. This mechanical fuel system allows the engine to be safely operated at idle speed when not connected to a load. |
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| Westland Scout Helicopter |
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| Nimbus 105 Exhaust End |
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Nimbus Specification Power Output.....................................600-900 BHP |
| Nimbus Control Box (Plug and Play) |
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| It is possible to operate a Nimbus gas turbine at idle speed with the addition of a control and instrument panel. The Nimbus engine is fitted with an electrical wiring harness which when plugged into a control box allows the engine to be started and mounted in the ground transportation stand. The wiring harness accesses all the engine electrical sensors and accessories. The engine features an integral oil reservoir and requires only an external oil cooler bypass hose and a gravity feed of jet fuel. The gas generator throttle lever is placed at idle and the HP cock opened when the gas generator reaches 10% rpm. The power turbine gearbox is fitted with a governor which prevents the unloaded turbine from overspeeding. Caution should still be exercised if the engine is to be accelerated beyond the idle speed of 48%. Two heavey duty batteries are required to supply the control box with 24V power and operate the engine mounted starter generator. |
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| Nimbus Control and Instrumentation (Engine at Idle) |
| The control panel provides switches to test and operate the engine in different modes. The engine may be wet and dry cycled and also the ignitor individually tested. The instrumentation provides readouts of gas generator %rpm, exhaust gas temperature, gas generator oil pressure and temperature and gearbox oil pressure and temperature. |