Orenda Aerospace
Encyclopedia
Orenda Engines was a Canadian aircraft engine
manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada
conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada
, they produced a number of military jet engine
s from the 1950s through the 1970s, and were Canada's primary engine supplier and repair company.
. During the war, the National Research Council of Canada
ran a small aerodynamics
effort similar to NACA
in the US or Royal Aircraft Establishment
in the UK. In 1942 they sent two of their researchers to the UK to take a survey of their efforts and report back on what fields of study the Canadians should focus on in order to avoid duplication.
One of the many topics mentioned was Frank Whittle
's efforts to build the first working jet engine. At the same time the fledgling RCAF was concerned about their dependence on the US and UK for their aircraft engines. Both the RCAF and NRC felt the jet engine offered a way for Canada to quickly catch up in engine technology via this newly evolving field. Another report was started to make an exhaustive study of the jet engine efforts in the UK, and to try to find roles where Canada could aid the UK efforts as soon as possible.
Over the next year a number of members of the NRC's aerodynamics lab traveled to the UK, and in May 1943 they published their findings in the top secret
Report on Development of Jet Propulsion in the United Kingdom, widely known as the Banks Report. Among their recommendations was the suggestion to form a cold weather testing center, as up to then jet engines had not been tested in that environment. Another suggestion was to form their own engine company as soon as possible.
, now a part of downtown Toronto
. Several members of the NRC teams that had traveled to the UK during the Report moved to the new company, including K.F. Tupper as chief engineer, Paul Dilworth as chief designer and Winnett Boyd
, initially as the combustion engineer, but later as the chief designer.
The team initially studied a series of designs based on the basic Whittle centrifugal-flow
design, starting with the TR.1 and growing through the TR.2 to the largest, the TR.3. None of these designs progressed past initial studies however, as the team turned their attention to a new axial-flow
design, the TR.4, and later known as the Chinook
.
plants in Malton
were being converted into the new A.V. Roe Canada (Avro Canada
) plants. In the spring of 1946 the government decided to turn all engine development over to private industry, and sold Turbo Research to Avro. Paul Dillworth remained as chief engineer of the newly christened Gas Turbine Division, which was moved to Avro's plant just outside what is today Toronto Pearson International Airport
.
Work on the TR.4, the first Canadian-designed jet engine, continued. Now called the Chinook, it first ran on March 1948, producing 2600 lbf (11,565.4 N) thrust. Only three were built before all attention moved to the Orenda.
Work on the TR.4 continued through this period, but in the summer of 1946, Avro Canada asked them to produce a new 6,500 lbf
(28.9 kN) engine for their CF-100 Canuck interceptor design. The resulting TR.5 Orenda
design was essentially a scaled-up Chinook, with work continuing on the latter to bring the production and test teams up to speed.
The Orenda's design was similar enough to the Chinook that prototype production was completed in less than a year, and the engine first ran in February 1949. Testing proceeded quickly at a facility outside Nobel, Ontario
, formerly a munitions factory owned by C-I-L
. Between the first run in February and the start of production in the late fall, the prototypes ran over 1,000 hours, a record for the era. When it entered production it was the most powerful engine in the world, a title it held until 1952. Almost 4,000 Orenda engines of various versions were built by the time the final unit was delivered to the RCAF in July 1958.
The Orenda entered production for the CF-100, which were used in Canada and the Belgian Air Force
. Later versions of the Canadair Sabre also used the Orenda in place of their General Electric J47
's, providing a dramatic boost in performance, holding the crown for F-86 performance for some time. The Canadair Sabre became a popular export item as well, with versions being sold to the West German, South African
, Colombian and Pakistani Air Forces. For some time the USAF considered producing their own Orenda-powered version, the F-86J, although these plans were later dropped when they turned their attention to more powerful supersonic designs. Boeing
used a Canadair Sabre as a chase plane from 1962 through the early 1980s during development of all Boeing airliners from the 727 onward.
In 1953, Avro Canada once again turned to Orenda to produce an engine for the CF-105 Arrow
project. Avro had originally intended to use one of three different engines from the UK (one produced under license in the US), but all of these projects ran into delays. Orenda quickly responded with the PS.13 Iroquois design. Once again Orenda was able to prototype the new engine in a short period of time, starting development in 1953, completing it in May 1954 and building and running the prototype by December 1954. During the testing period, the Iroquois was the most powerful jet engine in the world, rated at 19,250 lbf (85.6 kN) dry, 25,000 lbf (111 kN) afterburning. It was aerodynamically matched for peak performance at 50,000 feet (15,200 m) altitude and Mach 2 speed. After some 7,000 hours of development testing, up to a simulated altitude of 70,000 feet (21,300 m) and a forward speed of Mach 2.3, the Iroquois program was cancelled, along with the Arrow on 20 February 1959.
