Aircraft engine generators

When I was training back in my Air Force days I remember one of my instructors saying that the P3K Orion had four generators, one for each engine, and they were so powerful that one alone could supply enough power to electrify a town the size of Blenheim (which then had around 10,000 or so people.

This odd fact has stuck with me. I have often wondered if this has ever been put into practice. I doubt anyone can answer this, but, has an aircraft ever been used to power anything large like a town or hospital or something during a blackout or emergency?

I can only speak about Vulcans and Victors and the answer, without some form of conversion, would I think, be NO…. why?….. the output from the Vforce alternators is 200volts 400hertz 3phase……. household electrical systems is 240volts 50hertz single phase…… Industrial 3phase is 440volts

unless anyone knows different???? :confused: :confused: :confused:

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useless fact

Hi,
Not sure of the technical ins & outs, but apparently, industrial gas turbine engines are also used as pumps/compressors.
Large electric motors drive the PTO shaft, and the compressor section , pumps and/ or compresses gas for the pipelines across europe.
Cheers
Jerry

I think I can safely say NO. And that is for the simple reason that all the aircraft electric systems I know of, do not have the facilities to dump their production overboard. You can plug an external source into the system and power the aircraft, but you can not run an external source off the aircraft system.

I think you will find that the rockwell OV-10 series all had an external output socket installed to allow the aircraft to supply power to a ground source.
I beleive the main reason was for cross starting another aircraft.

Google is my friend. There are some a bit nearer to Dave than that too at “Otahuhu B”.

I believe the combined cycle gas turbine stations such as Didcot B use Olympus engines.

Moggy

I remember another of those facts was the searchlamp that hangs off the Orion was, from memory, around 100,000 candle power, and if you were looking at it when it switched on, you’d go blind.

A torch. 🙂

The Leigh Light was 22,000,000 candlepower. I guess it was more than 100,000 Dave.

The Bristol (RR) Olympus is used in more than a few power stations. I know they’re used for standby power as they can be brought on line very quickly, whether there are any continuous “main supply” installations I don’t know.

Edit:
I was about to add I guess not, given the relatively short TBO of a gas turbine when running continuously but it’s not likely to be as stringent as aviation requirements. Anybody know the TBO of a naval Olympus?

Theres a couple of power station around LA that use jet engines to drive the generators..

Thanks Galdri. That is what I was thinking. I guess he just thought it was a good example to demonstrate the power they could generate.

I remember another of those facts was the searchlamp that hangs off the Orion was, from memory, around 100,000 candle power, and if you were looking at it when it switched on, you’d go blind.

On the subject of engines powering things, I remember seeing a small documentary in the UK Today series showing how the gas system worked in London. Jet engines as used in aircraft are used to blow the gas down the lines to your houses.

I think I can safely say NO. And that is for the simple reason that all the aircraft electric systems I know of, do not have the facilities to dump their production overboard. You can plug an external source into the system and power the aircraft, but you can not run an external source off the aircraft system.

On the other hand, turbine engines are, indeed, used for the application you mention. To name an example, we can take the PW-120 series turboprop engine used on aircraft like the ATR 42/72 and Fokker F27-Mk50. It was initially developed as an industrial turbine engine to power electric generators and oil pumps. That said, however, their configuration was rather different, with the generator being run of what later became the prop shaft as opposed to the assesory drive like on the aircaft engine. Obviously the generator hooked to the front of the engine could produce an awful lot more than the pathetic little thing hanging at the back of the engine.