FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1588.PDF
i66 FLIGHT AUGUST 15TH, 1946 Record Technicalities Airframes and Poiver Units : Course and Timing Arrangements AS this issue appears EE549 and EE550, the two GlosterMeteor IVs for the R.A.F. High-Speed Flight should^ have been delivered to Tangmere, where the speci- ally rated Rolls-Royce Derwent V turbine-jets will be in- stalled. Then, as soon as weather permits, Group Capt. E. M. Donaldson will attack the World's Air Speed Record. All his flights, including the first "test," will be timed for possible submission as records and, despite the Air Ministry's statement last week that the attempt would probably not occur before August 20, it is now clear that any day after the 14th may bring an announcement that Group Capt. Wilson's speed of 606 m.p.h. has been beaten and, in all probability, that a speed of 1,000 k.p.h. (622 m.p.h.) has been exceeded. The homologated figure is unlikely to be higher than 630 m.p.h. In view of the imminence of the attempt, the latest news ol the aircraft and power units and of the course and timing arrangements is summarised below. This informa- tion has been gathered from Air Marshal Sir Alec Coryton, Controller of Supplies (Air) ; from Gloster and Rolls-Royce officials, including Mr. W. G. Carter, designer of the Meteor ; Mr. Serby, and Group Capt. Watt, of the Ministry of Supply ; Group Capt. Donaldson, Sqn. Ldr. Watefton and Fit. Lt. Duke, the three pilots of the High-Speed Flight; Wing Cdr. McGregor, the Course Controller ; and Mr. Goldsmith, of the R.A.E., who is responsible for the timing arrangements. Airframes Soon after the Herne Bay record nights last year Flight discussed in some detail the features of the amazingly successful Meteor IV. Since that time various modifica- tions have been incorporated, not only in the High-Speed machines but in all production aircraft now being delivered to th.3 R.A.F. For example, the spar fairings, which gave some difficulty at Herne Bay, have been improved ; the rear fairing portion and fillets behind the rear spar, out- board of each nacelle, are now stiffer. New " hollow- ground " aileron tabs of longer chord have been incor- The severe tests to which the special Derwent V turbine jets have been subjected are described in the accompanying notes. A Derwent is seen here on test at the Derby works of Rolls-Royce Ltd. cut. porated and, whereas at Herne Bay the tabs were locked, the new tabs operate, the gear ratio of aileron to tab being, as previously, 1 :1.25. This has resulted in much improved manoeuvrability. The rudder tabs remain locked and the dive-brakes are screwed down. As described in Flight of August 1st, additional tankage has been installed ; there is a centre tank of 43 gallons in the ammunition bay and two side tanks, each of 13 gallons. It has been asked why the new " clipped "-wing developed for the Meteor and illustrated in Flight of August 1st is not being used on the High-Speed machines. The explanation is that while the prototype clipped-wing Meteor has done a considerable amount of development flying it was thought desirable to retain the '' known quantity of the standard wing. In any case, it is doubtful if the short-span wing would be favoured, having been developed primarily to* improve lateral control. The new wing may even detract sightly from maximum speed. The High-Speed Meteors are fitted with a special cockpit hood of metal with two transparent peepholes in each side. This modification has been necessitated because at speeds of over 600 m.p.h. frictional heat is such that the standard transparent hood may be appreciably distorted. The ports for the four 20 mm guns have been filled and faired, and the protective grills on the jet intakes deleted. A Machmeter and accelerometer are fitted. Finish of the High-Speed Meteors is of exceptional quality ; plate edges and rivet dimples have been filled with plastic stopping and the surface smoothed. It will be gathered that none of the modifications is of a major character, and after the record nights EE549 and 550 could have their turbine-jets de-rated to 3,500-lb thrust, their extra tanks removed and guns substituted, the standard cockpit enclosure fitted, the dive-brakes unsealed and the rudder tabs unlocked, and in twenty-four hours could be delivered to a squadron as standard aircraft. It is, perhaps, aot fully appreciated that the airframes for the record attempt were not "hand-picked," and that the two numbers were decided upon many months ago. In view of the quality of workman- ship demanded in a standard fighter which, with full war load, attains nearly 600 m.p.h., it would in any case have been impossible to select specially well-made components and assemblies. There has been some speculation on the speed which might be attained by a Meteor still further modified. Mr. Carter is sure that the type can be further developed and bases his con- fidence on research flying by the Gloster pilots and by personnel of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farn- borough, who have been experiment- ing with Group Capt. Wilson's famous "454" since it returned from Herne Bay. Mr. Carter has referred to the possibility of lengthening the nacelles still further, but while this develop- ment holds promise it would entail considerable modifications which were not warranted for the imminent record attempt. Mr. Carter suggests that in future the Meteor may have a longer nose which, apart from a possible beneficial effect on speed, will reduce the amount of ballast now carried. For the record attempts the Meteor IVs will be flying at a weight of 14,078 lb, the tare weight being
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