In late summer 1959, the RCAF selected the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
as their new day fighter
, to be built by Canadair. Orenda was given the contract to build its engines, the Canadian government having already obtained a production license for the General Electric J79. The first engine was completed in December 1960, just 14 months after the first drawings were received. Orenda built J79 engines for the RCAF and for the U.S. Mutual Aid program. Some of the 478 engines delivered by Orenda are still in service with the Luftwaffe
and Turkish Air Force
.
In early 1962, Orenda also won the production contract for the General Electric J85
, for use in the Canadair CL-41 Tutor trainer. The first engine, known as the J85-CAN-40, was delivered in September 1963, the last in October 1965. Production of a derivative engine, the afterburning J85-CAN-15, began in 1967 when Canadair was licensed to produce the Northrop F-5 aircraft for the RCAF. Between June 1967 and May 1974, 609 engines were produced for the Canadian, Netherlands
and Venezuelan Air Forces.
Orenda also started manufacturing industrial gas turbine
packages. Some 150 units were sold for gas compression, oil pumping, electric generation and other applications with installations in Canada, United States, Venezuela, New Zealand, China, England and UAE. Most of these units are still operational, with many of the heavy-duty units exceeding 150,000 operating hours.
was formed in the 1980s, primarily from the assets of the Canadian operations of Fleet Aerospace, Fleet Industries. Over the next few years they aggressively expanded by purchasing a number of Canadian aerospace companies, including Orenda, which they renamed as Orenda Aerospace, now Magellan Repair, Overhaul & Industrial. In addition to producing complete gas turbine
engines, the precision manufacture of critical rotating and stationary engine components for leading Original equipment manufacturer
s since the 1970s, including General Electric, Pratt & Whitney
and Rolls-Royce
. Repair and overhaul remains a major business as well.
Orenda Aerospace attempted to bring the Orenda OE600
, a new 600 hp general aviation
engine, to market in the 1990s. Timing proved poor, and in the post-9/11 market the company put the OE600 "on hold" in 2005 while they concentrated on military contracts. Within a couple of years, TRACE Engines of Texas had purchased all rights to the Orenda design.
Licenced production
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s.-History:...
, they produced a number of military jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s from the 1950s through the 1970s, and were Canada's primary engine supplier and repair company.
Origins
The origins of the company stem back to the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the war, the National Research Council of Canada
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council is an agency of the Government of Canada which conducts scientific research and development.- History :...
ran a small aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
effort similar to NACA
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and...
in the US or Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
in the UK. In 1942 they sent two of their researchers to the UK to take a survey of their efforts and report back on what fields of study the Canadians should focus on in order to avoid duplication.
One of the many topics mentioned was Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
's efforts to build the first working jet engine. At the same time the fledgling RCAF was concerned about their dependence on the US and UK for their aircraft engines. Both the RCAF and NRC felt the jet engine offered a way for Canada to quickly catch up in engine technology via this newly evolving field. Another report was started to make an exhaustive study of the jet engine efforts in the UK, and to try to find roles where Canada could aid the UK efforts as soon as possible.
Over the next year a number of members of the NRC's aerodynamics lab traveled to the UK, and in May 1943 they published their findings in the top secret
Top Secret
Top Secret generally refers to the highest acknowledged level of classified information.Top Secret may also refer to:- Film and television :* Top Secret , a British comedy directed by Mario Zampi...
Report on Development of Jet Propulsion in the United Kingdom, widely known as the Banks Report. Among their recommendations was the suggestion to form a cold weather testing center, as up to then jet engines had not been tested in that environment. Another suggestion was to form their own engine company as soon as possible.
Turbo Research
Following the advice of the Report, in March 1944 the government formed Turbo Research as a crown corporation. The company was formally incorporated on 1 July 1944 in LeasideLeaside
Leaside is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who settled there in the early years of the nineteenth century. The area first developed as farmland along with Toronto through the nineteenth century. It was incorporated as a...
, now a part of downtown Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Several members of the NRC teams that had traveled to the UK during the Report moved to the new company, including K.F. Tupper as chief engineer, Paul Dilworth as chief designer and Winnett Boyd
Winnett Boyd
Winnett Boyd is a Canadian engineer who made major contributions to the development of the jet engine and nuclear reactor design.-Early life and education:...
, initially as the combustion engineer, but later as the chief designer.
