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Turboprop

Aerospace Engineering

A turboprop is a gas-turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller through a reduction gearbox, with the turbine's own exhaust gases contributing only about a tenth of the engine's total thrust and nearly all remaining power going to the propeller. The Hungarian engineer Gyorgy Jendrassik published the turboprop concept in 1928 and patented it in 1929, building experimental engines at the Ganz Works in Budapest, though the aircraft intended to fly with his design, the Varga RMI-1 X/H, was destroyed in a bombing raid before its first flight. Britain achieved the first successful turboprop flight on September 20, 1945, with a Rolls-Royce Trent-powered Gloster Meteor testbed, and the Vickers Viscount later became the first turboprop airliner built and sold in large numbers.

Facts
Patent or First-Use Date
1929-03-12 1
Year
1929 1
Significance
The Vickers Viscount was the first turboprop aircraft to go into production and sell in large numbers. 1
FAQs

Why are turboprops used mainly on slower aircraft and not on fast airliners?

Propellers lose efficiency as speed rises; fast transports use high bypass turbofans.

Propellers become less efficient as an aircraft goes faster, so turboprops are used only for low speed aircraft such as cargo planes. High speed transports usually use high bypass turbofans instead, because of the turbofan's fuel efficiency and high speed capability.
Connections

In Field

Source Turboprop, Wikipedia

Invented By

Source Turboprop, Wikipedia
Sources
1. Turboprop, Wikipedia
  • History, Jendrassik paragraph
    Jendrassik published a turboprop idea in 1928, and on 12 March 1929 he patented his invention.
  • History, Jendrassik patent sentence
    on 12 March 1929 he patented his invention.
  • History, Vickers Viscount paragraph
    The Dart-powered Vickers Viscount was the first turboprop aircraft of any kind to go into production and sold in large numbers.
  • In Group: Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines, lead: gas-turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller through a reduction gearbox
  • In Field: Aerospace Engineering, Categories
    Aircraft engines
  • Invented By: György Jendrassik, Introduction
    The world's first turboprop was designed by the Hungarian mechanical engineer György Jendrassik.
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