Airbus A400M TP400-D6 Engine Test

[DrTruffaldino]

Impressive engine: I found a similar on in Wikipedia:

Progress D-27, designed by Ivchenko-Progress Design Bureau Progress (USSR, for AN 70). First run in 1992.

Power 14,000 horsepower

Power-to-weight ratio: 6.33 kW/kg

Maximum compression rate: 30

Specific fuel cionsumption: 0,170 kg/hp*hr (0,231 kg/KW*h)

which one has better performance?

[davetileguy]

@DrTruffaldino Ussr has a problem ,they have brilliant people and a stupid government ,therefore they can't consistently make machinery in large quantities OR have the infrastructure to maintain them. so a one time prototype means very little. tip work on your Law-political system.

[falaqdad15]

holy crapazoids

[TheBabuhino]

yeahh en banca d pruevas de el motor del A400M NOMAMSSSSS

[nclt1978]

It's sometimes disappointing to not see another "hey chuck norris uses that as a shaver" hahahaha

[AuthoringStudio]

Radar can't miss that echo. Sub can listen that sound under water.

[jacktaylor2115]

someone should have thrown a chicken into it.

[douro20]

Wasn't the noise in the beginning from an air dump which was used to operate the turbine starter?

[G777GUN]

Was this engine spinning at max 842 rpm with 90 degrees pitch on the propeller the whole time. Did the propeller change pitch angle at all through the test.

[cantroos]

@G777GUN it must have, I don't think a feathered propeller could withstand the force of being spun at all speed, it would break.

[22fret]

wow, it's so silent.

[dtiydr]

@22fret I dont think you would say that if you would be standing a couple of feet from it.

[fossanl]

I always have this fear that suddenly the engine will break loose from it's hinges and flies off into a crowd of highly valueable engineers and technicians in front of it... lol

Imagine if that happens, scary thought huh? (And yes I'm aware that normally nobody would be in front of an engine - but still :D)

[Sooksawaspakdee961]

Yes the NK-12 may be the most powerful turboprop engine but it´s also the loudest. During the cold war the americans could track the TU-95 with their sosus system that was used to track submarines in the atlantic. And yes, you could hear a TU-95 coming not a mile but miles.

[acridotherestristis]

Russian technology sold to Europe.

God Bless Russia too!

[pgjr00]

Props aren't susceptible to dust, sand and dirt like jet engines are. This means the A400M can land in really dirty environments.

[cantroos]

@pgjr00 that big hole behind the propeller is a jet engine though. It sucks in lots of air.

[EUofficial]

It is the third most powerful turboprop after the Kuznetsov NK-12 and Progress D-27.

God bless Europe !!!

[fingerspies]

It must have been bloody windy for that to go round that quick!! what does it generate about 400 Amps??

[Dominoes282]

I thought that engine was going to fly away and crash into a hicks backyard, which would then be turned into a playground for his 23 kids. Stareotypes make the world go round

[Dada13409]

why did airbus use propeller?

[Flybyhacker]

Kuznetsov NK-12 the most powerful turboprop ever maid but it was made in 1950 which are OLD technology been used

but EuroProp International TP400-D6 use new,efficient turboprop technology

Contra rotating (4+4) or single rotating 8 blade ????

can't sure which one give the best

i heard that engine Kuznetsov NK-12 used in Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-142 can be heard mile away in the air by F-14 pilot

[serresjio]

why the blades arent on the start locks during spinup?

[serresjio]

why the blades arent on the start locks during spinup?

[Tsojekim]

i know, those ones which cost a few millions don't, but the turbo prop is never as efficient as a jet engine, thts just how theyre built

[yahweh18]

How big is this thing? It looks huge! Does this have a propeller brake? It stopped spinning fairly quickly after shut down.

