98-424: The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI is a British limousine made from 1968 to 1990 by Rolls-Royce . A total of 374 Phantom VIs were made, of which fewer than 40 were manufactured in the last decade of production. The exterior is almost identical to the facelifted Phantom V . Most of the coachwork was created by Mulliner Park Ward , usually in limousine form, although a handful of landaulets were made. The Phantom VI
196-803: A "five-shilling meal" at the Swan and Royal hotel in Clitheroe , Stanley Hooker and Ernest Hives of Rolls-Royce agreed with Spencer Wilks of the Rover Car Company that Rolls-Royce would take over top secret work on the development of the jet engine. An exchange of assets followed with Rover and in the post- World War II period Rolls-Royce made significant advances in gas turbine engine design and manufacture. The Dart and Tyne turboprop engines were particularly important, enabling airlines to cut times for shorter journeys whilst jet airliners were introduced on longer services. The Dart engine
294-569: A few weeks on the RB211 he came to understand that £50 million is peanuts." – Stanley Hooker. The RB211's initial reliability in service was not as good as had been expected because of the focus of the development programme on meeting the engine's performance guarantees. Early deliveries were of the RB211-22C model, derated slightly from the later -22B. A programme of modifications during the first few years in service improved matters considerably, and
392-520: A full cowl nacelle with deep-chute forced mixer as already present on the -535E4. These were the first versions to feature FADEC . This was later adopted by GE and Pratt & Whitney for their engines. The -524H was also offered as a third engine choice on the Boeing 767 , and the first of these entered service with British Airways in February 1990. These would have been the final developments of
490-455: A new factory in Derby was opened in 1908. The First World War brought the company into manufacturing aero-engines. Joint development of jet engines began in 1940, and they entered production in 1944. Rolls-Royce has since built an enduring reputation for the development and manufacturing of engines for military and commercial aircraft. In the late 1960s, Rolls-Royce was adversely affected by
588-464: A period of rapid advance due to the introduction of the high bypass concept, which provided for greater thrust, improved fuel economy and less noise than the earlier low-bypass designs. Rolls-Royce had been working on an engine of the required 45,000 lbf (200 kN) thrust class for an abortive attempt to introduce an updated Hawker Siddeley Trident as the RB178 . This work was later developed for
686-416: A yacht, Silver Ghost . Unofficially the press and public immediately picked up and used Silver Ghost for all the 40/50 cars made until the introduction of the 40/50 Phantom in 1925. The new 40/50 was responsible for Rolls-Royce's early reputation with over 6,000 built. Its chassis was used as a basis for the first British armoured car used in both world wars . Aero-engine manufacturing began in 1914 at
784-504: Is a British family of high-bypass turbofan engines made by Rolls-Royce . The engines are capable of generating 41,030 to 59,450 lbf (182.5 to 264.4 kN) of thrust . The RB211 engine was the first production three-spool engine and turned Rolls-Royce from a significant player in the aero-engine industry into a global leader. Originally developed for the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar , it entered service in 1972 and
882-445: Is emphasised by Qantas ' adoption of RB.211-524 power for its new Boeing 747s – the only aircraft on which all big three fans are available. Qantas found that British Airways' Boeing 747s fitted with RB211s burnt roughly 7% less fuel than its JT9D-equipped fleet, a saving of about $ 1 million a year per aircraft, at today's prices." Rolls-Royce continued to develop the -524, increasing its thrust through 51,500 lbf (229 kN) with
980-681: The Bentley 3½ Litre . Advertised as "the silent sports car" and very much in the Rolls-Royce mould, it was a private entry by Eddie Hall (but supported by Rolls-Royce) in the 1934, 1935 and 1936 RAC Tourist Trophy sports car races on the Ards Circuit , where it recorded the fastest average speed in each year (ahead of Lagondas and Bugattis). This helped the Sales Department as old Bentley customers had been inclined to doubt that
1078-477: The British government sold it to the public in a share offering . Rolls-Royce plc still owns and operates Rolls-Royce's principal business, although, since 2003, it is technically a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc , a listed holding company . Henry Royce started an electrical and mechanical business in 1884. He made his first car, a two-cylinder Royce 10, in his Manchester factory in 1904. Henry Royce
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#17327806616221176-498: The Hawker Siddeley Trident , BAC One-Eleven , Grumman Gulfstream II and Fokker F28 Fellowship . During the late 1950s and 1960s there was a significant rationalisation of all aspects of British aerospace and this included aero-engine manufacturers. In 1966 Rolls-Royce acquired Bristol Siddeley (which had resulted from the merger of Armstrong Siddeley and Bristol Aero Engines in 1959) and incorporated it as
1274-702: The Meteor , was developed for the Cromwell tank . The Meteor's development completed in 1943 the same team at the Belper foundry restarted work on an eight-cylinder car engine widening its uses and it became the pattern for the British Army's B range of petrol engines for post war combat vehicles in particular in Alvis 's FV600 range, Daimler 's Ferret , Humber 's Hornet and Pig and Austin 's Champ . After
