Support capability for RTM322

Citation

(1999), "Support capability for RTM322", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 71 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1999.12771cab.047

Support capability for RTM322

Support capability for RTM322

Keywords Helicopter engines, Rolls-Royce

A new facility to provide worldwide support for the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 helicopter engine is being established at the Rolls-Royce factory at Ansty, near Coventry.

Designed and manufactured by the Anglo-French company, the RTM322 entered full operational service recently with the inauguration of 700M Squadron at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, which will operate Merlin Mk1 helicopters of the Navy's intensive flight trials unit (IFTU).

Forty-four of the three-engined Merlin aircraft have been ordered by Britain's Ministry of Defence for naval operation, and the IFTU's task will be to establish operational capabilities and procedures for Merlin Mk1 in service.

The new Rolls-Royce facility at Ansty will be mirrored by workshops at Turbomeca's Tarnos facillty in France. Each site will undertake repair and overhaul tasks on three of the RTM322's six modules, with administration of the work undertaken by a new Rolls-Royce Turbomeca business unit, also being established at Ansty.

Head of this unit is Eric Twamley, who added: "Under the initial five-year RTM322 support deal with the Ministry of Defence, we will work in partnership with the Naval Air Repair Organisation (NARO) at Fleetlands in the south of England. They will establish a similar capability and ­ like Turbomeca and Rolls-Royce ­ will take one-third of module arisings. It is my job to help maximise the availability of helicopter operations by ensuring modules are completed and returned on schedule. This is an important development, for Ansty, as the RTM322 is the first new aero-engine repair capability to be introduced to the site for 14 years. Clearly the throughput of work will accelerate over time, but the team here ­ who have played a large part in designing the work areas and deciding how the task should be done ­ are very keen to witness the arrival of a new product into the portfolio. We anticipate an inload of around 1,000 modules under the initial five-year contract."

This group ­ which last year won a special internal award for effective team-working ­ currently specialises in the site's other helicopter engine project, the Gnome, that powers the Sea King family. With the arrival of the RTM322, they will become an integrated team, working on both engine types.

On the arrival of modules, a workscope will be decided before they are stripped, washed and undergo inspection and NDT (non-destructive testing). Imperfect parts are then allocated for replacement or rework before they are rebuilt and tested. Initially, parts will be replaced but repair sehemes will be developed allowing the Ansty workforce to expand its role in the project.