The team initially studied a series of designs based on the basic Whittle centrifugal-flow
Centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressors, sometimes termed radial compressors, are a sub-class of dynamic axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery.The idealized compressive dynamic turbo-machine achieves a pressure rise by adding kinetic energy/velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller...
design, starting with the TR.1 and growing through the TR.2 to the largest, the TR.3. None of these designs progressed past initial studies however, as the team turned their attention to a new axial-flow
Axial compressor
Axial compressors are rotating, airfoil-based compressors in which the working fluid principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation. This is in contrast with other rotating compressors such as centrifugal, axi-centrifugal and mixed-flow compressors where the air may enter axially but will have...
design, the TR.4, and later known as the Chinook
Avro Canada Chinook
The Avro Canada TR.4 Chinook was Canada's first turbojet engine, designed by Turbo Research and manufactured by A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. Named for the warm Chinook wind that blows in the Rocky Mountains, only three Chinooks were built and none were used operationally...
.
Avro Canada
At about this time, the former Victory AircraftVictory Aircraft
Victory Aircraft Limited was a Canadian manufacturing company that, during the Second World War, built mainly British-designed aircraft under license. It acted as a shadow factory, safe from the reach of German bombers....
plants in Malton
Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto. The neighbourhood has a population of approximately 36,400 as of 2002....
were being converted into the new A.V. Roe Canada (Avro Canada
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
) plants. In the spring of 1946 the government decided to turn all engine development over to private industry, and sold Turbo Research to Avro. Paul Dillworth remained as chief engineer of the newly christened Gas Turbine Division, which was moved to Avro's plant just outside what is today Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
.
Work on the TR.4, the first Canadian-designed jet engine, continued. Now called the Chinook, it first ran on March 1948, producing 2600 lbf (11,565.4 N) thrust. Only three were built before all attention moved to the Orenda.
Orenda turbojet
Pound-force
The pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...
(28.9 kN) engine for their CF-100 Canuck interceptor design. The resulting TR.5 Orenda
Avro Canada Orenda
The Avro Canada TR.5 Orenda was the first production jet engine from Avro Canada's Gas Turbine Division. Similar to other early jet engines in design, like the Rolls-Royce Avon or General Electric J47, the Orenda nevertheless outperformed its rivals in most ways, and the Orenda-powered Canadair...
design was essentially a scaled-up Chinook, with work continuing on the latter to bring the production and test teams up to speed.
The Orenda's design was similar enough to the Chinook that prototype production was completed in less than a year, and the engine first ran in February 1949. Testing proceeded quickly at a facility outside Nobel, Ontario
Nobel, Ontario
Nobel is a village located on the shores of Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Municipality of McDougall in the District of Parry Sound. The community is named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite....
, formerly a munitions factory owned by C-I-L
Canadian Industries Limited
Canadian Industries Limited, also known as C-I-L is a Canadian chemicals manufacturer. Products include paints, fertilizers and pesticides, and explosives. It was formed in 1910 by the merger of five Canadian explosives companies...
. Between the first run in February and the start of production in the late fall, the prototypes ran over 1,000 hours, a record for the era. When it entered production it was the most powerful engine in the world, a title it held until 1952. Almost 4,000 Orenda engines of various versions were built by the time the final unit was delivered to the RCAF in July 1958.
The Orenda entered production for the CF-100, which were used in Canada and the Belgian Air Force
Belgian Air Force
The Air Component, formerly the Belgian Air Force, is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. Originally founded in 1909, it is one of the world's first air forces, and was a pioneer in aerial combat during the First World War...
. Later versions of the Canadair Sabre also used the Orenda in place of their General Electric J47
General Electric J47
|-Specifications :-Nuclear-powered version – The X39:In the 1950s, interest in the development of nuclear-powered aircraft led GE to experiment with two nuclear-powered gas turbine designs, one based on the J47, and another new and much larger engine called the X211.The design based on the J47...
's, providing a dramatic boost in performance, holding the crown for F-86 performance for some time. The Canadair Sabre became a popular export item as well, with versions being sold to the West German, South African
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
, Colombian and Pakistani Air Forces. For some time the USAF considered producing their own Orenda-powered version, the F-86J, although these plans were later dropped when they turned their attention to more powerful supersonic designs. Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
used a Canadair Sabre as a chase plane from 1962 through the early 1980s during development of all Boeing airliners from the 727 onward.