1372-710: The Ministry of Defence and used during World War II for the manufacture of Mosquito and Halifax aircraft. For a number of years, Rolls-Royce used the site for the manufacture of helicopter engines until the site closed in June 1993. The former Rolls-Royce factory at Watford is now known as the Leavesden Film Studios and has produced world-famous films, including the James Bond , Star Wars and Harry Potter series. The amalgamations and disappearances of
1470-664: The Rolls-Royce 10 hp , was unveiled at the Paris Salon in December 1904. Rolls-Royce Limited was formed on 15 March 1906, by which time it was apparent that new premises were required for production of cars. After considering sites in Manchester, Coventry , Bradford and Leicester , it was an offer from Derby 's council of cheap electricity that resulted in the decision to acquire a 12.7 acres (51,000 m ) site on
1568-473: The Rolls-Royce 30 hp . Initially designated the 40/50 hp, this was Rolls-Royce's first all-new model. In March 1908, Claude Johnson , Commercial Managing Director and sometimes described as the hyphen in Rolls-Royce , succeeded in persuading Royce and the other directors that Rolls-Royce should concentrate exclusively on the new model, and all the earlier models were duly discontinued. Johnson had an early example finished in silver and named, as if it were
1666-558: The Royal Aircraft Factory asked Rolls-Royce to design a new 200 hp (150 kW) engine. Despite initial reluctance, they agreed, and during 1915, developed Rolls-Royce's first aero engine, the twelve-cylinder Eagle . This was quickly followed by the smaller six-cylinder Hawk , the 190 hp (140 kW) Falcon and, just before the end of the war, the larger 675 hp (503 kW) Condor . Throughout World War I, Rolls-Royce struggled to build aero engines in
1764-486: The Trent 700 . The -535E4 is considered by many to be an extremely reliable engine, and achieved 180-minute ETOPS approval on the 757 in 1990. When Rolls-Royce was developing the -22, it realised that it would be straightforward to develop a version of the engine for land-based power generation , and in 1974 the industrial RB211 was launched. When the -524 arrived shortly afterwards, its improvements were incorporated in
1862-503: The compressor area running at different speeds. In addition to allowing each stage of the compressor to run at its optimal speed, the triple-spool design is more compact and rigid, although more complex to build and maintain. Several designs were being worked on at the time, including a 10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust design known as the RB203 intended to replace the Spey . Work started on
1960-520: The -524, but when Rolls developed the successor Trent engine, it was found it could fit the Trent 700's improved HP system to the -524G and -524H. These variants were lighter and offered improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions; they were designated -524G-T and -524H-T respectively. It was also possible to upgrade existing -524G/H engines to the improved -T configuration, and a number of airlines did this. The -524 became increasingly reliable as it
2058-411: The -524C, then 53,000 lbf (240 kN) in the -524D which was certificated in 1981. Notable airline customers included Qantas , Cathay Pacific , Air New Zealand , Cargolux and South African Airways . When Boeing launched the heavier 747-400 more thrust was required, and Rolls responded with the -524G rated at 58,000 lbf (260 kN) thrust and then the -524H with 60,600, both introducing
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#17327806616222156-543: The -535C for the PW2037 version. Boeing put Rolls-Royce under pressure to supply a more competitive engine for the 757, and using the more advanced -524 core as a basis, the company produced the 40,100 lbf (178,000 N) thrust RB211-535E4 which entered service in October 1984. While not as efficient as the PW2037, it was more reliable and quieter. Visible differences include a long cowl with no jet nozzle protruding beyond
2254-591: The 16 series) appears to have been the engine proposed for the Vickers Superb DB.265 ( VC10 ), with four engines powering the high capacity transatlantic airliner. There are perhaps many reasons why the RB.178 failed. Chief among them was Boeing declining to offer the Rolls-Royce engine on the 747. The RB.178 was cancelled in May 1966 and in June 1966 Rolls-Royce indicated it did not want to battle with P&W over
2352-493: The 1950s and 1960s left a small number of major airframe manufacturers based in only a few countries. The competition for the very large contracts to supply their engines grew intense. Expensive research and development became vital. Real profits came from the maintenance contracts which might peak a whole human generation later. By the 1980s it was said that each generation of aero engines cost around 10 times that of its parent. At this time Rolls-Royce employed 80,000 people and it
2450-404: The 1987 issue of shares to members of the public Rolls-Royce was by then one of only three enterprises outside USSR and China able to design develop and produce large gas turbine engines. At that time its engines were installed in the aircraft of more than 270 civil carriers and were used by 110 armed services and 700 operators of executive and corporate aircraft. In addition, its turbines powered
