Sir Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine, has died at the age of 89. The Royal Air Force officer filed the first jet patent in January 1930, and set up his own company, called Power Jets, test-running the WU engine in 1937 while still a serving officer. The work resulted in the first flight of the W1 in the Gloster E28/39 in May 1941.
Source: Flight International