| In
1953 the U.S. Navy asked for a helicopter turboshaft to weigh 400
lbs and deliver 800 hp. GE's prototype T58 first ran in
1955 weighing 250 lbs and delivered 1,050 hp. Two T58s powered
the first jet helicopter in the U.S., a modified HSS-1, in 1957. In
1959, the civil CT58 was the first jet helicopter engine
certified by the FAA.
Production ended in 1984 but not before the T58
became the basis for the LM100 gas generator and was license
built by de Havilland (now Rolls-Royce) as the Gnome, Alfa Romeo and
IHI. |
|
 | Turboshaft |
| Compressor: 10-stage axial |
| Four variable stators |
| Turbine: 2-stage LP/2-stage HP |
| Mass flow: 12 - 14 lbs/sec |
| Pressure ratio: 8 |
|
