Tornado APU

[corestore]

(Mods - hope this is on-topic for here; it's probably the place to find the people with the answers)

I recently bought a KHD T312 on ebay; this is a Tornado APU. See:

http://www.corestore.org/turbine.htm

I'd be interested in any inside info the people who actually use & maintain the damn things can give me about these - are they reliable? What tends to go wrong with them?

I haven't seen one in situ on a Tornado so I'm making assumptions about how they work. I'm presuming they're coupled to some kind of transfer gearbox between the two engines, so they can run either as an APU, motoring the accessories and providing bleed air for the packs, or in 'engine start' mode, where the APU is accelerated and the drive transmitted (how? is there a clutch in the system?) to the engine being started.

Is the above vaguely correct?

I was puzzled by the fact that it wasn't a two-shaft design, like the units with which I'm familiar (Lucas starter on the Pegasus, Plessy Solent on the Spey).

Many thanks.

Mike

[L J R]

Tell me young man...



Exactly why did you buy a Tornado APU?



Are you hoping it would start the Tornado you bought on e-bay last month?




.

[Griz]

It powers the right hand gear box via a friction clutch. A cross drive clutch can be shut to connect the left hand gear box> It is used for engine starting and maintainance stuff on the ground. Not used in flight.... but that's not important right now.

My question is this...how the bl00dy hell did this get on ebay? First flying gloves, then boots, now this! Is BuffHoon secretly selling us off bit by bit?

PS...you don't happen to have a spare rudder actuator do you?

[BEagle]

Just don't install it in a vehicle to give yourself some extra speed like that Darwinian did with an old Sidewinder motor!

[country calls]

Please check your PMs for a lot of boring tech info!

[corestore]

L J R - for the hell of it!

Gritz - a lot of surplus ends up on ebay sooner or later. There's a complete turbine-powered Belgian UAV up there now . Sorry, negative on the rudder actuator.

BEagle - that's exactly what I'm planning to do. A go-cart, maybe an Ariel Atom. Maybe even a microlight. I'm guessing it's about 80hp?

country calls - top info! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks mate!

Mike

[L J R]

Their reliability is sometimes questionable, I have had the occasional non start at home, but they occasionally also fail to start at sunnier spots. Bit of a problem seems two or three troops have to get to you while on the OTF and purge it prior them starting it. (Normally at least an extra 2 day lay-over waiting).

Be sure the fire detection system works, lots of fuel leaks of late......


.

[Jobza Guddun]

Sometimes the igniters don't have enough spark to start, in which case a couple of squirts of meths down the exhaust often does the trick. Making sure you get your hand out of the way sharpish obviously.

OOeerrr.Hope the JEngO doesn't see this.

Using it on a cart? I'll keep an eye on the Darwins then....

[country calls]

It has to be said that fitting one in a vehicle would not be dangerous at all. The jet efflux is hardly enough to part your hair and Shaft horsepower wise there isnt really enough to pull the skin off a rice pudding. That is why it was replaced with the E for enhanced APU.

Check your emails Mike for a bit more useless triv.

CC

[The Rocket]

Don't know about there being not enough efflux to part your hair!!

And if you start it a few times with the air bleed open, you'll find there's enough turbine to part your head from your shoulders!!