Bill;
Not to take anything away from Whittle, but his centrufugal design was very
limited and it wasn't until General Electric improved his original design
with their axial-flow approach that it became a practical powerplant.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: ardunbill@webtv.net [mailto:ardunbill@webtv.net]
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 9:57 AM
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Subject: Sir Frank Whittle: Turbojet Inventor
Just finished reading Whittle's book "Jet- The Story of a Pioneer"
(1953) and what a great read it is!
He invented the turbojet in the early '30s, as an RAF pilot himself he
saw the need for high-altitude efficiency that the prop and piston
engine could never give. He sort of visualized combining elements of
the steam turbine that had been around for a long time for electric
power plants, the centrifugal supercharger then in common use on
aircraft engines and racecars, and even I daresay the home heating oil
burner. But he and his small band of helpers had to struggle for many
years to build and perfect practical components to make it happen. The
design and fabrication of new concepts was terribly difficult, as was
the struggle to get financial support even for the small sums needed.
Reliable metals for the exhaust turbine blades was a big holdup until
inconel and nimonic 80 were finally made available by the metal alloys
companies(I think inconel is still used today for Top Fuel exhaust
valves).
But finally it all made good, Whittle eventually was knighted, and
awarded the equivalent of $500K, which in the late '40s was a huge
fortune, let's say equal to $5 million today. And the govt graciously
declared it tax free.
Toward the end of WW II Rolls-Royce got into the jet engine picture with
Whittle, and as you know has made huge amounts of money ever since in
the jet engine business. R-R wanted into it because they knew the
Merlin business was about to crash, and the jet would be the thing.
Whittle struggled so hard so long in that time that he broke his health
often, but eventually made a good recovery, lived to be an old man, and
died in the '90s.
All in all, an inspiring story of what one man with a good idea can do.
Bill
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