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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 2247.PDF
NOVEMBER 15TH, FLIGHT 5*1 HOW THE RECORD WAS MADE which, while tolerable at 400-450 m.p.h., would have been absolutely intolerable and even dangerous at the speeds at which the record runs would be made. It was not only over the straight, high-speed ^action of the distorted figure-of-eight course that the air had to be smooth. Though tin- speed could be reduced to about 550 ni.p.h. and height increased to about a thousand leet on the turns, these turns were each over, land where the bumps would be at their worst, and even a slight reduction of speed and increase of height would not appreciably reduce the personal and mechanical discomforts experi- enced. On the timed run itself bumpless con- ditions were even more vital since at 600 m.p.h. the effects of rough air are shattering— not only making it impossible for the pilot, but overstressing the structure and even liable to produce premature compressibility effects. Reduced Thrust The figures obtained were, perhaps, a shade disappointing to the two pilots, who knew that in absolutely perfect conditions an average figure nearer to 610 m.p.h. might have been obtainable even with the limited thrust used. For structural and control reasons this thrust had been reduced, On the jet-units themselves, to 3,600 lb., which, it was estimated, would give the. Meteor a maximum of 610 m.p.h.—beyond which speed Mr. Carter and his associates were not prepared to "guarantee" either the aircraft structure or the hand- ling qualities. As it was, a technically interesting de- formation of the fairings in the air intake was found in at least one of the aircraft. One of the reasons for the final decision to "call' it a day" and not to attempt to improve on the figures was the natural desire of the tech- nicians to make a thorough examination of each aircraft. When this examination has been completed, and further tests have been made, it is just possible, though not likely, that more trials will be made. At least another 400 lb. of thrust from each unit is still in reserve if such an attempt is made, but there does not seem much object in repeating the performance unless the speed can be put up very considerably. In fact, the two Meteors appear to have handled sur- prisingly well at the speeds obtained. In very much earlier trials a nose-up compressibility effect had been noticed at somewhat lower speeds, but this had been cured by a 1909 PVlO 1911 1912 1913 1920 1921 WORLD'S AIR Year. Pilot and Country. 1906 Santos-Dumont (France) Tissandier (France)... Leon Morane (France), Ed. Nieuport (France) Jules Vedrines (U.S.A.) Maurice Prevost (France) Sadi-Lecointe (France) Sadi-Lecointe (France.) B. G. Mitchell (U.S.A.) Lt. Williams (U.S.A.) Adj. Bonnet (France) DeBernardi (Italy)... DeBernardi (Italy)... Orlebar (Gt. Britain) Stainforth (Gt. Britain) Agello (Italy) Agelio (Italy) ... • Dieterle (German) Fritz Wendel (German) Group Capt. Wilson (Gt. Britain) 1923 1924 1927 1928 1929 1.931 1933 1934 1939 1939 1945 SPEED RECORDS Km./hr. Aircraft. ... 41.3 Santos-Dumont. ... 54.81 Wright. ... 106.51 Bleriot. ... 130.06 Nieuport. ... 174.10 Deperdussin. . ... 203.85 Deperdussin. ... 313.04 Nieuport-Delage. ... 330.28 Nieuport-Delage. ... 358.84 Curtiss. ... 429.03 Curtiss-Racer. ... 448.17 S.I.M.B. ... 479.29 Macchi M.52. ... 512.78 Macchi M.52. ... 575.70 Supermarine S6. ... 655.00 Supermarine S6B. ... 682.078 Macchi C.72. ...709.2 Macchi-Castoidi M.72. ... 746.41 Heinke!Hell2. _ ... 755.138 Messcrschmitt Me 109. ... 976.QJ Meteor IV. PERSONALITIES BEHIND THE POWER : Air Commodore F. Whittle,the pioneer of Turbine Jet development, Dr. S. G. Hooker (left), chief engineer of the Rolls-Royce turbine engine section, and Mr. J. P. Herriot, his assistant. very slight change of taiiplane incidence. Presumably this tendency might reappear in due course ii the speed was raised still further. The -majority of aircraft develop a nose-down tendency at their maximum Mach number speeds, and the Meteor's characteristic is both unusual and "safe." It is a very great credit to the design that, at the average maximum speeds obtained (which give a Mach number of about 0.8), the aircraft should still be safely handleable at the low levels demanded by the F.A.I, rules. On all the runs each of the Meteors was absolutely steady. The very slightly disappointing figures were primarily the 'result of the prevailing North-Westerly wind. The complete course forms a figure-of-eight, lying more or less East and West with the loops round North Foreland in the East and over the Isle of Sheppey in the West. To obtain the longest reasonable " straights " the pilots turned approximately 40 degrees off the timed track to the right after each run before making quiet left-hand 180-degree. turns to bring the aircraft on to the speed line some eight miles or so from the actual timing points. With an 8-12 m.p.h. wind from the North-West each turn had to be "distorted" in order to return accurately to the straight. That over North Foreland could be slightly eased while that over Sheppey had to be proportionately tightened. Drift Effects The result was that both pilots had some slight difficulty in getting "lined up" comfortably when arriving from the west. More.than once the fine smoke trail—all that could be seen of the aircraft in the distance—developed a momentary " kink " as the pilot found it necessary to make a slight S-turn to get on to course. And at that speed, with sealed tabs, turns cannot be made quickly. The rate of turn had to be kept below an absolute maximum of 3 G. if speed was not to be lost and the turns were being made "visually," so, with the reduced visibility at the Western end of the course and the necessary tightening of the turn 'to allow for drift, it must have been quite difficult for the pilots when entering the West-East run. In fact, we believe, Group Capt. Wilson very nearly decided to aban- don one of his runs. The average drift of 8 m.p.h. or so also made the ' "straight" flying something of a problem, and each pilot tended to put on bank as soon as he had left the measured part of the course while flying westwards in order to avoid
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