2548-675: The 47,500 lbf (211 kN) thrust RB207 to be used on the Airbus A300 , before, with the withdrawal of the UK from the Airbus programme, it was cancelled in favour of the RB211 programme. Rolls-Royce was also working on a series of triple-spool designs as replacements for the Conway, which promised to deliver higher efficiency. In this configuration , three groups of turbines spin three separate concentric shafts to power three sections of
2646-639: The Avro Manchester with its unreliable Rolls-Royce Vulture engines), Vickers Wellington (twin-engine); it also transformed the American North American P-51 Mustang into a competitor for the best fighter of its time, its engine a Merlin engine built by Packard under licence. Over 160,000 Merlin engines were produced, including over 30,000 by the Ford Motor Company at Trafford Park, Manchester. During
2744-480: The Boeing 747. In September 1966 Rolls-Royce revealed its decision to launch an Advanced Technology Engine (A.T.E) family covering thrusts ranging from 10,000lbf (RB.203) through to 60,000lbf. (RB.207). The A.T.E family introduced new technologies such as the triple-shaft architecture, an annular combustor and a structurally integrated power-plant (nacelle). Both planes also required new engines. Engines were undergoing
2842-594: The Bristol Siddeley division. Bristol Siddeley, with its principal factory at Filton , near Bristol , had a strong base in military engines, including the Olympus , Viper , Pegasus (vectored thrust) and Orpheus . They were also manufacturing the Olympus 593 Mk610 to be used in Concorde in collaboration with SNECMA. They also had a turbofan project with SNECMA. According to the prospectus published for
2940-534: The Conway replacement engine in July 1961 and a twin-spool demonstrator engine to prove the HP compressor, combustor, and turbine system designs, had been run by 1966. Rolls-Royce chose the triple-spool system in 1965 as the simplest, lowest cost solution to the problem of obtaining lower fuel consumption and reduced noise levels at a constant power setting. Work on the RB211 as essentially a scaled-down RB207 began in 1966-7 with
3038-642: The E4 was offered on the Russian Tupolev Tu-204-120 airliner, entering service in 1992. This was the first time a Russian airliner had been supplied with western engines. The -535E4 was also proposed by Boeing for re-engining the B-52H Stratofortress , replacing the aircraft's eight TF33s with four of the turbofans. Further upgrading of the -535E4 took place in the late 1990s to reduce emissions, borrowing technology developed for
Rolls-Royce Phantom VI - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-712: The L-1011, as well as the Boeing 747 . Rolls-Royce tried unsuccessfully to sell the RB211 to Boeing in the 1960s, but the new -524 offered significant performance and efficiency improvements over the Pratt & Whitney JT9D which Boeing had originally selected to power the 747. In October 1973 Boeing agreed to offer the RB211-524 on the 747-200, and British Airways became the first airline to order this combination which entered service in 1977. Flight International stated in 1980: "The importance placed on fuel saving by airlines
3234-701: The Minister of Defence), Sir St. John Elstub (managing director of Imperial Metal Industries ), and Sir Charles Elworthy (former Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Defence Staff ). The new aircraft with its three RB211 engines left USA for the first time and arrived in Paris on 1 June 1971. At Palmdale California the L-1011 received its US Federal Aviation Administration's certificate of airworthiness on 14 April 1972, nine months late. On
3332-560: The RB.178 was £2.6 million. As a comparison, the GE and P&W companies were awarded nearly $ 20 million by the US Department of Defense to develop and build the TF39 and STF200 technology demonstrators. The RB.178 was built on the reliable and economic advantages inherent in the Conway and, given that engine's heritage, the new engine's performance looked certain. The RB.178 (designated
3430-711: The RB211-06 for the L-1011 . The new engine was to be rated at 33,260 lbf (147,900 N) thrust and combined features of several engines then under development: the large high-power, high-bypass design from the RB207 and the triple-spool design of the RB203. To this was added one new piece of technology, a fan stage built of a new carbon fibre material called Hyfil developed at the RAE Farnborough . The weight saving
3528-578: The Sultan of Brunei. This car was named Rolls-Royce Cloudesque and sometimes referred to as Rolls-Royce Phantom VII . The exterior is reminiscent of a stretched Phantom V Limousine; the extra length being added at the B-pillar. The boot is redesigned, looking more like that of a Silver Seraph . The headlights were designed in a Silver Cloud III style (but with chromed eyelids), hence the name Cloudesque . Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce Limited
3626-519: The assets of Rolls-Royce from the Receiver, and shortly afterwards signed a new contract with Lockheed. This revised agreement cancelled penalties for late delivery, and increased the price of each engine by £110,000. Hugh Conway (managing director RR Gas Turbines), persuaded Stanley Hooker to come out of retirement and return to Rolls-Royce. As technical director he led a team of other retirees - including Cyril Lovesey and Arthur Rubbra - to fix
3724-472: The bank would withdraw its overdraft facility on which Rolls-Royce depended at that time. Nevertheless, believing that war was likely to be short-lived the directors initially decided not to seek government work making aero engines. However, this position was quickly reversed and Rolls-Royce was persuaded by the War Office to manufacture fifty air-cooled V8 engines under licence from Renault . Meanwhile,
