FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1789.PDF
FLIGHT. 27 October 1949 **i¥© Airscrew Necessary.* Concerning the Gloster E.28/39, an Historic British Aircraft which Opened a New Era in Aviation By ROBERT J. BLACKBURN As LEADING partners in the wartime enterprise which produced the Gloster-Whittle jet aircraft, Sir Frank Whittle and Mr. George Carter are uniquely qualified to introduce a biography of that aircraft, better known, perhaps, as the Gloster E. 28/39. We have invited their comments, which appear below—an inspiring and engrossing preface. From Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, K.BJE., C.B., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., Hon. M.I.Mech.E., F.R.Ae.S. E.28/39, like the engine which powered it, was born of sweat, toil and teamwork. Fromthe moment when, following the first rough proposals for a small single-seater fighter to house the first engine designed for flight. Power Jets, Ltd., and Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd., gatheredround a table with Air Ministry and R.A.E. scientists to discuss the draft specification for E.28/39 Just issued, the creation was a matter of continuous and close co-operation. Manyweary miles were travelled between Lutterworth and Gloucester, and many weary hours spent at drawing boards and in workshops. Tribute has already been paid to the men primarily responsible for E.28/39's design—W. G. Carter and R. W. Walker, of Glosters, and P...E. G. Sayer, their chief test pilot, who first flew her. But I should like to recall the contribution of all the craftsmen who, hamperedby blackout and harried by bombs (r5 feet saved E.28/39 from an incendiary during building), made that first flight—and all that has grown from it—possible. From Mr. W. G. Carter, C.B.E., F.R.AcS. My introduction to the jet engine took place in September, 1939, when asked by the Air Ministry if we would take on the job of designing a jet-propelled aeroplane. I went to renew my acquaintance with Frank Whittle at Power Jets and to see his engine at work. After some preliminary talk and a look over a few of the drawings, wj went along to the test bay, and I had my first sight of a gas-turbine-cum-jet-propulsion unit. It seemed to me to be a quaint sort of contraption—rather on the rough and ready side—and by no means the kind of thing to inspire confidence as a prospective power installation. It started working with a characteristic muffled thud as the fuel mixture was ignited, and was quickly speeded up to register a modest amount of thrust, which to the best of my recollection was about 400 lb. Some parts of the engine casing showed a dull red heat which, combined with an intensely high-pitched volume of noise, made it seem as though the engine might at any moment disintegrate in bits and pieces. However, I could regard the event as no other than an unforgettable and unique experience, and felt convinced that the prospect of ultimately successful development of the engine far outweighed the very hazardous nature of the enterprise in accepting responsibility for putting it inside an aeroplane. The design of an experimental aircraft known as the Gloster E.28/39 was soon under way. It was based on the then almost unexplored region of high subsonic speed, and rightly regarded by the Gloster. Power Jets and R.A.E. teams as a very intriguing proposition. The series of out- standingly successful test flights which commenced in May, 1941, was looked upon by all concerned as a most fitting reward for the work which had been done. T seems certain that the future path of aviation pro- gress will bear no single technical milestone to match jet propulsion, either in the depth of achievement behind it or in the broadness of possibilities ahead. Survey- ing present developments, no doubt can be felt concerning the decisive effect of British skill and enterprise; the work of the jet propulsion pioneers in Great Britain eclipsed all previous and contemporary endeavour in this field—a fact which history will confirm without question. With a sense of the deep historical and technical interest of the subject, we have welcomed the opportunity of placing on permanent record the story of the conception and development of the first practical jet-propelled aircraft—the Gloster E.28/39. During the working life of this unique instrument of research, wartime security forbade the pos- sibility of reporting the machine's progress. Now, largely with the assistance of original flight-test reports placed at our disposal by the Gloster Aircraft Company, the following account has been prepared. In establishing the status of the E.28 as the first success-
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
