Napier Nomad
| Nomad | |
|---|---|
| Napier Nomad II | |
| Type | Turbo-compound aero-engine |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Napier & Son |
| First run | October 1949 |
| Major applications | Avro Lincoln (test bed only) |
The Napier Nomad is a British diesel aircraft engine designed and built by Napier & Son in 1949. They combined a piston engine with a turbine to recover energy from the exhaust and thereby improve fuel economy. Two versions were tested, the complex Nomad I which used two propellers, each driven by mechanically independent stages, and the Nomad II, using the turbo-compound principle which coupled the two parts to drive a single propeller. The Nomad II had the lowest specific fuel consumption figures seen up to that time. Despite this the Nomad project was cancelled in 1955 having spent £5.1 million on development, as most interest had passed to turboprop designs.