3822-449: The bypass duct. Partial mixing of hot and cold airflows takes place in the integrated or common nozzle. It was also the first to use a wide chord fan blade which increases efficiency, reduces noise and gives added protection against foreign object damage . Probably the most important single -535E order came in May 1988 when American Airlines ordered 50 757s powered by the -535E4 citing the engine's low noise as an important factor: this
3920-468: The colour of the Rolls-Royce radiator monogram was changed from red to black; because the red sometimes clashed with the coachwork colour selected by clients, and not as a mark of respect for the death of Royce later that year as is commonly stated. The British government built a shadow factory in Crewe in 1938 for Rolls-Royce where they could build their Merlin and Griffon aero engines. Car production
4018-451: The day the chairman of Lockeed said "...we know that in airline service it (RB211) will prove itself to be one of the leading power plants in aviation history". The first airliner was delivered to Eastern Air Lines on 5 April 1972 but it had been beaten in the race to production by McDonnell Douglas 's DC-10 . Rolls-Royce Motors Limited was incorporated on 25 April 1971, two and a half months after Rolls-Royce fell into receivership. Under
Rolls-Royce Phantom VI - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-525: The engine had insufficient thrust, was over weight and its fuel consumption was excessive. The situation deteriorated further when in May 1970 the new Hyfil (a carbon fibre composite) fan stage, after passing other tests, shattered when a chicken carcass was fired into it at high speed as part of the bird ingestion test. The company had been developing a titanium blade as an insurance against difficulties with Hyfil , but this meant extra cost and more weight. It also brought its own technical problems when it
4214-507: The first car being completed on January 17, 1921, that being a Silver Ghost with a documented chassis price of US$ 11,750 ($ 200,715 in 2023 dollars ). When the factory closed in 1931, 2,944 total vehicles had been produced. It was located at the former American Wire Wheel factory on Hendee Street, with the administration offices at 54 Waltham Ave. Springfield was the earlier location for the Duryea Motor Wagon Company ,
4312-552: The first certificated engines being scheduled to be available by December 1970 at 33,260lb take-off thrust and at a price of $ 511,000 each. In February 1968, American Airlines had chosen the Rolls-Royce RB211 to power its order for up to 50 McDonnell-Douglas DC-10s. On 7 March 1968, the Washington correspondent of The Times wrote of an attempt being made by Congress to block Rolls-Royce's bid to supply engines for
4410-562: The first generation three-engine jets. According to Cownie, Gunston, Hayward and the UK Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), the roots of the advanced RB.178 go back to 1961 when Rolls-Royce officially initiated work on a high by-pass ratio aero-engine as a replacement for the Conway . The company went ahead with the project and under the leadership of Adrian Lombard built the twin-spool demonstrator. Overall development costs of
4508-719: The government's request. The first model, the Rolls-Royce Eagle, entered production in 1915. Two Eagles powered Alcock and Brown 's first non-stop trans-Atlantic crossing by aeroplane mounted on their converted Vickers Vimy bomber. In 1921, Rolls-Royce opened a new factory in Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States to help meet a three-year backlog demand where a further 1,703 "Springfield Ghosts" and 1,241 Phantoms were built. This factory, called Rolls-Royce of America, Inc., operated for 10 years, with
4606-407: The industrial RB211 which was designated RB211-24. The generator was gradually developed over the following years and is still marketed today as a range of generators producing 25.2–32 MW. Many of its installations have been in the offshore oil and gas production industries. An advanced 25 MW class WR-21 Intercooled Recuperated (ICR) gas turbine was derived for marine propulsion. The -535E4
4704-540: The location where the first American gasoline-powered vehicle was built. Bodies for American assembly were supplied by Brewster & Co. in Long Island City, New York . After the First World War, Rolls-Royce successfully avoided attempts to encourage British car manufacturers to merge. Faced with falling sales of the 40/50 Silver Ghost in short-lived but deep postwar slumps Rolls-Royce introduced
4802-411: The mid 1970s, Boeing was considering designs for a new twin-engined aircraft to replace its successful 727 . As the size of the proposed plane grew from 150 passengers towards 200, Rolls-Royce realised that the RB211 could be adapted by reducing the diameter of the fan and removing the first IP compressor stage to produce an engine with the necessary 37,400 lbf (166,000 N) thrust. The new version
4900-529: The mismanaged development of its advanced RB211 jet engine and consequent cost over-runs, though it ultimately proved a great success. In 1971, the owners were obliged to liquidate their business. The useful portions were bought by a new government-owned company named "Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited", which continued the core business but sold the holdings in British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) almost immediately and transferred ownership of
