Whittle: The Jet Pioneer

Product Description It started in a student's notebook. Today, it enables us to make 1.5 billion air passenger journeys a year. The story of how Sir Frank Whittle invented the jet engine and shrank the world is one of the great dramas of the 20th century. About the Actor Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle (June 1, 1907 August 9, 1996) was a British Royal Air Force (RAF) engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine (some years earlier than Germany's Dr. Hans von Ohain) and is generally hailed as the father of jet propulsion. From an early age Whittle demonstrated an aptitude for engineering and an interest in flying. Determined to be a pilot, he overcame his physical limitations to be accepted into the RAF, where his abilities earned him a place on the officer training course. He excelled in his studies and became an accomplished pilot. While writing his thesis there he formulated the fundamental concepts that led to the creation of the turbojet engine, taking out a patent on his design in 1930. Without government support, he and two retired RAF servicemen formed Power Jets Ltd. to build his engine. Despite limited funding, a prototype was created, which first ran in 1937. By June 1939 Power Jets could barely afford to keep the lights on when yet another visit was made by British Air Ministry personnel. This time Whittle was able to run a prototype engine at high power for 20 minutes without any difficulty. In January 1940, the Ministry placed a contract for a simple aircraft specifically to flight-test Whittle's engine. Various British manufacturers including Rolls Royce started to work on turbojets, spurred by WW2 and the race against the Germans for the first jet planes. Despite lengthy delays in their own program, the Luftwaffe beat the British efforts into the air by nine months. However, the German jets would typically last only 10 to 25 hours before burning out, and sometimes exploded on their first startup. Whittle's designs were far more reliable and by the end of the war every major engine company in Britain was working on jet designs based on the Whittle patent, or licensed outright. Whittle was sent to Boston, Massachusetts in mid-1942 to help the General Electric jet program. GE, the primary supplier of turbochargers in the U.S., was well-suited to starting jet production quickly and Whittle reveled in the can-do attitude of the Americans. His work at GE led directly to the American jet engine manufacturing capability. In 1948 Whittle retired from the RAF and received a knighthood. He joined BOAC as a technical advisor before working as an engineering specialist in one of Shell Oil's subsidiaries, followed by a position with Bristol Aero Engines. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1976 he accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy from 1977 1979. In August 1996, Whittle died of lung cancer at his home in Columbia, Maryland.
ASIN: B007ZECOUS
VSKU: DBV.B007ZECOUS.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Nicholas Jones
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!