Orenda Iroquois
CF-105 Arrow
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft, designed and built by Avro Aircraft Limited in Malton, Ontario, Canada, as the culmination of a design study that began in 1953...
project. Avro had originally intended to use one of three different engines from the UK (one produced under license in the US), but all of these projects ran into delays. Orenda quickly responded with the PS.13 Iroquois design. Once again Orenda was able to prototype the new engine in a short period of time, starting development in 1953, completing it in May 1954 and building and running the prototype by December 1954. During the testing period, the Iroquois was the most powerful jet engine in the world, rated at 19,250 lbf (85.6 kN) dry, 25,000 lbf (111 kN) afterburning. It was aerodynamically matched for peak performance at 50,000 feet (15,200 m) altitude and Mach 2 speed. After some 7,000 hours of development testing, up to a simulated altitude of 70,000 feet (21,300 m) and a forward speed of Mach 2.3, the Iroquois program was cancelled, along with the Arrow on 20 February 1959.
Orenda Engines
In 1955, another reorganization led to the creation of Orenda Engines. Avro Canada would later disappear due to the cancellation of the Arrow, but Orenda had a major engine overhaul business that allowed them to survive.In late summer 1959, the RCAF selected the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
as their new day fighter
Day fighter
A day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night , although it is sometimes used to refer to some interceptors as well.Examples of planes that were classified as...
, to be built by Canadair. Orenda was given the contract to build its engines, the Canadian government having already obtained a production license for the General Electric J79. The first engine was completed in December 1960, just 14 months after the first drawings were received. Orenda built J79 engines for the RCAF and for the U.S. Mutual Aid program. Some of the 478 engines delivered by Orenda are still in service with the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
and Turkish Air Force
Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It ranks 3rd in NATO in terms of fleet size behind the USAF and Royal Air Force with a current inventory of 798 aircraft .-Initial stages:...
.
In early 1962, Orenda also won the production contract for the General Electric J85
General Electric J85
-External links:**...
, for use in the Canadair CL-41 Tutor trainer. The first engine, known as the J85-CAN-40, was delivered in September 1963, the last in October 1965. Production of a derivative engine, the afterburning J85-CAN-15, began in 1967 when Canadair was licensed to produce the Northrop F-5 aircraft for the RCAF. Between June 1967 and May 1974, 609 engines were produced for the Canadian, Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Air Force
The Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...
and Venezuelan Air Forces.
Orenda also started manufacturing industrial gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
packages. Some 150 units were sold for gas compression, oil pumping, electric generation and other applications with installations in Canada, United States, Venezuela, New Zealand, China, England and UAE. Most of these units are still operational, with many of the heavy-duty units exceeding 150,000 operating hours.
Orenda Aerospace
Magellan AerospaceMagellan Aerospace
Magellan Aerospace Corporation is a Canadian manufacturer of aerospace systems and components. Magellan also repairs and overhauls, tests, and provides aftermarket support services for engines, and engine structural components. The company's business units are divided into the product areas of...
was formed in the 1980s, primarily from the assets of the Canadian operations of Fleet Aerospace, Fleet Industries. Over the next few years they aggressively expanded by purchasing a number of Canadian aerospace companies, including Orenda, which they renamed as Orenda Aerospace, now Magellan Repair, Overhaul & Industrial. In addition to producing complete gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
engines, the precision manufacture of critical rotating and stationary engine components for leading Original equipment manufacturer
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
s since the 1970s, including General Electric, Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
. Repair and overhaul remains a major business as well.
Orenda Aerospace attempted to bring the Orenda OE600
Orenda OE600
The Orenda OE600 is a 600 hp-class liquid-cooled 8-cylinder V-block aircraft engine intended to re-introduce piston power to aircraft normally powered by the famous Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop. The piston engine offers much better fuel economy, which Orenda Aerospace felt would be...
, a new 600 hp general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
engine, to market in the 1990s. Timing proved poor, and in the post-9/11 market the company put the OE600 "on hold" in 2005 while they concentrated on military contracts. Within a couple of years, TRACE Engines of Texas had purchased all rights to the Orenda design.
Products
- Avro Canada ChinookAvro Canada ChinookThe Avro Canada TR.4 Chinook was Canada's first turbojet engine, designed by Turbo Research and manufactured by A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. Named for the warm Chinook wind that blows in the Rocky Mountains, only three Chinooks were built and none were used operationally...
- Avro Canada OrendaAvro Canada OrendaThe Avro Canada TR.5 Orenda was the first production jet engine from Avro Canada's Gas Turbine Division. Similar to other early jet engines in design, like the Rolls-Royce Avon or General Electric J47, the Orenda nevertheless outperformed its rivals in most ways, and the Orenda-powered Canadair...
- Orenda Iroquois
Licenced production
- General Electric J79
- General Electric J85General Electric J85-External links:**...