4998-466: The naval vessels of 25 different nations. Over 175 industrial customers operated Rolls-Royce gas turbines for power generation, gas and oil pumping and other industrial purposes. Its single most important customer was the United Kingdom's government. In the preceding five years about 70 per cent of production went outside the United Kingdom. Leavesden Aerodrome , Watford was originally owned by
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#17327806616225096-419: The new Crewe Bentley could out-perform its famous predecessors. Immediately after World War II (when fully-tooled pressed-steel cars were produced in the factory, rather than chassis sent to a coachbuilder for a custom-built body ) until 2002, standard Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars were usually nearly identical – Bentleys were badge engineered ; only the radiator grille and minor details differed. In 1933,
5194-528: The ownership of the receiver, it began to trade in April 1971 – manufacturing motor cars, diesel and petrol engines, coachwork and other items previously made by Rolls-Royce's motor car and diesel divisions and Mulliner Park Ward. It continued to take on precision engineering work on sub-contracts. In June 1971, it acquired all the business and assets used by the motor car and diesel divisions of Rolls-Royce and Mulliner Park Ward. Rolls-Royce Motors' permitted uses of
5292-472: The period of the next two years. Design of a Phantom VII based on the Silver Shadow's body was discussed in the 1970s, but plans were scrapped. No prototypes were built. A production Rolls-Royce Phantom VII was rolled out in 2003. Up to her death in 2022, Elizabeth II had two Rolls-Royce Phantom VI automobiles – the 1977 Silver Jubilee Car and a more conventional 1986 model. These vehicles were
5390-634: The plant to be shut down. The continuing support of the trade creditors was also achieved by the receiver in spite of threats to demand immediate payments in full and to withdraw supplies. The first asset sold was British Aircraft Corporation bought equally by Vickers and GEC. The receiver floated Rolls-Royce Motors in 1973. The new owner, Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited, had among its board members Lord Cole (a former chairman of Unilever), Sir Arnold Weinstock (managing director of GEC), Hugh Conway (managing director Rolls-Royce Gas Turbines), Dr Stanley Hooker (Rolls-Royce Bristol), Sir William Cook (an adviser to
5488-415: The point of arrogance, had slid from bad to worse when their great leader, Lombard, had been so suddenly plucked from them in 1967. His death had left a vacuum which nobody could fill ... " – Stanley Hooker In September 1970, Rolls-Royce reported to the government that development costs for the RB211 had risen to £170.3 million – nearly double the original estimate. The estimated production costs now exceeded
5586-419: The profitable but now financially insignificant car division to Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings Limited , which it sold to Vickers in 1980. Rolls-Royce obtained consent to drop the '1971' distinction from its company name in 1977, at which point it became known once again as "Rolls-Royce Limited". The Rolls-Royce business remained nationalised until 1987 when, after having renamed the company to "Rolls-Royce plc",
5684-420: The projected United States airbus. Representative Robert Taft Jr. of Ohio had marshalled opposition because of a report that Rolls-Royce had won approval for the engine. On 9 March 1968, The Times reported that President Lyndon Johnson had received written protests from six senators and five representatives, from Ohio and New Mexico – states that would benefit if a US manufacturer was selected. Their complaint
5782-580: The quantities required by the War Office . However, with the exception of Brazil Straker in Bristol, Rolls-Royce resisted pressure to license production to other manufacturers, fearing that the engines' much admired quality and reliability would risk being compromised. Instead the Derby factory was extended to enable Rolls-Royce to increase its own production rates. By the late 1920s, aero engines made up most of Rolls-Royce's business. Henry Royce's last design
5880-456: The range of diesel engines included: In 1907, Charles Rolls, whose interests had turned increasingly to flying, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Royce and the other directors to design an aero engine. When World War I broke out in August 1914, Rolls-Royce (and many others) were taken by surprise. As a manufacturer of luxury cars, Rolls-Royce was immediately vulnerable, and Claude Johnson thought
5978-489: The recognition Rolls-Royce had no resources left and it voluntarily entered receivership 4 February 1971. There were said to have been acrimonious telephone conversations between US president Richard Nixon and the British prime minister Edward Heath but these were subsequently denied. Responding to questions as to how the situation could have arisen the chief executive advised that in their calculations they were guided by
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#17327806616226076-664: The remaining capital of Park Ward Limited which, since 1936, in conjunction with Rolls-Royce had been building short production runs of all-metal saloon bodies on Bentley chassis. In 1959, Rolls-Royce bought coachbuilder H J Mulliner and the two businesses were put together as H J Mulliner Park Ward. Luxury cars did not fit with the new mood of post-war austerity. After starting design and development of what became their C series diesel engine range in 1948, Rolls-Royce began to produce diesel engines in 1951. By 1955, it provided diesel engines for automotive, railway, industrial, earth-moving and marine use. Sentinel (Shrewsbury) Limited
