The Microturbo TRS 18 is a small, low thrust

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

designed and built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the 1970s. It was installed on both manned and unmanned aircraft.

Design and development

The TRS 18 was originally designed for self-launching motor gliders but was adapted to power conventional

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

and unmanned vehicles ( RPV). It was originally designed and developed by Sermel, a competitor company to Microturbo which the latter took over in 1971. It is a simple, low thrust, reverse flow single shaft engine with a centrifugal compressor and axial turbine. It is built in three modules: an intake section containing starter and lubrication systems; a centre section with compressor and turbine on ball bearings; and an aft section with the folded

combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Interna ...

s and tail-pipe. It gained its US

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type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

in May 1976.

Variants

''Data from'' Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1984-85 ;TRS 18-046:Production version, primarily intended for manned applications with full self start provision, oil lubrication and temperature and pressure transducers. ;TRS 18-056: Cut down

gas generator A gas generator is a device for generating gas. A gas generator may create gas by a chemical reaction or from a solid or liquid source, when storing a pressurized gas is undesirable or impractical. The term often refers to a device that uses a ...

or core engine version, fuel lubricated and only 62% the weight of the 18-046 version but the same thrust; intended for RPVs. ;TRS 18-075: Intended respectively for the Flight Refuelling ASAT target drone. Includes an engine driven alternator and fuel and oil lubrication pumps. Dry weight as 18-046. Take-off thrust increased to 1.15 kN (260 lb st) and maximum continuous thrust to 1.10 kN (247 lb st). ;TRS 18-076: Intended for the Meteor-Mirach 100. Includes an engine driven alternator and fuel and oil lubrication pumps. Dry weight as 18-046. Take-off thrust increased to 1.15 kN (260 lb st) and maximum continuous thrust to 1.10 kN (247 lb st).

Applications

''Data from'' Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1984-85 Manned *

Bede BD-5J The Bede BD-5 Micro is a series of small, single-seat homebuilt aircraft created in the late 1960s by US aircraft designer Jim Bede and introduced to the market primarily in kit form by the now-defunct Bede Aircraft Corporation in the early 197 ...

* Caproni Vizzola A-21SJ * Chagnes Microstar (version of

Rutan VariViggen The Rutan VariViggen is a homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. The aircraft is a tandem two-seater of primarily wooden construction with a delta wing and a canard foreplane. The VariViggen is powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320 ae ...

) * EFF Prometheus 19 * EFF Prometheus 12 *

Microjet 200 The Microjet 200 was a French jet trainer designed and built by Microjet SA. Design and development The aircraft was designed by Microjet SA as a vehicle for the small gas turbine engines produced by Microturbo and as a two-seat lightweight jet ...

NASA AD-1 The NASA AD-1 was both an aircraft and an associated flight test program conducted between 1979 and 1982 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards California, which successfully demonstrated an aircraft wing that could be pivoted obliqu ...

slew wing Unmanned * Flight Refuelling ASAT * France-engins Mitsoubac * Meteor-Mirach 100

Specifications (TRS 18-046)

References

{{Microturbo aeroengines 1970s turbojet engines Centrifugal-flow turbojet engines