THE ONLY WAY IS UPP

摘要

For a Rolls-Royce aero engineer of a certain age, the acronym UPP means only one thing, the Universal Power Plant. This was an idea researched by Rolls-Royce - a wing-mounted assembly that could incorporate all the main ancillary components and systems needed to support an aero engine. It was essentially a bolt on/ bolt off assembly allowing for rapid powerplant repair or replacement, and crucially could be used on both civil and military aircraft of many different types. The concept was developed and tested exclusively at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. Born from hours of rigorous testing in the air and on the ground, it was started by the team that would become the Rolls-Royce Hucknall Flight Test Establishment (FTE), under the personal direction of Ernest Hives, the visionary engineer who had originally suggested the idea.