Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593

Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593
Nimbus227 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593
Type	Turbojet
Manufacturer	Rolls-Royce, Snecma
First run	1967
Applications	Concorde
Status	Retired (civil service)

Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 The Olympus 593 was a turbojet engine developed for the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic transport by a partnership between Rolls-Royce and Snecma during the 1960s, entering service with British Airways and Air France in 1976. It powered Concorde on transatlantic routes such as London Heathrow–John F. Kennedy International Airport and Paris–Charles de Gaulle Airport–New York City until retirements influenced by events including the Air France Flight 4590 crash and shifts after the September 11 attacks. The program connected aerospace firms and governments including the British Aircraft Corporation, Aérospatiale, the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), and the French government under complex industrial arrangements.

Development

Development began amid Cold War-era aerospace competition involving companies like Rolls-Royce, Snecma, Bristol Siddeley, and national agencies such as the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Centre d'études de la propulsion aérospatiale. The Anglo-French Concorde project signed in the Élysée Treaty atmosphere and the 1962 Anglo-French treaty fostered joint work across teams in Derby and Toulouse, coordinating with airframe partners BAC and Aérospatiale. Funding and technical milestones tied to events like the Paris Air Show and trials at facilities including Boscombe Down and Farnborough Airshow advanced compressor, turbine and afterburner development. Engine testing employed rigs at RAF, Trials establishments, and sea-level/altitude testbeds coordinated with authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom) and the Direction générale de l'aviation civile.

Design and technical description

The Olympus 593 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet combining technologies from Rolls-Royce Avon heritage and French compressor designs, featuring fixed-geometry intakes integrated with Concorde's variable-geometry intake ramps derived from research at Royal Aircraft Establishment and ONERA. The powerplant incorporated a bifurcated afterburner developed conjointly by Snecma and Rolls-Royce engineers, with turbine materials influenced by metallurgy programs connected to Harwell and supplier firms such as AlliedSignal and Vickers. Control systems blended mechanical and hydromechanical features contemporary to Honeywell and Smiths Group techniques, while nacelle and noise-abatement design involved input from British Airports Authority and urban regulators in New York City and Paris. Aerothermal challenges at cruise Mach 2 led to cooling solutions tested in wind tunnels at Cranfield and shock-tunnel facilities at ONERA.

Operational history

Olympus 593 engines entered airline service on Concorde fleets operated by British Airways and Air France, flying scheduled routes including London–New York City and special flights to destinations such as Singapore and events like the Olympic Games. The engines accumulated hours monitored by maintenance organizations like Snecma Moteurs and Rolls-Royce plc workshops at bases such as Heathrow Maintenance and Le Bourget. Operational challenges included noise complaints handled by municipal authorities in New York City and Washington, D.C., economic pressures following the 1973 oil crisis, and a downturn after the Air France Flight 4590 accident that precipitated fleet groundings and modifications mandated by regulators including Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Final retirements came as airlines restructured amid global events like the September 11 attacks, with preservation efforts at museums including the Imperial War Museum and Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace.

Variants and modifications

Planned and implemented variants included production uprates and hush-kit style modifications involving firms such as Snecma, Rolls-Royce, and subcontractors like Filton workshops and Saint-Aubin facilities. Developmental testbeds explored higher-thrust and improved specific fuel consumption influenced by research at NASA and European Space Agency collaborations; proposed civil variants intersected with studies at British Aerospace and proposals for supersonic business jets in projects referencing Lockheed, Boeing, and European manufacturers. Field modifications after the 1970s included ingestion-resistant inlet changes, revised fuel control units from Hamilton Standard-era suppliers, and certification updates with agencies like DGAC and the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom).

Performance and specifications

The Olympus 593 delivered high thrust with reheat, optimized for sustained cruise at Mach 2 and service ceilings above 60,000 ft, with thermodynamic and propulsion characteristics refined through collaborations involving ONERA, Royal Aircraft Establishment, and NASA test programs. Specifications in service cited maximum takeoff thrust with afterburner, bypass-less turbojet architecture, fuel consumption profiles on transatlantic sectors, and weight and dimensions developed to mate with Concorde nacelles by teams at Aérospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation. Maintenance cycles and overhaul intervals followed standards coordinated between Snecma Moteurs and Rolls-Royce under airworthiness directives from FAA-equivalent authorities and European regulators.

Category:Aircraft engines Category:Turbojet engines