[DARKSCOPE001]

turboprops are so awesome :) i wish we had more aircraft that used them but i heard that they are verry loud (dont know because ive only seen a pt6 on a king air 90) and it was pretty quiet still a awesome thing to see

[Tsojekim]

well they are yes pretty loud, very fuel unefficient in comparison to a jet fan engine (or how ever u call the jet engines), and they are relatively slow, but this one had 2 be very reliable, and its not tht bad at all

[Flybyhacker]

@Tsojekim i don't think that the turboprop less efficient than jet engine

it more efficient !!

but to compare with high bypass turbofan .hey almost the same fuel consumption

[LufthansapilotICH]

Echt gutes Video. Wo hastn das her?

[Gruntol5]

Nobody ever states how much thrust propellor engines generate - only the horse power. It would be very interesting to be able to compare props vs. jets in lbs thrust. I appreciate that it depends on the prop diameter and pitch, but there must be some typical figure that can be quoted.

[rail64]

Looks a lot like the unducted fan that GE was working on 20 years back. Do a google search. 30% better fuel efficiency at jet speeds...

[JexPAuk]

It's spinning so fast OMG

[KimmurielBaenre]

Pretty cool, description reads most powerful in the western world. Does that mean the ones on the Tu-95 Bear still the most powerful?

[techdefined]

@KimmurielBaenre

Yes the NK-12 from the Tu-95 produce 4000hp more then the TP400.

However the TP400-D6 uses the most advanced turboprop technology and is highly efficient.

[covingtonium]

Also, I believe the prop tips on the NK-12 were supersonic, meaning they lost alot of propulsion efficiency and made up for it in raw horsepower. Still, big turboprops like that are impressive. I'm putting one on my recliner.

[brendonnz1964]

@techdefined You would be correct, however the Tu -95 was developed in the early 1950's, 60 years ago. To date the Tu-95 is still classified as the fastest propellor driven aircraft produced.

[PavelNT]

@KimmurielBaenre

Last version NK-16 have max power: 16000 hp , Power-to-weight ratio: 4.29 hp/kg , but TP400-D6 max power output: 11000 hp and Power-to-weight ratio: 5.82 hp/kg  .

[hltibbs]

@KimmurielBaenre Yes, the NK12 engines have them by about 4000hp but also, they are turning 8 bladed contra rotating props (14-15' diameter) at supersonic speeds. I actually think that if they mated the TP400-D6 engines to the TU-95, you might see comparable performance because of the advanced technology and slower turning props.

[TUNAMANKILLER]

this is the fastest militar motor i have ever seen an its brakes are too potent

[josephtan1818]

hope 1st flight success, our country has ordered 4 and some of our c130 will be phased out soon, because a400m is more powerful than c130j, even shaanxi y-9 are less powerful, Greet from Malaysia. if entered service into RMAF, it will be the only South East Asian country to own such aircraft, unless other wealthy SEA country ordered following delivery to Malaysia

[techdefined]

The A400 maiden flight is tomorrow the 11.12.09.

[whitewingsrich]

Maiden Flight went smooth as silk. Took Off from San Pablo Airport just outside seville Climbed to an Alt of 15,000 remained airborne for just over 3 hours and came in again on a feather light touch down

[Andybucker]

@techdefined Haha, this was my birthday:-) I wish I could fly it, instead of our A330-200

[icewinder2005]

It's only for short take of! only propellers permits really short take off like 300 meters...

[oiseautempete]

Yes the propeller are much better for short take off and less exposed to dust as the jets ,and the turboprop machines use less kerosene as the jets....All realy out airport capable aircraft use propeller engines, Russian/Ukrainian airlifter same thing: AN70 and AN22...

But the AN 70, same specifications (a bit better) as the A400M use counterotating propeller: they are smaller in diameter and better efficiency, but a bit noisier and heawier...

[stahlwerke]

why do aircraft like the C130 and A400 have props instead of jets like C17?  Never really understood that.

[techdefined]

There are a lot of reasons like maintenance costs,aquisition costs, lifetime, but the most important one is fuel efficiency. A turboprop always is more efficient then a turbofan up to a determinated size and weight. And the TP400 is overall the most advanced and efficient turboprop in the world. Look at the costs(not only aquisition costs) of a C17 compared to a A400M which will even match the overall costs of a C130!!

