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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1416.PDF
268 FLIGHT September 2nd, 1948 A Year of Noteworthy Progress and Out- standing Achievements by Our Turbines. TAINS POWER UNITS ibt that in the design of aircraft power atry leads the world. At Farnborough He manufacturers will seek to substantiate "and the many thousands of visitors—some 50 "countries are expected to be represented at the S.B.A.C. Display—will not have to depend on the printed or spoken assurance, but will be able to see for themselves the variety and excellence of the engines we have produced. To-day, fighter aircraft require very high power coupled with reliability and good installation qualities. Aircraft designers have been able to choose between the Nene and Ghost, both compact 5,000-lb-thrust units with centrifugal compressors, and, for twin-engined installations, the smaller but similar Derwents (3,600-lb-thrust) and slim axial 3,8561b Beryls. It may be assumed, moreover, that more powerful devel- opments of these units and additional larger designs are bein^ produced for prototype aircraft now on the way. Cer- tain advanced civil transports are also being fitted with these pure-jet units. No better example of reliable service from a gas turbine under all circumstances can be offered than that given by the Goblin installed in the Vampire—now a standard inter- ceptor in many countries. For piston engines in the large 2,000 to 3,000 h.p. class we are dependent for both civil and military requirements upon one type only, but this, the Centaurus, now has a great deal of operational experience behind it. Although its wisdom has been questioned, the policy of introducing turboprops, as soon as possible, for commercial as well as military use, when the power requirement is in excess of 3,000 h.p., is well supported in the aircraft in- dustry. As a start, the Theseus is amassing hours of air experience and has already achieved a remarkable degree of reliability and durability, as witnessed by its recent 500-hour test run. Of great importance also was its low consumption recorded on this occasion, namely, 0.65 lb/ b.h.p./hr. Now the rather similar 3,500 h.p. Proteus is under intensive development in order to reach a suitable stage for installation in the second Bristol 167 Brabazon and in the Saunders-Roe 45. In the next lower power class, 1,000 to 2,000 h.p., we areWell served for civil and military transport requirements by the many marks of Merlin, Hercules and Griffon pistonengines, and no fewer than three small turboprops, the Mamba, Dart and Naiad, are now flying in test beds andin single- and four-engine prototypes. For light transports Leonides radials and superchargedin-line Gipsy Queens are available. The Leonides has also been developed as a helicopter power plant. This classwill soon be reinforced by the new Grenadier, which has reached the test and development stage and follows in itsseries the smaller Bombardier now awaiting type test con- firmation. There is something of a gap between the 500s and 1,200s,and, casting one's mind back to pre-war days for a moment, it seems a pity in many ways that the successful Aquilaand Gipsy Twelve designs were discontinued. Light aircraft users need no introduction to the GipsyMajor, which has for many years enjoyed an unrivalled and world-wide reputation, or to the Cirrus Minor, an exampleof which recently won a race after having completed 1,200 hours of flying in the aircraft on an endurance test, with-out any servicing whatever. It is to be hoped that the sponsors and designers of certainultra-light aircraft engines—the Cross and others—construc- tion of which has been commenced or is contemplated, willreceive sufficient encouragement and support to enable them to introduce by next year designs in the 50 h.p. class, whichis at present unrepresented. No entirely new power units have been introduced duringthe year, but as development has proceeded details of several have become available for the first time. The storyof this year's progress centres upon many achievements in operation—the passing of type tests, the completion ofarduous special test runs, the taking of the world's altitude record and the first Atlantic crossing by gas-turbine-powered aircraft. On the following pages each type of current British engineis illustrated and its particular features and duties are sum- marized ; the principal data are then printed in tabular formon subsequent pages with data tables for British aircraft.
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