6174-528: The remaining problems on the RB211-22. The engine was finally certified on 14 April 1972, about a year later than originally planned, and the first TriStar entered service with Eastern Air Lines on 26 April 1972. Hooker was knighted for his role in 1974. Speaking of a famous banker in relation to the RB211: "We (Rolls-Royce) added a zero to his stature; he used to think £5 million a lot of money, but after
6272-428: The response was a 35,400 lbf (157,000 N) thrust version of the RB211 designated RB211-10. There followed a period of intense negotiation between airframe manufacturers Lockheed and Douglas, engine suppliers Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney , and the major US airlines. During this time prices were negotiated downwards and the required thrust ratings were increased. By early 1968, Rolls-Royce
6370-500: The sale. However the government would not fix a purchase price for the assets until the situation became clearer because without a continuing business many of them might be worthless. In the meantime the government would use the assets to continue the activities of the aero-engine, marine and industrial gas turbine and small engine divisions that were important to national defence, the collective programmes with other countries and to many air forces and civil airlines. A new company (1971)
6468-536: The series has since matured into a highly reliable engine. Although originally designed for the L-1011-1, Rolls-Royce knew that the RB211 could be developed to provide greater thrust. By redesigning the fan and the IP compressor, Hooker's team increased the engine's thrust to 50,000 lbf (220 kN). The new version, which first ran on 1 October 1973, was designated RB211-524, and would be able to power new variants of
6566-406: The significant increases in passenger numbers and air traffic which were then being forecast by the industry. In Europe, large capacity airliner concept studies had been carried out by both private and government organisations since the late 1950s and early 1960s. Many of the studies conducted by the aviation companies were weighted towards a 200 to 300 seat aircraft, with a high cycle performance that
6664-578: The small sports/racing car maker and potential rival, after the latter's finances failed to weather the onset of the Great Depression . Rolls-Royce stopped production of the new Bentley 8 Litre , which was threatening sales of their current Phantom, disposed of remaining Bentley assets and using just the Bentley name and its repute. After two years of development Rolls-Royce introduced a new and quite different ultra-civilised medium-size Bentley,
6762-561: The smaller, affordable Twenty in 1922, effectively ending the one-model policy followed since 1908. The new 40/50 hp Phantom replaced the Silver Ghost in 1925. The Phantom III, introduced in 1936, was the last large pre-war model. A strictly limited production of Phantoms for heads of state recommenced in 1950 and continued until the Phantom VI ended production in the late 1980s. In 1931, Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley ,
6860-549: The southern edge of that city. The new factory was largely designed by Royce, and production began in early 1908, with a formal opening on 9 July 1908 by Sir John Montagu . The investment in the new company required further capital to be raised, and on 6 December 1906, £100,000 of new shares were offered to the public . In 1907, Rolls-Royce bought out C.S. Rolls & Co. The non-motor car interests of Royce Ltd. continued to operate separately. During 1906 Royce had been developing an improved six-cylinder model with more power than
6958-407: The success of their estimates in the launching of their Spey engine. Had the government simply nationalised Rolls-Royce it would have been unable to avoid the obligations to Lockheed. The situation was handled in the usual manner with the assets being sold for cash, in this case to the government, leaving the massive liabilities to be dealt with by Rolls-Royce Limited using the funds realised by
7056-729: The time, this demanded three engines to provide redundancy. Other airlines also favored three engines. Lockheed and Douglas responded with designs, the L-1011 TriStar and DC-10 respectively. Both had three engines, transcontinental range and seated around 300 passengers in a widebody layout with two aisles. The wide-body McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 was representative of the innovative aircraft and aero-engine technologies which were then being adopted by US and European airframe manufacturers to provide airlines with aircraft of very large carrying capacity and short/medium to long range. These very large capacity aircraft were needed to address
7154-480: The two main official state cars until the introduction of the two Bentley State Limousines in 2002. When it was used by Elizabeth II, the standard Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament was replaced by a model of Saint George slaying the dragon. Nataša Pirc Musar , President of Slovenia , also owns a Phantom VI; it was previously owned by Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy . Three other Phantom models were built between 1995 and 1997, also by order of
