Honeywell Teaches Legendary T55 Engine Some New Tricks

Generations of Chinook helicopter pilots have relied on Honeywell’s celebrated T55 turboshaft engine to help them fly troops and cargo into war zones, disaster areas and just about anywhere else they wanted to go. A pair of T55 engines has powered every CH-47 flight since the first one in 1961, but we’re still proving every day that you can teach a legendary engine some new tricks.

Honeywell engineers are constantly looking for ways to improve the T55’s performance to meet the changing mission needs of the U.S. Army, National Guard and international Chinook operators. The company has invested heavily to create a next-generation engine that will take performance to new heights when it enters service in 2023.

The new T55-714C will be available as a new-production engine or as an upgrade to the Chinook’s current T55-714A engines. Either way, the new engine will be more powerful, reliable and fuel-efficient than any previous iteration of the T55.

With the upgraded engine, the Chinook will be able to fly farther and carry more weight, even under extreme conditions. It also will be easier to maintain and will cost less to operate, which is a key consideration as the Army works to meet current and future mission requirements for its primary heavy-lift helicopter. In our current and future resource constraint environment, this is a very important distinction.

The upgrade can be accomplished economically as part of the normal engine overhaul process at the Corpus Christi Army Depot in Texas or Honeywell’s new state-of-the-art T55 Center of Excellence in Phoenix. The upgrade kit includes a more efficient compressor assembly, a top-mounted gearbox and upgrades to the full-authority engine control (FADEC) system. Installation is easy and economical, because the upgrade uses the same engine mounts and connections as the existing engine.

A redesigned compression module, which generates a higher engine-cycle pressure, accounts for most of the combined power and fuel-consumption improvements the T55-714C delivers for operators. Honeywell is already working with the Army on a series of ground and flight demonstrations of the new engine, scheduled for 2022.

With the forthcoming CH-47 Block II upgrades, the 714C is a natural incremental compliment for the next generation Chinook, keeping the platform relevant for the next generation of Warfighters.

Honeywell’s T55-714C engine – by the numbers
(Compared to the current T55-714A engine)

• 20% improvement in power
• 8% improvement in fuel consumption
• 25% improvement in overall reliability, including 40% longer compressor life
• 110% improvement in range at 16,000 pounds
• 16% improvement in maximum payload
• 27% reduction in part count