Motorlet (Walter) M701 turbojet
The M701 is an engine that was designed and built in the Czech Republic (or the USSR in those days) for the L29 Delphin trainer.

It features a single stage, single entry centrifugal compressor and single stage axial turbine. The turbine design is very basic and has no features such as free vortex blading. The blades are the closest that I have seen to the pure impulse type in a propulsive gas turbine engine. I found this engine in excellent condition, most of the aircraft was still attached such as the bulkhead, lube system pre heater, fire suppression system (still charged), jet pipe, vents and any amount of other equipment not usually available. I decided during the early days to ditch the bulkhead and mount the equipment on the frame. The following pictures detail the progress so far. This engine has taken a back seat while other more pressing projects are underway. It used to be the case that it was a simple task to locate engines in excellent condition. Engines these days are more often than not arriving spread between three boxes having been completely dismantled (yes bearing housings and gearboxes as well) and require a full work up often without manuals and tooling before trying to run them. These usually require the manufacture of new components such as tooling, splined drive shafts, bearing strut support pins, shaft nuts etc (It is never the straight forward items that seem to be missing or damaged). As a result, many of the engines that I have owned have had at least something reverse engineered at some stage. Testing pastures new, I am now traveling around Far Eastern Europe and the Balkans which is turning out to be a gold mine of engines of unbelievable rarity in astonishingly good condition.
Please click the pictures to open them

 

 

 

 

 

Turbomeca
Marbore II

Turbomeca
Palas

Original Turbomeca Palouste

Rolls-Royce
/Blackburn
Palouste

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