[MrWhiskyDelta]

I would say the most important benefit of a turboprop over a jet, is its robustness. Something as small as a bird would ground a C17, whereas the A400m on the other hand would just give the bird a splitting headache. A turbopop can basically chew through a lto more of the battlefield elements than a jet engine.

Regards

Whisky

[seidelp]

@techdefined In actuality, it has nothing to do with cost or maintenance...fuel efficiency is a byproduct. The real reason props are still in use is their low altitude/low airspeed performance. Nothing in the turbojet/turbofan can match the performance you get from a prop. This is more important when you want a cargo aircraft capable of short field operations. I'm a retired C-130 flight engineer.

[oiseautempete]

@seidelp

For a tactic military transport is the turboprop better as a jet but the pop give: much better acceleration (shoter roll distance at take off), much better climb rate, much better "aerodynamic braking" in tactic landings, smaller fragility zone=much better protection from light weapons shots, high placed on the wing= less wearing or damage from sand,stones and debrits ingestion.

As comparision, this 2 points are the achilles heel from the C17...

[Helge129]

@oiseautempete Don't forget that the C-17 costs half a billion dollars, while the A-400M is much cheaper than that.

[toddi1971]

at lower speeds they are more effective than jets

[jabajabamaster]

@stahlwerke you also have to consideration the amount of torque a turboprop can deliver compared to jet aircraft. It can take off on shorter distances than a jet can.

[jbird0168]

If I were ground crew, that thing would scare me!

[webber688]

WOW!!...that was exciting....can we see it again please..

[Starjack100]

An 8-bladed propeller means more thrust especially for a big aircraft. Compare it with other props( 2-bladed to 5-bladed) and you will see what is the difference.

[619cactusjack]

the progress d27 propfan has 16 blades o_o they re contrarrotatories, the tp400 in the photo that is mounted in the c130 the tp400 likes a blended between 2 ninja stars, the most efficient engine in the world is the nk93 propfan it produces 176 kn

[D415LAM]

10000 HP

[619cactusjack]

in reality is 11.000 HP is the third most powerful prop,probably better than the progress d27 (14000hp) and the nk12MA (15000hp), is less powerful than the others but it consumes less fuel, remember that the spruce goose props are 3000hp each, and the c130j props are 4600hp each

[D415LAM]

THX ! It looks very massiv

[altafgso]

if during running any adjustment what u do because all pannel closed and there is no any working platform or stand

[derneuschooer]

how is the propeller conected to the turbine??

[kinsley2108]

reduction gearbox.

[derneuschooer]

aah thx^^

[619cactusjack]

lol techdefined 17/18 of your videos are 5 stars.

[youngpilot234]

Looks Like Airbus Took The Same Prop Design As The ATR series

[techdefined]

It maybe looks like but the TP400 is totally a diffrent design and much more powerful and much bigger then the PW120 family.

[ArmyofSeaturtles]

typical airbus...taking ideas..

[LavishBeats]

lol that's hilarious coming from someone's whose country derives most of its jet and rocket technology from germany and britain...

[LTF85199]

Is the propulsion "PROP-FAN" technology?

[Helge129]

it's called TurboProp.

[LTF85199]

I know, I was referring to the propeller design .

[markuks]

I like the blade design, first impression, they made an engine more efficient than a conventional design. Although the counter rotating blades of the engines of the Tu-95 I believe is better (mechanically). For its time one of the most reliable engines the russians made and is still in use today Making it the fastest turbo propped powered plane and the noisiest military plane in history.

