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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 3159.PDF
STRAIGHT A LEVEL The Gloster-Whittle E28/39 Pioneers the jet age At precisely 13:15h on 15 November, a pair of Glos- ter Meteors (guided by a flight of four Panavia Tor nados) flew over West minster Abbey in London in a final tribute to the man who, more than any other, made jet-powered flight a practical possibility — Sir Frank Whittle. A few minutes earlier, 1,500 peo ple had been gathered in the Abbey for a memori al service addressed by sev eral people who had more reason than most to remember him with tfianks. One was his son Ian, a retired airline pilot, who was able to remember Dad as somebody who "...did not invent, nor did he claim to invent, the gast turbine", but who had made it a prac tical and commercial suc cess. No one would argue with his simple sum ming-up of a man who "...stood firm ly in the tradition of great British Engineers". Another was ACM Sir Michael Graydon, the cur rent leader of the ne organisation to which Whittle owed both his opportunity to build a gas turbine in the first place, and arguably his greatest loyalty, the RAF. The last was Capt Eric ("Winkle") Brown, who flew the Gloster/Whittle E2 8/3 9 and who read Brian Young's poem "Flight" which ends appropriately: Whittle's original patent drawing How splendid is this gift He gave On high to roam, The stm a friend, the earth a slave, The heavens home. Uncle Roger's Total Aviation Bookshelf Genesis of the Jet, by John Golley; Airlife Publishing, 101 Longden Road, Shrewsbury SY3 9EB, UK. Golley's definitive 1987 biography of Whittle, writ ten in association with the man himself, originally published as Whittle: the true story, now updated and published in this new edi tion by Airlife. Triumphs: comprehen sive examination of what went right (the technicali ties) and what went wrong (the politics) for Whittle; copious input from Whittle himself gives it added legit imacy; full appendices list ing everything from his 27 patents, honours and after thoughts like the Turbo drill for the oil industry, and an admirable brief techni cal description of the Whit tle engines; a proper index; Defeats: peters out after the nationalisation of Power Jets, with the last 50 years of his life effectively dealt with in one chapter; relative paucity of illustra tions; paperback formatnot ideal for an essential refer ence work. TAB RATING [X] Top Shelf Whittle ran his first turbine engine at the age of 29, had overseen its development into a reliable, universal powerplant within the next decade, and effectively had left the industry which he created by the time he was 40. Just imagine what he might have achieved if he and the Government mach ine had got on together. The Whittle engine as built 75 YEARS AGO ••• Extracts from Flight, November 24,1921 The Paris Aero Show Large machines dominate this year's Salon. Although they are outnumbered by the small fry, their wings seem to cast their shadows over the whole of the Grande Nef, and to claim attention by their very size. Towering in some instances with the noses of their fuselages over the gazing pigmies walking below, they undoubtedly form the chief attraction as regards the general public... From the practical point of view, however, it is extremely doubtful whether these "Mammouths", "Leviathans" and "Juggernauts" deserve die prominence which their size gives them. There is still much to learn before we can profitably turn to tiiese giants, and, unless a full load can be guar anteed for each trip - which may be doubtful - they are likely to prove disappointing to run until flying becomes more popular widi the general public than is the case at present. ••• Bad Weather Trials Bad weather completely dislocated the air ser vices to the Continent for three days last week. On Wednesday, the weather changed suddenly all along the London-Paris route, and caught machines actually in flight. All the pilots man aged, however, to bring their machines safely to the ground, but many of them had exciting expe riences... Mr Macintosh, on a Handley Page 0- 400, descended at Crowhurst. He could only see a few yards ahead, peering into the rain mist, and, as he himself expressed it, got a "close-up view" of a church clock, but managed to get the machine safely past it. He finally landed in a small field, and the aeroplane had to be lightened of all superfluous weight in order to get it out again. Several other machines came down in fields. ••• Attack from the Air Speaking at Amiens recendy, Sir Henry Wilson, die Chief of the General .Staff, suggested that it was for those who govern the world to ponder whether, if they wanted to limit the horrors of war, it would be better to limit aeroplanes rather than submarines. He was speaking of the bombing of defenceless towns from the air, which, he said, seemed to be on the whole a development of a movement for killing women and children. Soldiers did not like it much, either, he said. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 November - 3 December 1996
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