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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1791.PDF
55? Visible in this side view are paint-strips on the E.28's fuselage for assessment of skin temperatures. The first flight dispelled many fearsas to the " dire effects " of the tremendous heat generated by the power-unit. cockpit which, incidentally, had a rearward-sliding hood. The mainplanes were stressed-skin-covered, two-spar, cantilever structures, tapering in chord and thickness; with a single joint on the fuselage axis; the wing was recessed into the underside of the fuselage. Fabricrcovered ailerons, with automatic balance-tabs, were fitted, and the split, trailing-edge flaps were bydraulically operated through a hand-pump in the cockpit. For the first series of flight- tests, the aerofoil was of 230-Series section, but all further tests were made with "high-speed," G.W.2-section wings. Largely to ensure good take-off characteristics, the E.28 had a nosewheel undercarriage (it was one of the first fighters so equipped) which took full advantage of the low ground-clearance possible in the absence of an airscrew. Of Dowty design, the undercarriage comprised a steerable, telescopic-strut nosewheel which retracted backwards, and two knee-action mainwheels retracting sideways and inwards into the wing. All three units had brakes and oleo- pneumatic shock-absorbers. ' Retraction was effected by hydraulic pressure, the accumulator normally being charged manually before flight. To compensate for the loss of air- screw slip-stream effect at low air-speeds, the elevator was of particularly generous area. A moment's digression will give some indication of the foresight shown in the Gloster design office. In November, 1940, the Air Ministry, expressing increased faith in an untried means of power, issued a specification, F. 9/40, for a twin-jet, single-seat fighter, which, of course, finally emerged as the highly successful Meteor. Twelve examples were ordered in February, 1941. In the same month, records speak of a minute from Carter to Whittle expressing concern that " extrapolated thrust at 60,000ft appeared to be zero," as this affected the bomber programme. At this iilUC y* it stressed, three months were to elapse before the first Britisii j~* aircraft left the ground. Late in the evening of Apr-] 7th. Gloster's chief test pilot, the late F/L. P. E. G. ("Jerry" £± '?r- began taxying the E.28 on the soft grass surface of Brockwcit- airfield where, he reported, 10,000 of the 13,000 r.p.m. permitiCi: were needed before there was enough urge to move the aircraft. Before darkness concluded the test, the pilot found controllability very good, but acceleration poor. This showed improvement the following day, when the unair- worthy WiX turbojet was allowed to rotate at 16,000 r.p.m. In the second of two taxying tests then made, the E.28 made three short "hops," each of some ioo-2ooyd, at a height of about 6ft, preceded by take-off runs of some 6oo-7ooyd. Control during these short periods in the air was reported to be good, and almost the only adverse com- ments referred to acceleration and adjustment of the throttle control. During the afternoon of May 8th, Sir Frank (then W/C.) Whittle took over from Jerry Sayer and himself taxied the aircraft for brief periods. On the first page of Sayer's report of the initial taxying trials, against the heading " Airscrew," appears an historic remark—" No air- screw necessary with this method of propulsion." Words to this effect recur in several successive reports, strictly accurate, and yet hinting at the satisfaction justly felt during this unique period. Cranwell, with its long runway, was chosen as the air- field from which the E.28 would make its first flights. Before the journey by road to Cranwell, where further taxying tests took place on May 14th, the Wi power unit was installed, having received clearance for 10 hours' fly- ing, and a number of minor adjustments were made to the aircraft. On the smoother airfield surface, acceleration was found to be greatly improved. The nosewheel steer- ing was so effective that Sayer recommended that brakes be used only for slowing-up the taxi- or landing-run. Heavy rain prevented him from experiencing further " hops," but he established that the best pre-take-off pro- cedure was to reach full r.p.m. against file brakes, now practised almost exclusively with jet aircraft. Sound operational considerations aside, Cranwell remains the scene most historically suitable for the beginning of this great venture. As the home of the Royal Air Force College, it was the cradle of Whittle's earliest theories con- cerning jet propulsion, and the starting-point for the engi- Showing the bifurcated air intake in the nose. low-clearance undercarriage and neat ov'C."i/' appearance of the E.28.
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