[techdefined]

Wrong the Bear is not the noisiest plane. The F84H Thunderscreech holds that record.And counter rotating is not necessary better.Airbus has developed a configuration which doesn't bring in negative effects of counterrotation but its positive effects. Its called This counter-rotation characteristic is known as Down-Between-Engines (DBE) and the A400M will be the first aircraft ever to use such a configuration. The advantages of DBE have far-reaching effects both aerodynamically and structurally

[techdefined]

Yes but a less efficient, fuel guzzling, nosy and obsolete engine. For its day it was nethertheless a good engine.But the TP400 is a state of the art design, the most modern and efficient turboprop in the world.

[motokid032]

Can't wait to hear this thing balls to the wall on takeoff...Going to sound like sex.

[techdefined]

Indeed, four TP400 what a sight and sound. Hopefully the A400M program wont be canceled. :(

[peepeevagi]

Considering i can get equal power out of a russian NK12, and fifteen times cheaper, i'll go rusky.

[techdefined]

Wrong the NK12 is even more powerful. But thats not the point of the story. The TP400 is the most modern, most efficient,most sophisticated turboprop in the world. Hang such one on a 737 and you would burn whopping 25%less fuel over a CFM 56 with similar cruising speeds. Overall TP400 pressure ratio 25:1. Whereas the NK 12 is at if recall correctly 7:1!! The A400M with four TP400 will have the same life cycle costs as a C-130 Herc. Try this with a NK12.

[peepeevagi]

For the price though, i'd take the russian turboprop.

[techdefined]

Such a answer shows you are not a expert(no offense). The NK12 engine aquisition costs are low but the maintenance costs are high and you burn lots of fuel for each trip, so please tell my what will be cheaper? Remeber the oil price 1 year ago, this will happen again. Any airline or military expert would rather buy a expensive plane/engine with a great fuel efficiency then a cheap one with high fuel penalty's.

[pjholl]

Generally speaking a variable pitch propeller retains a constant RPM regardless of airspeed or power. Computers vary the blade pitch to maintain the RPM to make the blades as efficient as possible at all attitudes and roll angles. They automatically adjust the pitch angle even if the pilot does not touch the controlls by measuring airspeed and changing accordingly. The amount of lift on the blades obviously changes from root (hub) to tip which is adjusted by the blade angle.

[BougieTheMan]

that's one huge turboprop!

[bobdagangster]

they feather the prop blades when starting the engine.

Its common procedure with variable pitch prop

when the blades are feathered, the prop doesnt produce thrust, preventing debris ingestion on startup

[mrskyking737]

The blades have movable pitch, which is what you referred to as slant. Having the blade pitch adjust to take larger slices or smaller slices of air (maximum speed or maximum pulling force) is equivalent to changing gears in your car. It just looks straight. 

As for the RPM, they have to turn slowly enough that the propeller tips stay slower than the speed of sound. The larger the prop, the more slowly it must turn. I'm guessing around 1900 RPM.

[yourrealmother]

how to those blades pull air? i can't even see a slant on them. they just look straight.

[motokid032]

There is a lever inside of the cockpit that adjusts the pitch of the blade(Propeller Pitch)..

[yourrealmother]

OK, thanks for the info. Didn't know propellers had pitch control. It did cross my mind when I saw this but thought that it might involve too many moving parts to be considered safe in aviation. I stand corrected

[OnTheRun167]

I wonder how many RPM it's moving

[Itachi18x]

man, i dont want to wait 4-5 years , to see the ifv puma in action -.-

[MokomaSusi]

Now they are saying that this plane might need "massive re-engineering work to achieve its performance targets."

[zedextreme8177]

wow, i will to use one of those as a food processer

[d2gizzo]

Yeah, great for smoothies. lol.

[Avenger1945]

nothing like Kuznetsov...

[xenugears]

all these years after the introduction of the nk-12 and this is the best they can do? obviously not nearly as much work was put into turboprops as they did jets otherwise you would see turboprops reaching 40,000hp or more! but whatever this one still does the job

[hbkfitz]

but turboprops or any prop generate torque on the wing while jets with there designe dont so 40 000 hp would rip the wing off the airplaneonce it got out of idle if that

[jradetzky]

Whoa! Pretty impressive.