7252-407: The various Rolls-Royce trade marks were very precisely defined. At the end of 1972, Rolls-Royce Motors employees in the United Kingdom numbered 5,855 in the car division and 2,311 in the diesel division, for a total of 8,166 people. In May 1973, the business was sold to Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings Limited in preparation for its public flotation . Rolls-Royce RB211 The Rolls-Royce RB211
7350-468: The war most Rolls-Royce flight testing of engines was carried out from Hucknall Aerodrome . The Merlin crossed over into military land-vehicle use as the Meteor powering the Centurion tank among others. Many Meteor engines used engine blocks and parts that failed requirements for high performance engines, but were suitable for use in the derated 480 kW (640 hp) Meteor. In December 1942, over
7448-479: The war, in 1946, Rolls-Royce and Bentley car production moved to Crewe where they began to assemble complete Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars with body pressings made by the Pressed Steel Company (see W. A. Robotham ). Previously they had built only the chassis, leaving the bodies to specialist coach-builders. In 1939, Rolls-Royce brought one of the specialist coachbuilders completely in-house by buying
7546-545: The £230,375 selling price of each engine. The project was in crisis. By January 1971 Rolls-Royce had become insolvent , and on 4 February 1971 was placed into receivership , seriously jeopardising the L-1011 TriStar programme. Because of its strategic importance, the company was nationalised by the Conservative government of Edward Heath , allowing development of the RB211 to be completed. As Lockheed
7644-551: Was Britain's 14th largest company in terms of manpower. It was generally known that problems had recently arisen requiring government support of the RB211 programme as one outcome of intense financial competition with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric for the original RB211 contract. In the new year of 1971 financial problems caused largely by development of this new RB211 turbofan engine designed and developed for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation 's new L-1011 TriStar led, after several government-provided cash subsidies, to
7742-471: Was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce . Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes , they quickly developed a reputation for superior engineering by manufacturing the "best car in the world" The business was incorporated as "Rolls-Royce Limited" in 1906, and
7840-511: Was based on the utilisation of the game-changing new technology of the high by-pass ratio aero-engine. Between 1964 and 1967, Hawker Siddeley 's examination of British European Airways (BEA)'s requirements produced the 160-seat HS.132 and the 185-seat HS.134; both offered the prospect of a 25–30% reduction in seat mile costs over aircraft then in service. Both of the designs would have used two new-technology Rolls-Royce RB.178 aero-engines of 30,000lbf to provide superior operating performance over
7938-435: Was bought in 1956. Sentinel made machine tools and industrial locomotives. Rolls-Royce took over Sentinel's Shrewsbury factory for diesel engine production and all its diesel work was transferred there. West Riding manufacturer of diesel shunting locomotives, Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Limited , was added to the group in 1963. In 1973, when Shrewsbury activities were put under the umbrella of new owner, Rolls-Royce Motors,
8036-552: Was considerable over a similar fan made of titanium, and gave the RB211 an advantage over its competitors in terms of power-to-weight ratio . Despite knowing that the timetable was challenging for an engine incorporating these new features, Rolls-Royce committed to putting the RB211 into service in 1971. Lockheed felt that the new engine enabled the L-1011 to offer a distinct advantage over the otherwise similar DC-10 product. However, Douglas had also requested proposals from Rolls-Royce for an engine to power its DC-10, and in October 1967
8134-557: Was designated RB211-535. On 31 August 1978 Eastern Airlines and British Airways announced orders for the new 757 , powered by the -535. Designated RB211-535C, the engine entered service in January 1983. This was the first time that Rolls-Royce had provided a launch engine on a Boeing aircraft. Eastern Airlines president Frank Borman called the -535C "The finest airline engine in the world". In 1979 Pratt & Whitney launched its PW2000 engine, claiming 8% better fuel efficiency than
8232-481: Was developed, and the -524H achieved 180-minute ETOPS approval on the 767 in 1993. An RB211 may have a thrust specific fuel consumption around 0.6 lb/(lbf·h). The -524L, begun in 1987 to allow further growth in the A330 and 777 market, was more extensively redesigned, the considerable differences incorporated leading to the engine eventually receiving the name Trent , under which name development has continued. In
8330-454: Was discovered that only one side of the titanium billet was of the right metallurgical quality for blade fabrication. In addition, the project suffered a setback with the death of Chief Engineer Adrian "Lom" Lombard in July 1967, a loss that was described as Rolls-Royce having been "deprived of one of the finest trouble-shooting engineers in the industry". "It was all too obvious that the Derby engineers, normally proud and self-confident to
8428-555: Was incorporated that May to purchase substantially the whole of the undertakings and assets of the four divisions of Rolls-Royce connected with gas turbine engines. The original company, Rolls-Royce Limited, was placed in liquidation on 4 October 1971. Asking their own government for support Lockheed warned that a switch to either Pratt & Whitney or General Electric engines would delay production by an extra six months and might force Lockheed into bankruptcy. The receiver negotiated with Lockheed which consented to waive damages allowing
