NK-12
The most powerful turboprop engine
On display
Two four-blade propellers 5.6 metres across turn in opposite directions, cancelling torque and raising efficiency. At cruise the blade tips approach the speed of sound — hence the characteristic drone of the Tu-95, audible tens of kilometres away.
The engine remains the most powerful production turboprop in the world. Its reliability let the Tu-95 fly for over seventy years and the An-22 lift loads beyond any other propeller aircraft.
On display is the engine with its gearbox and coaxial propeller hub on a museum stand.
