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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0109.PDF
k—J tie Way of Achievement Rolls-Royce Flight Development : A History of Modern Pioneering IT has frequently been stated at Rolls- D«r P 1) Pajlav Wflt^All m&i*1 unchanged, and it is in the lightRoyce that '' the optimum result can *v ^' WtmCj * fl ft WUH of this example that one realizes thesweeping implication and full depth ofy pbe obtained only by superimposing development on design." In the light of the reputation accorded throughout the world to the company's name, for it is a synonym for everything .that is superlative, it particularly, interesting to learn the precept upon which so impressive a tradition is founded. That the design is good originally can, however, be reasoned as being im- plicit in the precept. A bad design—if inherently bad— can never be " developed " into a good one; all that can be done is to get rid of the fundamentally bad element, and then the design becomes capable of development to its ultimate. But I imagine Rolls-Royce really mean that it is better to develop known quantities to their absolute rather than to keep starting afresh with new designs, no matter how good, which themselves have to be developed into reliable entities. The Merlin is as fine an example of this policy as one could find. Starting off in 1932 as a private-venture engine, designated PV/12, it incorporated all the design knowledge gleaned from its racing forbears. In July, 1934, by now known as the Merlin, the engine successfully completed its first 100-hour type test at an international rating of 790 b.h.p. at 12,000 it and 2,500 r.p.m., with a rated boost of + 2lb. The take-off power was 625 b.h.p. and the weight 1,177 ft>- Development of the engine continued up to and throughout the war years, and in 1942, using the two- speed, two-stage supercharger and 100-octane fuel, the Mk 61 produced nearly 2,000 b.h.p. On experimental tests the tremendous output of 2,600 b.h.p. has been given by a. Merlin—an increase of over 400 per cent on the take-off power of the original unit. Basically the design has, re-. meaning in the Derby precept of superimposing develop- ment on design. It is obvious that with aircraft engines (and this in- cludes all the ancillary bits and pieces which go to make a complete power plant) testing by ground running can go only part of the way toward supplying the answers that the development engineers wish to know. The only method whereby a comprehensive result can be obtained is to operate the unit in the factual conditions which it is de- signed to meet. For this reason Rolls-Royce have a Flight Development Establishment which, incidentally, in terms of hours flown and in number of personnel is, perhaps, the largest organization of its kind in this country and, fittingly, has become recognized as one of the leading ex- perimental flight-testing establishments in the world. Like so many other great organizations, this all started in a very modest way. In December, 1934, one hangar was taken at Hucknall airfield, about 20 miles from Derby, and with three aircraft (a Hawker Hart, Fury and Gloster Gnat- snapper), two pilots, two ground engineers and a very small technical and ground staff the venture was launched. The original interests were concerned almost solely with solving the conjoint problems of overcoming coolant leaks and keeping engines cool, but as time went on the problems which arose led to more and more problems, as it usually the way in any form of research. Thoughts on radiator control and ducting led to aero- dynamic considerations of drag reduction, duct efficiency, exhaust thrust, choice of the correct airscrew and, later on, what is called performance reduction. (This term is com-
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