8526-673: Was introduced to Charles Rolls at the Midland Hotel, Manchester on 4 May of that year. Rolls was proprietor of an early motor car dealership, C.S. Rolls & Co. in Fulham . In spite of his preference for three- or four-cylinder cars, Rolls was impressed with the Royce 10, and in a subsequent agreement on 23 December 1904 agreed to take all the cars Royce could make. There would be four models: All would be badged as Rolls-Royces and be sold exclusively by Rolls. The first Rolls-Royce car,
8624-479: Was itself in a vulnerable position, the British government required that the US government guarantee the bank loans that Lockheed needed to complete the L-1011 project. If Lockheed (which was itself weakened by the difficulties) had failed, the market for the RB211 would have evaporated. Despite some opposition, the US government provided these guarantees. In May 1971, a new company called "Rolls-Royce (1971) Ltd." acquired
8722-658: Was moved there in 1946 for space to construct bodies and to leave space for aero engines at Derby. The site was bought from the government in 1973. It is now Bentley Crewe . In 1940, a contract was signed with the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan, for the production of Merlin aero-engines for World War II in the USA. Production focused on aero engines but a variant of the Merlin engine, known as
8820-427: Was offering a 40,600 lbf (181,000 N) thrust engine designated RB211-18. On 29 March 1968 Lockheed announced that it had received orders for 94 TriStars, and placed an order with Rolls-Royce for 150 sets of engines designated RB211-22. The RB211's complexity required a lengthy development and testing period. By Autumn 1969 Rolls-Royce was struggling to meet the performance guarantees to which it had committed:
8918-655: Was renamed, in 1989, to become the basis of the Rolls-Royce Trent family of engines when the RB211-524L was renamed to the Trent. In 1966, American Airlines announced a requirement for a new short-medium range airliner with a focus on low-cost per-seat operations. While it was looking for a twin-engined plane, aircraft manufacturers needed more than one customer to justify developing a new airliner. Eastern Airlines had expressed interest, but required greater range and needed to operate long routes over water. At
9016-408: Was soon replaced by separate front and rear air conditioning units. In a 1979 upgrade the engine capacity was increased to 6,750 cc (412 cu in), a 3-speed automatic gearbox with torque converter was substituted. In 1990, the last Rolls-Royce Phantom VI chassis were built. However, as the completion of the coachwork by Mulliner Park Ward took around 18 months, the last cars were made in
9114-554: Was that 'not adequately balanced information was given during talks between representatives of airlines and the British Government concerning the American Government's position on buying foreign engines'. The US Congress was concerned that the import of foreign engines would result in a US payments deficit of $ 3,800 million and the loss of 18,000 to 20,000 jobs. On 23 June 1967, Rolls-Royce offered Lockheed
9212-658: Was the Merlin aero engine, which was first flown in prototype form in 1935, although he had died in 1933. This was developed from the R engine, which had powered a record-breaking Supermarine S.6B seaplane to almost 400 mph (640 km/h) in the 1931 Schneider Trophy . The Merlin was a powerful supercharged V12 engine and was fitted into many World War II aircraft: the British Hawker Hurricane , Supermarine Spitfire , de Havilland Mosquito (twin-engine), Avro Lancaster (four-engine) (a development of
9310-439: Was the exclusive engine to power the L-1011. Mismanagement of the initial development and consequent cost issues led to the effective nationalisation of Rolls-Royce Limited , to save the workforce and the engine businesses important to the UK and many other aerospace and aircraft operating companies. In the early 1970s, the engine was reckoned by the company to be capable of at least 50 years of continuous development. The RB.211
9408-462: Was the first time since the TriStar that Rolls-Royce had received a significant order from a US airline, and it led to the -535E4's subsequent market domination on the 757. Unusually, at the time of the announcement made by American, selection of the -535E4 was made public prior to the selection of the 757, though this was welcome news to both Rolls-Royce and Boeing. After being certified for the 757,
9506-468: Was the last Rolls-Royce with a separate chassis . It featured coil springs in front, leaf springs and live axle in rear, and drum brakes on all four wheels. The car was powered by a 6,230 cc (380 cu in ) 90-degree V8 with a bore of 104 mm (4.1 in) and stroke of 91.5 mm (3.60 in) with twin SU carburettors , coupled to a 4-speed automatic gearbox . The initial, single unit
9604-665: Was used in Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy , Avro 748 , Fokker F27 Friendship , Handley Page Herald and Vickers Viscount aircraft, whilst the more powerful Tyne powered the Breguet Atlantique , Transall C-160 , Short Belfast , and Vickers Vanguard , and the SR.N4 hovercraft . Many of these turboprops are still in service. Amongst the jet engines of this period was the RB163 Spey , which powers
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