|
Source: http://www.2ndarmoredhellonwheels.com/me262.html
A
jet propulsion mechanism was conceptualized long before the jet plane was
ever manufactured. As early as 150 BC, the Egyptian philosopher Hero
visualized a cauldron-shaped machine that would convert steam pressure into
a jet force. He called it the Aeropile. About 300 years ago, Sir Isaac
Newton’s third law of motion further developed the concept of jet force
propulsion by explaining that “for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.” He proposed the idea of a horseless vehicle called the
Newton Steam Engine that would use jet propulsion to move.
The development of the jet engine made a drastic leap when, in 1928, Sir
Frank Whittle offered the first real practical idea which could be
effectively used in an aircraft. By 1930, the idea of the jet engine is patented,
but it was not until 1937 that the idea took off. Then, in April of 1941,
an aircraft called the Gloster E.28 powered by a W1X engine was tested.
Only a month late, the same aircraft was flow with a W1 engine. The results
provided undeniable proof that Sir Frank Whittle had invented a first-class
power unit for aircraft propulsion.
|