The Safran Arrano is a

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 ...

engine for two-to-three ton single-engine and four-to-six ton twin-engine

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s, developed by

Safran Helicopter Engines Safran Helicopter Engines, previously known as Turbomeca, is a French manufacturer of low- and medium-power gas turbine turboshaft engines for helicopters. The company also produces gas turbine engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbin ...

, outputting .

Development

First bench tested in February 2014 in Bordes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, its thermodynamic core comes from the

Clean Sky The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (CSJU) is a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the European aeronautics industry that coordinates and funds research activities to deliver significantly quieter and more environmentally ...

Tech 800 demonstrator, first tested in April 2013. It powers the Airbus Helicopters H160 which made its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

Marignane Marignane (; oc, Marinhana) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the ...

on 27 January 2016. By October 2017, it has amassed 4,000h of testing and 700h of flight time, the first production units should be delivered in early 2018 and the H160 should enter service in 2019. It passed blade-out tests, continued operation with no

lubrication Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and wear and tear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology. Lubrication mechanisms such as fluid-lubric ...

, altitude trials in 2016 in

Saclay Saclay () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It had a population of 3,067 in 2006. It is best known for the large scientific facility CEA Saclay, mostly dealing with nuclear and p ...

and in 2017

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from an ...

should be tested in all operating conditions for certification. By October 2018, the programme had accumulated 7,500h, including 1,500h of flight time, certification testing was close to the end and most of the documentation should be submitted by the end of the year. The turboshaft received its type certificate during the June 2019

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...

, before EASA approval for the H160 planned for the fourth quarter and first delivery to a US customer for corporate transport in May 2020.

Design

It should reduce

brake specific fuel consumption Brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is a measure of the fuel efficiency of any prime mover that burns fuel and produces rotational, or shaft power. It is typically used for comparing the efficiency of internal combustion engines with a shaft ou ...

by 10 to 15% compared to previous engines, contribute to increase new helicopters

payload-range Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature o ...

performance, with reduced size and is designed to facilitate

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doctrine ...

and repairs. In cruise, its

thermodynamic cycle A thermodynamic cycle consists of a linked sequence of thermodynamic processes that involve transfer of heat and work into and out of the system, while varying pressure, temperature, and other state variables within the system, and that eventu ...

is improved by

variable-pitch In marine propulsion, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. Reversible propellers—those where the pitch can be set to negative values—can also ...

Inlet Guide Vane blades above the compressor. Metal laser sintering is used for serial production of the

combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Intern ...

s injectors.

Applications

* Airbus Helicopters H160

Specifications

References

External links

* {{Turbomeca aeroengines 2010s turboshaft engines