[jpcorba]

i hear TP400 testing on A340 airbus, somebody have link or video ?

[techdefined]

Sorry, but you hear something wrong. No way a TP400 could be tested on a A340. It produces to much vibrations and forces for a A340 wing. Remeber the A400 wing is made almost completly of composites. Airbus is currently testing the Pratt and Whitney GTF(Geared Turbo Fan) on its A340 and not the TP400. A modified Marshall C-130 Herc is the testbed for the TP400.

[ATLRCFlyer]

Does anyone know why they equipped the A400M with a turbo prop instead of turbo fan?

[techdefined]

The A400M uses Turboprops because it can land on runways like grass without risk engine ingestion. Besides turboprops are more flexible and robust. The TP400-D6 has some of the most advanced technologies integrated, like state of the art combustor and will be very fuel efficent, but still very powerful.

[ATLRCFlyer]

All that doesn't really surprise me. After all it's a european engine ;-)

[techdefined]

True :) , but we will have to wait a wihle until we see this monsterprops at full power mounted on the A400M. Imagine the sound when all 4 run 2 / 2 contrarotating.

[ATLRCFlyer]

Oh yeah...

When is that going to be?

[techdefined]

Well they have a lot of trouble at the moment. FADEC issues, Software problems, vibrations from the engines...

First the engine has to fly on the Herc testbed if it succeed we will see first flight before year ends hopefully.

[ATLRCFlyer]

Well, there are always problems, but keep us posted...

[antoshkaster]

Because Antonov An-70 do so.

[metinkiran]

I am proud of doing a part of this

[pcgeek15]

What's the RPM?

[SkyA340]

Revolution per Minute.

[pcgeek15]

sorry what I meant to say was, what is the rpm of this engine.

[Grendel650]

The propellor, at 17feet in diameter rotates at around 940rpm at full power, which is about 10,000 shaft horepower.

Very big, very powerful!

[pcgeek15]

Cool thanks

[DanielDR2889]

with an N2 of around 50000 rpm

[JedyTubeSaber]

the test had failed. why?. because the engine can't flies. and i wish i could have the huge fan like that in my room.

[RadekEU]

How much? some 180? Its some 21000soldiers for one airlift, nice.

[lfstweak420]

Omg if the engines are that big on the A400M I bet the plane is so much bigger than I thought! Btw I think the Russian Kuznetsov NK-12MA is even more powerful at 15000shp? And Russia is Western World I think

[techdefined]

Thats correct, the NK-12MA are more powerful. But i wrote the TP400 is the most powerful in the western part. :)

Yes they are huge, the blades diameter are almost as big as the fuselage of a 787 and the engine 3,5 meter long!! The A400M will get 4 of this.

[lfstweak420]

I know it's the western world. But isn't Russia western?

[techdefined]

Geographically part of but politically not really. :)

[lfstweak420]

Oh ok thanx for enlighting me

[techdefined]

You're welcome.

[AegisLow]

Russia is not the Western World at all actually, certainly not politically/culturally. The West from a cultural/political standpoint is USA,Canada, European Union (even though many countries that recently joined the EU were formerly eastern & ex-Soviet Block countries), a few other European countries like Switzerland that are not part of the EU, Australia, New Zealand, South-Africa.

The term western world applies to any country that has its roots in Western Europe, i.e. the colonizers.

[McLarenMercedes]

Wrong. We are not talking cold war west and east no more. Back in the 18'th and 19'th century all europeans (including russians) were seen as westeners compared to the eastern cultures of China,India and Japan.

All Europeans were seen and are still seen as people of the western culture, and even their languages are related in the same language tree (a few exceptions like finnish or hungarian).

Colonizers huh? Well then Mexico,and the whole of South America also is the western world.

[McLarenMercedes]

For your info the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905 is widely described in history books as the first war in which a western culture lost to the people of an eastern culture (Japan).

