FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0441.PDF
MARCH 8TH, 1945 Propulsion IN BRITAIN AND AMERICAJET AIRCRAFT f SMITH iis type is more efficient and of longer life than the Jumo engine of re German Me 262.The turbines emit no flame, as did the jet-propulsion units of flying- jmbs, and only under certain rare conditions do they leave any smokeails. The passage of a jet plane on the ground leaves in its wake typical smell given ofi by a hot paraffin oil stove or a hurricane The Gloster designers, chief of whom is Mr. W. G. Carter, had toke account of .1 new crop of aero-dynamic problems in order to Jaeve with safety the high speeds at which the "Meteor" flies, but1 3>ite of this the aircraft is highly praised by the R.A.F. as being tif manoeuvrable, easy to fly and with no such penalty as highnding speed. Its extreme smoothness of running, absence of the usual tation and simplicity of the engine controls are welcomed by pilots.The first K.A.F. squadron to be equipped with " squirts," as the ilots call their jet planes, was a squadron which had previouslyrai flying Spitfires. Theipiadron's pilots, not specially selected in any way and repre-f-ntinK an average cross-section of any fighter unit in the Royal Air fate, began their jet training by converting from single-engine aircrafti>" twins," learning the multi-engined technique in Oxfords, standard ik.F. twin-engined training aircraft. Spurred on by the new job in prospect, they went solo on " twins "b record time, and after an average of six hours' solo multi-engine lyag time they were judged ready to pass ou to the next stage—theet aircraft Travelling secretly, and in small batches, pilots and key groundtaS went to an R.A.F. experimental establishment, where jet fighters rash from the factory assembly lines were awaiting collection.While the pilots, fortified with a few hours' ground instruction from rat pilots and experimental personnel, flew their first solo jet flightssA did a few hours' practice flying on the new type, the ground crews amed the care and maintenance pf the prototypes.Then, after a few days, the pilots flew the jet aircraft back to their ase, where the aircraft were guarded every minute of their earth-ooad time by special security police. The R.A.F.'s first operational jet patrol was flown during the Battlet the Flying-bomb and had its first success on August 4, 1944. Subse- MBtly, the " Meteor " shot down a substantial number of flying-bombs."They are really beautiful aircraft, and I should hate to return 3 normal flying," said a pilot. " When they start up and taxi, oursguiits' make a noise rather like an oversize vacuum cleaner, but rten they take off, or fly at full throttle, they sound almost like aanal aircraft. "The cockpit layout differs very little from the conventional type,nd it is very comfortable, with good visibility all round. There is hnty of armour to give one a sense of security, and a remarkableoatrast to a normal type of aircraft is the almost complete absence i noise in the cockpit when one is flying "The 'squirts' have plenty of power, and if you open the throttleuddenly you get a kick in the back from your seat. They go up like lift, the faster the higher They're sweet to handle even at highP*d, and it's jets for me from now on." fore the Royal Aeronautical Society that piston engines in unit sizes above 6,000 b.h.p. would not be produced, and in the succeeding discussion Dr. H. R. Ricardo went further by saying that he felt it was a waste of time and energy to attempt to develop piston engines of the conventional form of over, say, 3,000 b.h.p., but that he was not prepared to utter a funeral oration over piston engines in general. Since more powerful units than we now possess are urgently needed for the large air liners now being planned for the peace era, and successful turbines in large sizes are more easily This unusual picture of the AmericanBell XP59A shows the exhaust outlets for the twin turbines. It is now beingused as a trainer for pilots who will fly other jet aircraft. attainable, the adoption of the gas tuvbine as a power unit for aircraft of the future would appear to be assured. This is no new prophecy as the meat potentialities have been discussed in these columns for some four years. In America many aircraft engineers have accepted turbine jet propulsion with their customary enthu- siasm, and research and development actively proceed. Nor is research work on gas turbines confined to aircraft. Both in this country and U-.S.A. practical design is pro- ceeding in the application of high-powered units to marine, locomotive and stationary work. Although no reference is made in the latest oflicial state- ment to fuel consumption, no doubt because performance in interceptor fighter aircraft is more important than mere range or cost, it is known that at present gas turbines pro- ducing a propulsion jet use much more fuel on an hourly basis, save at high altitudes and high speed. But it has already been pointed out that time is not a sound basis of comparison as the jet plane may cover ij times the distance of a piston engine in a given period of time. Progress with materials, however, will, it is confidently expected, improve thermal efficiency to a point comparable with the best-known piston types of engines. In his recent paper Air Comdre. Banks revealed that the fuel consump- tion of the simplest form of Whittle turbine/jet engine is higher than 1 1b. per lb. thrust per hour under static con- ditions, but improved figures are confidently anticipated with compressors of the axial or centrifugal type in com- bination with small propellers or ducted fans serving as thrust augmenters. The Gloster E28/39 was fitted with a Dowty undercar- riage. In the Meteor all three wheels of the Dowty tricycle undercarriage are of the levered suspension type. The front wheel retracts rearwards and the main wheels inwards. One of the advantages of a jet-propelled aircraft is that there is no airscrew which demands ground clearance, and so the undercarriage can be short, its length being largely determined by the ground angle of the wing. In the case of the Meteor further space is saved by compressing (shortening) the legs of the main undercarriage while retracted. But for this feature the wheel track might have been excessive, thus imposing avoidable, loads on the wings. American Activities In America, too, some new facts concerning jet aircraft have been divulged by Gen. H. H. Arnold in his report on the U.S. Army Air Forces to the Secretary of War. Fol- lowing his inspection of the Gloster in England, the initial conferences in U.S. were held on September 4th and 5th, 1941, General Electric and Bell engineers attending. It was decided to build fifteen engines and three twin-engined air- craft designated XP50A. The G.E.C. and Bell were to work in close collaboration. A year later the first U.S. jet aircraft was assembled and flown. The report includes these observations: — "The aircraft was a success.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
