The Rolls-Royce RR500 is a family of small

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

engines developed by Rolls-Royce Corporation. The RR500TP

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

variant was intended for use in small aircraft. The RR500TS was the

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaftpower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the exhaust ...

variant designed for light helicopters. Development of the RR500 was abandoned in 2012.

Design and development

The RR500 is a larger derivative of the

Rolls-Royce RR300 The Rolls-Royce RR300 is a turbine aircraft engine (turboshaft/turboprop) developed for the light helicopter/general aviation market. Rated at up to 300 shp (224 kW) at take-off power, the RR300 is a rebadged and downrated variant of the ...

, with the engine core scaled-up for increased power.Rolls-Royce expands small engine range RR500 turboprop for general aviation market
The basic weight of the engine with accessories is 250 lb (113 kg). The model produces around 500 shp (373 kW) for takeoff and can produce in continuous use. Like its predecessor the

Rolls-Royce Model 250 The Allison Model 250, now known as the Rolls-Royce M250, (US military designations T63 and T703) is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s. The Model 250 has been pr ...

and all turbine engines (including the competing

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...

), it is claimed to require less frequent maintenance than

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common feat ...

s of similar power, albeit with the higher maintenance costs associated with turbine engines. A RR500TS turboshaft variant was also under development. Development of the RR500 series ended in 2012.

Variants

;RR500TP : ;RR500TS :

Specifications (RR500 proposed)

References

Flying (magazine) ''Flying'', sometimes styled ''FLYING'', is an aviation magazine published since 1927 and called ''Popular Aviation'' prior to 1942, as well as ''Aeronautics'' for a brief period. It is read by pilots, aircraft owners, aviation enthusiasts and a ...

, Vol. 135 Issue 11, Nov. 2008, p. 32, "Rolls-Royce Launches Turboprop for Small Airplanes"

External links

Rolls-Royce RR500 Official page
{{Rolls-Royce plc aeroengines Rolls-Royce aircraft gas turbine engines 2000s turboshaft engines 2000s turboprop engines

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (RR500 proposed)

See also

References

External links