On 15th May 1941 RAF Cranwell saw the first flight of an allied jet-powered aircraft, the Gloster E28/39, using an engine designed by Sir Frank Whittle. Born in 1907, he worshipped the flying aces of World War One and wanted to join the Royal Air Force. The RAF turned him down for being too small which was the first of a series of blunders by the aviation establishment, but he persisted and was finally accepted as an apprentice. He later went to RAF Cranwell to learn his trade yet, as an apprentice not expecting to fly. However, his talents as a builder of model aircraft impressed a senior officer, who recommended him for officer training. Even so, there were yet more obstacles to overcome, not least concerns among senior officers that young Frank Whittle had shown no aptitude for sport. His instructors replied that they had unearthed a "mathematical genius." That would be clear enough when Officer Cadet Whittle submitted his student thesis. He chose an impossibly ambitious subject the "Future Developments In Aircraft Design," and tackled the eternal problem of how to get aeroplanes going higher and faster.
In the heavily-guarded secrecy of a Lincolnshire airbase, Frank Whittle invented jet propulsion and jet travel. Thanks to him, the world has shrunk. We have all become travellers. We are all the beneficiaries of this modest Warwickshire genius who took on the aviation establishment and changed the world that day. It was to good fortune that the RAF and the Air Ministry decided to listen to him for Nazi Germany were not so naïve, and staff from their Embassy in London went straight to the Stationery Office and snapped up all the details. In the aftermath of World War II, copies of Whittle’s patents would be found in research labs all over Germany. The Luftwaffe had its Messerschmitt Me 262 which was deployed to destroy Allied bombers. It was a good job that the Luftwaffe had no jet bombers to bomb the cities and the dock areas of the United Kingdom!
This is Gloster E28/39 in flight on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2YtL123Sik
To celebrate this historic event, the Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre is teaming up with the Jet Provost Group based at Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre. Visitors to both sites will be able to witness aircraft taxy runs, various jet engines, jet cockpits and the chance to win a taxy ride in Jet Provost XS186! Have a look at the story and the restoration of XS 186 on https://jetprovostxs186restoration.com/ and see who are the crew members on https://jetprovostxs186restoration.com/the-crew/
Fun for all the family begins on Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th May from 10am to 4.30pm at both at Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre and Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre.
There will also be an enlightening presentation at Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre on Saturday 14th at 10.30am by Ian Whittle who is the son of Sir Frank Whittle. He will explore the origins and evolution of the technology that led to the dawn of the jet age.
Visitors and guests are be advised to turn up for this free event at 10.00am on that day as Ian's talk is the opening item.
For more information telephone 01529 488490.
John Shipton
Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre
Lincoln
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Celebrating the first jet flight in the United Kingdom...
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