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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0642.PDF
636 FLIGHT BRISTOLS FLY HIGH "Flight" photograph The Olympus-Canberra, in which VV/C. W. F. Gibb established the new world's altitude record of 63,668ft (subject to confirmation), ascends to the upper air. Background to the Olympus-Canberras 63,668ft Record: Some New Facts THE chronological list of world's "heavier-than-air" altitude records which we reproduce discloses that Great Britain has established five records out of 41, and all of these since the year 1931. Four, including the Olympus-Canberra record chronicled in last week's issue, have been set up with Bristol engines, and in two instances the airframes likewise have been of Bristol design and manufacture. Of earlier—foreign—records, two (those of Neuenhofen in 1929 and Donati in 1934) were accomplished with Bristol power units. The work of the Bristol company in developing high-altitude aircraft engines dates from the building of the turbo-supercharged Jupiter in the early 1920s. The programme was, of course, under the direction of Sir Roy Fedden, and when he himself traced the history of supercharging in this country, he acknowledged the basic work of R.A.E. and other manufacturers. It is 38 years since experimental investigations were made at the Royal Aircraft Factory (now the Royal Aircraft Establishment) into the characteristics of piston and displacement blowers; but these were quickly discarded in favour of the exhaust turbo. In charge of the turbo investigations was the late Mr. J. E. Ellor, and he worked in collaboration with Metropolitan-Vickers. A design had already been completed when it was learned that the Rateau concern in France was working along the same lines and was, in fact, further advanced than "The Factory." Accordingly, a Rateau supercharger was procured, fitted to an R.A.F.4D engine and flown in an R.E.8 during the autumn of 1918. This aircraft was also fitted with a four-blade v.p. airscrew, and stands as one of those almost forgotten "milestones" of development which occur from time to time in aviation history. Soon after the 1914-18 war flight tests were put in hand with a British exhaust turbo in a Liberty-D.H.oA, and later in a Lion- engined 9A, the latter machine achieving a height of over 30,000ft in about 1920. During 1923 an experimental turbo supercharger designed and built by the R.A.E. was fitted to a Jupiter III engine, and was eventually installed in the original "Seely Supercharger" biplane—a special version of the F.2B Tourer built for the Air Ministry Civil Aeroplane Competition of 1920. Inji924 the Seely undertook a comprehensive flight-test programme which included climbs to 23,000ft. Later its super charger was removed and installed on a Jupiter IV in a Blood hound, and as a result of trials the Air Ministry asked the Bristol company to design a new high-altitude engine incorporating this type of blower as an integral feature. The resulting engine, named Orion, had the same bore and stroke as the Jupiter, but was entirely different in crankcase and cylinder design, which resulted in a slight reduction in overall diameter. Exhaust and induction systems were wholly redesigned and a special type of duplex carburetter was used. Owing to the great metallurgical difficulties encountered the Orion was not flight-tested until 1928, when it was fitted in a Gloster Gamecock airframe at Farnborough. The maximum power of 495 h.p. was maintained up to a height of over 20,000ft, which level was attained in less than 13 minutes. Also on test at the R.A.E. in the late 'twenties was the Gloster Guan, powered with a turbo-supercharged Napier Lion driving a Hele-Shaw-Beacham v.p. airscrew. It must be emphasized that the installations named were of a purely experimental nature and, notwithstanding intensive development of the exhaust-turbo in America, this form of supercharger was allowed to lapse in this country until its rein statement on the Napier Nomad. Instead, development resources were concentrated on the mechanically-driven blower, developed first in France and later—taking French designs as a basis—in this country. Sir Roy Fedden has paid further tribute to the R.A.E. for initiating design in Great Britain at the end of the Kaiser's war, and he has described the R.A.E. pattern as "a classic" which "laid the foundation for gear-driven superchargers all over the world." The initial Service application was that of the Jaguar IVS in the Siskin IIIA fighter—the first standard military aircraft to have a supercharged engine; but by no means all the R.A.F. Siskins had this "blown" Jaguar, and the first supercharged unit to be selected for large-series production was the Bristol Jupiter VII of 1927. This had a rated altitude of 12,000ft and was fitted as standard in the long-lived Bristol Bulldog. Rich benefits accrued to British high-altitude fighting aircraft from the installation of progressively developed Bristol engines. Thus, the Gloster Mars VI, or Nighthawk, with unsupercharged Jupiter, attained a ceiling of 26,000ft in the early 1920s; the Hawker Hawfinch and Bristol Bulldog of the early 'thirties reached levels around 30,000ft with the supercharged Jupiter VII; the Mercury-powered Gloster Gauntlet of the mid-'thirties could climb to over 35,000ft; and the eight-gun Perseus-engined Bristol 146, built just before the Second World War, had a service ceiling of over 38,000ft. It is a little-known fact that the second prototype Bulldog was modified for an attempt to exploit the ultimate high-altitude performance of the Jupiter "Flight" photograph The Olympus-Canberra arrives at London Airport for public inspection on the week end following the announcement of W/C. Gibbs' new height record.
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