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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 2108.PDF
OCTOBER 25x11, 1945 FLIGHT 445 In spite of the^ct that it is basically a fighter with poweriul armament and extensive equipment, the Meteor record machine looks very sleek with its lengthened nacelles. t very much. If, however, we translate it into the more familiar terms, it means that at 600 m.p.h., for example, 3,715 lb. of thrust represents 5,811 h.p., or a total for the Meteor of 11,622 h.p.! This figure is certainly not an exact one, but it does give an indication of the mag- nitude of the achievement. The fact that the Meteor is in the world's record class is, Mr. Eric Greenwood, chief test pilot, and Mr. F. McKenna, general manager of Glosters, who originated the idea of attacking the speed record. of course, due to a period of steady though rapid develop- ment, not with speed records in view but to give the R.A.F. the fastest possible fighter, using jet-power units. The first experimental machine, it may be recalled, made its initial test flight in May, 1941, and had a single Whittle jet unit. The R.A.F. needed more speed and armament, and as at that time the prospects of the rapid development of a single unit giving really high thrust did not look very good, work was begun by the Gloster Com- pany on a twin-engined design. It is this which, thanks to the almost incredible strides made by the jet unit firms, Aas developed into the Meteor IV record-breaker. Comparisons So quickly did things move that an early Meteor ver- sion was ready to be used operationally before the war with Germany ended. Just how far we have progressed since those days emerges from a brief examination of the Meteor III and IV. The former, with two Rolls-Royce jet units manufactured to the basic design of Air Commo- dore Whittle in collaboration with Power Jets, Ltd., and the British Thomson-Houston Co., Ltd., was fast enough for the German "Doodle Bugs," but not for some of the German jet- and rocket-propelled types. Its speed was in the neighbourhood of 460 m.p.h. at sea level and 475 m.p.h. at 30,000ft. The static thrust from each power unit was just under 2,000 lb., and the maximum rate of climb at sea level 4,000ft. /min. It is interesting to point out that the Mach Numbers corresponding to the two speeds given were 0.61 and 0.70 respectively. For the benefit of readers not familiar with the meaning of the Mach Numbers it may be explained that they represent the percentage of the speed of sound at the height correspond- ing to the speed of the aircraft at that height. In other words, at sea level the aircraft sea level speed of 460 m.p.h. represents 61 per cent, of the speed of sound at sea level. At 30,000ft. the speed of sound has dropped, and 475 m.p.h. represents 70 per cent, of it. At 600 m.p.h. the Mach Number at sea level is in the neighbourhood of 0.80. General Features Basically, the record Meteor is the same as the MeteorIII. The external geometry has not been altered except by the substitution of longer nacelles. At these high speedsthe peak pressures on fuselage and nacelles are very high, and the lengthening of the nacelles separates the points ofmaximum pressures, thereby reducing the degree of interference. In the aerodynamic design of the Meteor there are nounusual features. The high setting of the tailplane is, of course, dictated by the need to get it out of the jet streams.The "acorn" fairing of the fin into the tailplane is not unusual, and has been seen previously on the WestlandWhirlwind and Welkin. The high setting of the tail plane has necessitated splitting the rudder into two partsEach elevator half is fitted with a trimming tab, and there is also one on the lower portion of the rudder. Structurally, also, the Meteor is quite orthodox, withall components of stressed-skin construction, including,the tail surfaces. The fuselage is built on the unit system,comprising nose, front fuselage (which incorporates pilot's cabin and houses the nose wheel), centre section withcentre plane wing roots, rear fuselage and tail unit. Simi- larly the wings comprise the centre section, which is in-tegral with the fuselage and carries the undercarriage units and nacelles, and the outer wing panels. The extremewing tips are detachable. The Rolls-Royce jet units are carried on trunnion-typeside mountings, one of which takes care of expansion as the engine gets hot. The unit is steadied at theback by a diamond bracing, which also Length, -41 It.
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