Spain and Portugal are western countries and in that case all South and Central America are western countries according to your way of reasoning.

Russia is christian and was influenced by many other european countries depending on which was the leading one.Their czar derived from the word Caesar. Among other..

[McLarenMercedes]

Sweden is very different in culture and traditions to Italy or Spain and most would agree we have very little in common with them in politics as well. Somehow you decided to include loads of europeans that have numerous differences but share the christian background but not include the russians although their culture also is christian (orthodox like the greek) and who's ideals never had any muslim influence (unlike Spain and Italy that had it).

Cold War is still dictating your ignorant views.

[McLarenMercedes]

Who cares what european countries are not in the EU or who are? Norway isn't and they have the highest standard of living thanks to that. Somehow you forgot the mention them as well. What about Greece? Screw the EU and their innefficient bullcrap that made life worse for all europeans in it.

You sound like that sad fool I encountered back in my hometown who argued with his equally retarded friend which girls were good looking enough to be invited to his party and ended up having none coming.

[AegisLow]

Why don't you look up 'Western World' for a sec... And would you like to try some cheese with that whine, Sir?

[hbkfitz]

bud the eu is amazing and i live in canada so i know good living standards

[terrasidius]

Hes right dude, the most important part of Russia, the western part with St. Petersburg and Moscow, has always been called (in Russia and Europe) and considered "European Russia"; with relations spanning almost a thousand years and rich culture, hence Russia (the western "important" part) is considered western. Despite what i see in the recent media and what todays stomach turning politicians might say (or not say but hint at subtly in diplo-speak) to the contrary.

[lolo2659]

A400M,

Germany: 60

France: 50

spain: 27

UK: 25

turkey: 10

south africa: 8

belgium: 7

MALAYSIA: 4

luxembourg:1

[DRUMMAGEEE]

pleeze try it then send me a video of it i would probably die with lafter XD

[sethcat99]

if i put wings on and strapped my ass to that i wounder how fast i could go?

[guy014]

lets go give it a try

[samanli1]

the world's largest fan!

[smartbotX]

wow A380 Engine vs A400M engine, wish a380 his these engines^^

[kartkid100]

big loud things spinning very fast... I aprove,

[JIMAXair]

too many blades but cool

[cobra226]

too many blades??? it is an advancement.....it's designed for more stable flight.

[SgtSavage166]

and I thought the ones on the Dash8 Q400 were big....8 blades...wow

[deepestemotion]

perfect engine, i want to see it

[landsofborder]

i want that in my hayabusa

[engeladam409]

i want that in my room.

[landsofborder]

lol your room would be slaughtered

[Ironmaidenrock4eva]

Nice but it's just a jet engine with an extra turbine and prop blades shoved on the end. What are they planning to put these on.

[techdefined]

Its not just a engine with prop, its the second most powerful in the World and the most fuel efficient turboprop. The A400M Military will get four of TP400-D6.

[102trafalgar]

Do know this is a three shaft engine, like the Rolls Royce Trent. Do know it is rated at 11,000 HP. Don't understand why it stopped so quickly, perhaps because it has a free turbine with little inertia? Love engines, love the video, thanks.

[techdefined]

Yes three shafts, a 5.3m diameter 8 bladed composite propeller,newest combuster technology,Overall Pressure Ratio of about 25:1. You are welcome.

[velocityflier16]

Now thats a BIG turboprop! Thanks for the video!

[brent07]

wow 8 blades

[duragg]

Appears to be a "free shaft" turbine so the prop is not mechanically connected to the power section like a PT6? The "Drive" section pushes air over the "driven" section and makes the prop turn.

[LTF85199]

500,000N of thrust

[oisiaa]

Doubtful...maybe all 4 combined

[102trafalgar]

You may be right? It is a lovely enggine, not far behing the lovely Kutznetzov on the TU 95 but I think much more efficient? Thanks for your reply.

[n33d4killz]

because the prop was feathered with a lot of drag

[Silux08]

stoping was fast....