Rolls-Royce Spey
| Spey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| An RB.168 Mk 202 Spey as fitted to the F-4K Phantom | |
| Type | Turbofan |
| Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Limited |
| First run | 1964 |
| Major applications |
BAC One-Eleven F-4K Phantom Blackburn Buccaneer JH-7 Flying Leopard AMX International AMX |
| Number built | 2,768 |
| Variants | Allison TF41 |
| Developed into | Rolls-Royce Marine Spey |
The Rolls-Royce Spey (company designations RB.163 and RB.168 and RB.183) is a low-bypass turbofan engine originally designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce that has been in widespread service for over 40 years. A co-development version of the Spey between Rolls-Royce and Allison in the 1960s is the Allison TF41.
Intended for the civilian jet airliner market when it was being designed in the late 1950s, the Spey concept was also used in various military engines, and later as a turboshaft engine for ships known as the Marine Spey, and even as the basis for a new civilian line, the Rolls-Royce Tay.
Aviation versions of the "base model" Spey have accumulated over 50 million hours of flight time. In keeping with Rolls-Royce naming practices, the engine is named after the River Spey.
In 1954 Rolls-Royce introduced the first commercial bypass engine, the Rolls-Royce Conway, with a 21,000 lbf (94 kN) thrust aimed at what was then the "large end" of the market. This was far too large for smaller aircraft such as the Sud Caravelle, BAC One-Eleven or Hawker Siddeley Trident which were then under design. Rolls then started work on a smaller engine otherwise identical in design derived from the larger RB.140/141 Medway - which itself had been cancelled after British European Airways (BEA) had demanded the downsizing of the Trident, the RB.163, using the same two-spool turbine system and a fairly small fan delivering bypass ratios of about 0.64:1. Designed by a team under Frederick Morley, the first versions of what had become the 'Spey' entered service in 1964, powering both the 1-11 and Trident. Several versions with higher power ratings were delivered through the 1960s, but development was ended nearing the 1970s due to the introduction of engines with much higher bypass ratios, and thus better fuel economy. Spey-powered airliners continued in widespread service until the 1980s, when noise limitations in European airports forced them from service.
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