The LHTEC CTS800 is a collaborative turboshaft engine between Rolls-Royce and Honeywell.
- CTS800 power range: 1,300 - 1,800shp
- First engine delivery (CTS800-4) September 2001
- CTS800-4N certification completed in November 2003
- CTS800-powered Super Lynx in service throughout the world
The CTS800 gives operators options by providing exceptionally low fuel burn in a small light weight high power package.
The CTS800 engine features a modular design combining an advanced technology twin spool compressor, annular combustor, and bladed four stage turbine. Operating the engine in the world’s most austere environments is no longer a problem due to the integrated particle separator inlet. Coupled with a highly redundant, dual channel FADEC (full authority digital engine control) system the CTS800 is one of the safest engines in operation today.
Background
Rolls-Royce has joined with Honeywell to develop the CTS800 through a 50:50 partnership forming the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (LHTEC). The CTS800 principal engine design was originally developed to power the US Army's Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter. Production versions of the CTS800 family of engines produce 1,360 shaft horsepower in a basic engine configuration weighing less than 360 pounds (less than 410 pounds with the speed reduction gearbox installed).
The CTS800 engine has been installed in a large variety of aircraft applications throughout its development including flight test evaluations in the;
- Eurocopter AS.365
- Vought HH-65
- Bell UH-1H
- HAL ALH.
The CTS800 has also been selected as the boundary layer compressor drive for the ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious search and rescue aircraft. A CTS800-powered version of the Agusta A129 attack helicopter first flew in 1988, this engine being offered for both new A129 sales and fleet upgrades.
CTS800-powered Super Lynx and Wildcat
The CTS800 also powers the next generation of AgustaWestland Super Lynx aircraft, having first flown in the Lynx in 1991. The CTS800-powered Super Lynx is now in service with militaries worldwide, with the engine also being offered as an upgrade for existing Lynx fleets. Due to the success of the Super Lynx the CTS800 has been selected to power the AgustaWestland Future Lynx, now known as the Wildcat.
