The General Electric F101 is an
afterburning turbofan
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...
. It powers the
Rockwell B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One"). It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet along with ...
strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range Penetrator (aircraft), penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unl ...
fleet of the
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
. In full afterburner it produces a thrust of more than . The F101 was
GE's first turbofan with an afterburner.
GE's F101 web page
Development
The F101 was developed specifically for the Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft, which became the B-1A. The F101 powered the four development aircraft from 1970 to 1981. The B-1A was officially cancelled in 1977. However the flight test program continued. General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
was awarded a contract to further develop the F101-102 engine variant. This turbofan eventually powered the B-1B from 1984, entering service in 1986. The B-1's four F101 engines helped the aircraft win 61 world records for speed, payload and range.
The GE F110 fighter engine is a derivative of the F101, designed using data from the F101-powered variant of the F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...
tested in the early 1980s. The F101 also became the basis for the highly successful CFM56 series of civil turbofans.
Applications
* Rockwell B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One"). It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet along with ...
Specifications (F101-GE-102)
See also
References
External links
F101 on GE Aviation's site
{{USAF gas turbine engines
Low-bypass turbofan engines
F101
1970s turbofan engines