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| The Plessey Solent is a compact twin shaft gas turbine engine intended for providing mechanical power for the starting of an aircraft propulsion engine. The Solent was built in the 1960s and the design originates from a larger Microturbo unit. The MK101 was fitted to the Phantom F4 aircraft and provided the starting system for the Rolls Royce Spey. The Solent was mounted at the front of the Spey engine and turned the high pressure spool via the accessory gearbox.
This gas turbine is designed simply as a "starter motor" it was consequently only intermittently rated, maximum output could only be maintained for the maximum of 1 minute. These units were prone to fires as repeated aircraft start attempts resulted in a very hot starter. Failure of the power turbine cut out mechanism would be spectacular, the epicyclic reduction gearbox and power turbine could burst out of the casing, ground crews never stood too close to a Phantom! A continuously rated Solent was built as an experimental ground generating set but was not put into production, this was probably due to poor fuel consumption, complexity and heat dissipation. An interesting and collectable small GT, some units have been modified for hobby applications, the gas generator makes a reasonable small turbo-jet, also twin shaft GTs are rare and can be converted for turbo-prop use. The Solent is similar in many ways to the Garrett JFS100 American unit. Click here for a link to a Solent Powered Go-Kart! More Solent Info and Pictures at Technologie-Entwicklung Baumgart |
