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Westland Wyvern
The Westland Wyvern was a British single-seat carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft built by Westland Aircraft that served in the 1950s, seeing active service in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Production Wyverns were powered by a turboprop engine driving large and distinctive contra-rotating propellers, and could carry aerial torpedoes. Design and development The Wyvern began as a Westland project for a naval strike fighter, with the engine located behind the pilot, driving a propeller in the nose via a long shaft that passed under the cockpit floor, similar to the Bell P-39.Williams 1989, Chapter 21. This enabled the pilot to be located in a position that conferred the best possible visibility over the nose for carrier operations. Official interest resulted in Air Ministry Specification N.11/44 for a long-range naval fighter using the 24-cylinder H-block Rolls-Royce Eagle 22 piston engine (unrelated to the First World War-era engine of the same name) being issued to cover Westl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolls-Royce Eagle (1944)
The Rolls-Royce Eagle Mk XXII is a British 24-cylinder, sleeve valve, H-block aero engine of 46 litre (2,807 cubic inches) displacement. It was designed and built in the early-1940s by Rolls-Royce Limited and first ran in 1944. It was liquid-cooled, of flat H configuration with two crankshafts and was capable of 3,200 horsepower (2,387 kW) at 18 psi boost. Design and development The Rolls-Royce design team realised that producing a scaled-up version of their Griffon V-12 engine would lead to excessively large combustion chambers and problems with detonation.Rubbra 1990, p. 91. The team concluded that a larger number of small cylinders would be the answer and considered an X-24 design. This layout had previously caused unreliability with the Rolls-Royce Vulture due to the need to fasten four connecting rods in a complicated arrangement to a common big end bearing. The designers finally settled on an 'H' layout with two crankshafts and 'blade and fork' connecting rod attac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armstrong Siddeley Python
The Armstrong Siddeley Python was an early British turboprop engine designed and built by the Armstrong Siddeley company in the mid-1940s. Its main use was in the Westland Wyvern, a carrier-based heavy fighter. The prototypes had used the Rolls-Royce Eagle piston engine, but Pythons were used in production aircraft. In this application, the Python was rated at 4,110 equivalent shaft horsepower (eshp). Design and development The design started as an experimental pure-turbojet known as the ASX, which commenced testing in 1943. By this point other engine designs were already entering pre-production, and it seemed there was little need for the ASX in its existing form. The design was then modified by the addition of a reduction gearbox to drive a propeller. The turboprop thus formed was named ASP. Flight testing Early flight-testing of the Python was carried out using the Lancaster B.1 (FE) '' TW911'' and the Lincoln B.2 ''RE339/G'': in each aircraft Pythons replaced the two ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolls-Royce Clyde
The Rolls-Royce RB.39 Clyde was Rolls-Royce's first purpose-designed turboprop engine and the first turboprop engine to pass its civil and military type-tests. As with subsequent Rolls-Royce gas turbines, it was named after a river, the River Clyde. Design and development The Clyde used a two-shaft design, with an axial compressor based on that of the Metrovick F.2"World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines – 5th edition" by Bill Gunston, Sutton Publishing, 2006, P.195 for the low-pressure section, and a single-sided centrifugal compressor scaled up from the Merlin 46 supercharger as the high-pressure stage, both mounted on the HP shaft and driven by a single stage HP turbine. A single stage power turbine drove the front mounted propeller reduction gearbox via the concentric LP shaft. A fairly novel feature of this compact gearbox was the power output to contra-rotating propellers."Not much of an Engineer" by Sir Stanley Hooker, Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1984, P.227 The Clyde was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westland Wyvern TF
Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places * Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya *Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, Scotland Netherlands * Westland, Netherlands (other) ** Westland (municipality), Netherlands ** Westland (region), Netherlands New Zealand * Westland District, a political subdivision on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island *Westland Tai Poutini National Park, a national park **Informally, the name often used for the entire West Coast region, of which the Westland District is a part ** Westland (New Zealand electorate) a former parliamentary electorate in the above area ** Westland Province, a province of New Zealand from 1873–76 United States * Westland, Indiana * Westland, Putnam County, Indiana * Westland, Michigan * Westland, Oregon; see McKay Reservoir * Westland, Pennsylvania *Westland, Virginia * Westl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harald Penrose
