When I was just starting at Garret AiResearch in the late 70's, we were trying to get the M1 Abrams tank engine contract. Instead of just running in the test cell, we thought road testing between our sister plant in L.A. would be a good test.
We slipped that gas turbine into a Mack truck attached to, get this, a special designed Allison 4 speed automatic.
We pulled 80,000 pounds around like it was nothing. Raced a few semi's on the road from the old rest stop near Table Mesa on I-17 up to Sunset Point. Story was the Airesearch driver Bob Booth radioed the semi when he reached the exit at Sunset Point and it was 15 minutes later the semi showed up.
On a gas turbine shafted engine it's strength is in the torque. I want to say it would spool up over 10,000 FT pounds easy at 26,000 RPM.
Bob said that if you put it up to a big block wall and mashed the throttle it would either burn the tires off or obliterate the wall.
Unfortunately Mack was bringing in electronic injector diesel engines which improved economies and decided not to pursue a commercial turbine truck and Lycoming won the Abrams engine contract.
30 years later we bought all of Lycomings gas turbine business.
That gas turbine could run on any liquid fuel, anywhere.
The Mack gas turbine was the most powerful and promising of them all. And Mack chose two superb partners to work with.The GT-601 gas turbine tested by Mack Trucks was designed and produced by Industrial Turbines International (ITI), a partnership between Garrett AiResearch, Mack Trucks and KHD (K...
www.bigmacktrucks.com
