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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0062.PDF
28 FLIGHT JANUARY 13TH, 1944 an aircraft to use two of the Whittle units. The Ameri can G.E.C. has taken up development, and there is little doubt that the experience of that firm with the Moss exhaust-driven supercharger will prove valuable since turbo-blowers or compressors will inevitably play a pro minent part in jet-propulsion units of the future. Future of Jet Propulsion R EADERS of this journal will scarcely need to be reminded of the advantages of jet propulsion when it has been developed to a point where it can com pete with the engine-airscrew combination. The com plexities of the modern aircraft reciprocating engine are considerable, and the direct-reaction principle is funda mentally simple, mechanically speaking. It is, how ever, almost a foregone conclusion that before jet pro pulsion becomes really efficient a good deal of mechani cal complication will have to be introduced. There does, however, seem to be no doubt that jet propulsion units will be simpler and lighter than reciprocating engines. The remarkable thing about jet propulsion is that, from the point of view of reaction efficiency, it does not begin to score until very great forward speeds have been attained. One result of this is that the "power avail able" curve (in terms of thrust horse-power, of course) has a very different shape from that of an engine-air screw combination. Within limits, in other words, the faster the aircraft flies the greater becomes the thrust because of the greater reaction efficiency. This at first sight looks like perpetual motion, but unfortunately the drag of the aircraft itself is not affected by the form of propulsion used; it follows the "speed squared" law, and ultimately balances the thrust and so sets a limit on further speed increase with that particular air craft. So long as we remain in the atmosphere, liquid fuel can be used since air is available for the combustion of the fuel. Rocket propulsion could take over after that, since the powder will burn without air, but as has been shown in articles we have published, the weight of powder fuel is considerable and flight durations thus likely to be short. With pressurised cabins and jet propulsion there is, however, no reason why flight at altitudes far greater than any hitherto attained, and at speeds very much CONTENTS The Outlook - War in the Air - - Here and There - - - 2,200 h.p. Napier Sabre A Great British Achievement Weight Estimating - - - Aircraft in Flying Attitudes Behind the Lines - - - New Year Honours Altitude Sounding - - - Tricycle Landing Gears Correspondence ... Service Aviation ... 27 29 32 34 37 4i 42 44 45 46 48 50 5i higher, should not become possible during the next few years. The Gloster-Whittle combination is but a first step. We may regard it as the 1941 equivalent of the Wright 1903 biplane. If one remembers that the Wrights flew at about 40 m.p.h. and for a few minutes only, and compares that with the present ranges of 3,000 miles or so while still carrying a useful load of bombs, it is not difficult to appreciate that jet propulsion may ^i make aircraft of 1944 look somewhat curious in 1984, ^ for instance. Changes in High Commands M ORE than personal interest attaches to the selec tion of Air Marshal Sir John Slessor as deputy to General Eaker in the Mediterranean Com mand. At the same time Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas quits the command of the Middle East to take over Coastal Command. The Middle East Command of the R.A.F. will now, apparently, cease to have a separate existence, and this is a logical consequence of recent developments in the Mediterranean. General Eaker and Sir John Slessor will, we presume, be mainly concerned with tactical air operations, leaving strategic bombing to General Twining. Hitherto, General Eaker has been concerned with strategical ^_ bombing, but Sir John Slessor is an authority on the tactical use of air power. He has been an instructor at the Army Staff College at Camberley, and his book, Air Power and Armies, published in 1936, is a classic. FORD BUILT : A Liberator from the Ford factory at Willow Run on test. It has the new Emerson power-operated nose-turret mounting two o.sin. machine guns.
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