Harald Penrose, O.B.E, CEng, F.R.Ae.S, A.M.I.N.A (12 April 1904 – 31 August 1996) was the chief test pilot at Westland Aircraft between 1931 and 1953, a naval architect, and an aviation author. His flying experience ranged from man carrying kites before the First World War to early jet fighters and helicopters. He designed, built and flew his own glider in the 1930s, designed 36 boats and yachts, and wrote many books describing his flying career and the history of British aviation. Early life Harald James Penrose was born at 103 Park Street Hereford on 12 April 1904, the son of James Penrose, an Inland Revenue clerk and his wife, Elizabeth Alice. His fascination with manned flight started at an early age when his father showed him pictures of Bleriot's monoplane. He first flew aged 7 in a man-lifting kite at the dizzying height of 10 ft. His first powered flight was in 1919, in a modified three seat Avro 504K, piloted by Alan Cobham. When he left school in 1920 he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Test Pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing of the Airplane.'' American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 1996, p. 265 History Test flying as a systematic activity started during the First World War, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in the United Kingdom. An "Experimental Flight" was formed at the Central Flying School. During the 1920s, test flying was further developed by the RAE in the UK, and by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the United States. In the 1950s, NACA was transformed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. During these years, as work was done into aircraft stability and handling qualities, test flying evolved towards a more qualitative scientific profession. In the 1950s, test pilots were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has two runways, one in length, and the second . The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS). History First World War An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a Royal Flying Corps Training Depot Station. Kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hispano 20 Mm Cannon
The HS.404 is an autocannon originally designed and produced by Spanish/French company Hispano-Suiza in the mid-1930s. It was widely used as an aircraft, naval and land-based weapon by French, British, American and other military services, particularly during World War II. The cannon is also referred to as Birkigt type 404, after its designer Marc Birkigt and later versions based on British development are known as 20 mm Hispano. Firing a 20 mm calibre projectile, it delivered a significant load of explosive from a relatively light weapon. This made it an ideal anti-aircraft weapon for mounting on light vehicles, as well as a fighter aircraft gun, replacing the 7.62 mm (.30 calibre) and .303 inch (7.7 mm) machine guns commonly used in military aircraft of the 1930s. The HS.404 was produced by the French subsidiary of Hispano-Suiza, and under license by a variety of companies in other countries. Development From Oerlikon to Hispano The first widely used 20 mm airc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flap (aeronautics)
A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stall (flight), stalling speed of an aircraft wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landing distance. Flaps also cause an increase in Drag (physics), drag so they are retracted when not needed. The flaps installed on most aircraft are partial-span flaps; spanwise from near the wing root to the inboard end of the ailerons. When partial-span flaps are extended they alter the spanwise lift distribution on the wing by causing the inboard half of the wing to supply an increased proportion of the lift, and the outboard half to supply a reduced proportion of the lift. Reducing the proportion of the lift supplied by the outboard half of the wing is accompanied by a reduction in the angle of attack on the outboard half. This is beneficial because it increases the margin above the Stall (fluid dynamics), stall of the outboa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conventional Landing Gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 133. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. From the Ground Up, 27th edition, page 11 The term taildragger is also used, although some argue it should apply only to those aircraft with a tailskid rather than a wheel. The term "conventional" persists for historical reasons, but all modern jet aircraft and most modern propeller aircraft use tricycle gear. History In early aircraft, a tailskid made of metal or wood was used to support the tail on the ground. In most modern aircraft with conventional landing gear, a small articulated wheel assembly is attached to the rearmost part of the airframe in place of the skid. This wheel may be steered by the pilot through a connection to the rudder pedals, allowing the rudd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westland Wyvern S
Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places * Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya *Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, Scotland Netherlands * Westland, Netherlands (other) ** Westland (municipality), Netherlands ** Westland (region), Netherlands New Zealand * Westland District, a political subdivision on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island *Westland Tai Poutini National Park, a national park **Informally, the name often used for the entire West Coast region, of which the Westland District is a part ** Westland (New Zealand electorate) a former parliamentary electorate in the above area ** Westland Province, a province of New Zealand from 1873–76 United States * Westland, Indiana * Westland, Putnam County, Indiana * Westland, Michigan * Westland, Oregon; see McKay Reservoir * Westland, Pennsylvania *Westland, Virginia * Westl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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