Newcomen - The History of the Rolls-Royce RB211 Turbofan Engine

In the early 1960’s Rolls-Royce commenced development of the Rolls-Royce RB211-22 three shaft turbofan engine for the Lockheed Tristar. This talk explores the development of the

engine and technical difficulties that subsequently led to Rolls-Royce going into receivership in 1971. The RB211 received type approval and entered into service in 1972 and the talk

outlines the resolution of the many problems encountered when the engine was in service. Subsequently the RB211-524 variants were developed to power the longer-range Tristar,

Boeing B747 and B767 whilst the RB211-535 variants powered the very successful Boeing B757.The RB211 laid the foundations for the very successful family of Trent engines which now

power over half of the worlds, widebody aircraft.

About the Speaker

Phil Ruffles joined Rolls-Royce in 1961 as a graduate apprentice. He played a leading role in the development of the RB211-22B engine for the Lockheed TriStar, becoming its Chief

engineer in 1977.He then led the development of the RB211-525-D4 for the Boeing 747 and was the driving force behind the development of the Trent engine family.

He was appointed Director of Engineering and Technology and a Main Board member of RollsRoyce plc from 1997 to 2001. On retirement he became a Non-Executive Director of Domino

Printing Sciences plc and Diamond Light Source Ltd and continues to work in a consultancy capacity. He has also served on a number of government bodies including the UK Government

Council for Science and Technology. He is a Fellow and former council member of the Royal Society, a former Vice President and council member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, also an Honorary Fellow and former council member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Booking information

If COVID restrictions permit this will be held as a joint In-Person and Online meeting and

irrespective of whether you wish to join us In-Person or Online it is essential that you book your

place via Eventbrite. Tickets are free but as we almost certainly will be limited as to the number

of people who can attend in person and as we can only accommodate 100 attendees online we

recommend you book early on:- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1…

Eventbrite will email you a confirmation immediately after registration.