Napier Eland

1950s British aircraft turboshaft engine

Eland

Napier Eland on display at the Helicopter Museum (Weston).
Type  | Turboshaft/turboprop aero-engine
Manufacturer  | Napier & Son
First run  | 1953
Major applications | Fairey Rotodyne
Convair CV-540

The Napier Eland was a British turboshaft or turboprop gas-turbine engine built by Napier & Son in the early 1950s. Production of the Eland ceased in 1961 when the Napier company was taken over by Rolls-Royce.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Design and development
* 2 Variants
* 3 Applications
* 3.1 Turboshaft
* 3.2 Turboprop
* 4 Engines on display
* 5 Specifications (Eland N.El.6)
* 5.1 General characteristics
* 5.2 Components
* 5.3 Performance
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 7.1 Notes
* 7.2 Bibliography
* 8 External links

## Design and development[edit]

The Eland was first tested in 1953 in a Vickers Varsity aircraft.[2] Further flight proving was carried out from 1955 using the first production Airspeed Ambassador 2.[3] The Eland was dropped from production when Napiers was acquired by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1961.[2]

The Eland was used to power various aircraft including the Westland Westminster heavy-lift helicopter, the Canadair CL-66; a turbine-powered version of the Convair CV-340 for the Canadian military[2](later converted to Allison T-56 propjets after a number of engine failures), and the Fairey Rotodyne gyrodyne. In the Rotodyne, the Eland powered the tractor propellers for forward flight and a compressor, via a clutch and shaft arrangement, to feed the rotor tip-jets with compressed air for vertical flight.[4]

## Variants[edit]

Eland N.El.1
2,690 hp (2,010 kW) + 825 lbf (3.67 kN) residual thrust, static at sea level ICAN conditions.[5]
Eland N.El.3
Powerplant for the Fairey Rotodyne driving the propeller and an auxiliary compressor to feed the rotor tip jets 2,805 hp (2,092 kW) + 500 lbf (2.22 kN) residual thrust, static at sea level ICAN conditions.[5]
Eland N.El.4
3,765 hp (2,808 kW) + 610 lbf (2.71 kN) residual thrust, static at sea level ICAN conditions.[5]
Eland N.El.6
[6]
Eland N.El.7
The 504 adapted to helicopter / convertiplane, compressed air generator use.[6]
Eland E.211
The 504 adapted for mechanically driven helicopter rotors.[6]
Eland 504
(N.El.6)[6]
Eland 508
504 with increased max continuous rating.[6]

## Applications[edit]

Napier's Eland testbed Airspeed Ambassador at Farnborough SBAC Show 1955

### Turboshaft[edit]

* Westland Westminster

### Turboprop[edit]

* Airspeed Ambassador
* Canadair CC-109 Cosmopolitan (CL-66)
* Convair CV-540
* Fairey Rotodyne
* Vickers Varsity (one aircraft as an engine test bed in 1954)

## Engines on display[edit]

A turboshaft Eland is on display at the Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare.[7]

## Specifications (Eland N.El.6)[edit]

Data from Flight 29 August 1958 p.340[8]

#### General characteristics

* Type: Single-shaft turboprop
* Length: 120 in (3,000 mm)
* Diameter: 36 in (910 mm)
* Dry weight: 1,735 lb (787 kg)

#### Components

* Compressor: 10-stage axial flow
* Combustors: 6 chambers
* Turbine: 3-stage
* Fuel type: Jet fuel

#### Performance

* Maximum power output: 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) (eshp - equivalent shaft horse-power - adding power from residual thrust)

* Overall pressure ratio: 7:1
* Air mass flow: 31 lb/s (14 kg/s)
* Specific fuel consumption: 0.595 lb/h (eshp)
* Thrust-to-weight ratio: 2.0 eshp/lb (3.3 kW/kg)

## See also[edit]

Comparable engines

* Allison T56
* Bristol Proteus
* Ivchenko AI-20
* Lycoming T55
* Rolls-Royce Tyne

Related lists

* List of aircraft engines

## References[edit]

### Notes[edit]

1. ^ Gunston 1989, p.107.
2. ^ a b c "Napier Eland 504A", Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, retrieved 26 May 2008
3. ^ Jackson 1973, p. 26
4. ^ "A History of Fairey Engineering", WFEL.co.uk, archived from the original (doc) on 16 March 2007, retrieved 26 May 2008
5. ^ a b c Taylor, John W.R. FRHistS. ARAeS (1955). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955-56. London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co Ltd.
6. ^ a b c d e Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1959). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1959–60. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
7. ^ The Helicopter Museum - Fairey Rotodyne Archived 26 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 28 July 2009
8. ^ "British Aero Engines 1958". Flight: 340. 29 August 1958. Retrieved 18 December 2017.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9
* Jackson, A.J. (1973), British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume I, Putnam & Company Ltd, ISBN 0-370-10006-9

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Napier Eland.

* Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum - Napier Eland 504 information sheet
* "Eland 1959" a 1959 Flight article

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