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Mmmm.. Jet engines.. 
However the sound of a battleship firing a full salvo, must be better, if for nothing else, then for the certain of knowledge of what is about to happen.... But the greatest sound of them all must be a cavalry charge.. The way the world seems to shudder beneath you and the hypnotic rhythm of thousands of hooves beating the ground.. Thunder from the earth..
Now that is a sound to inspire terror.. As well as countless stories, poems, movies and so forth...
However the sound of a battleship firing a full salvo, must be better, if for nothing else, then for the certain of knowledge of what is about to happen.... But the greatest sound of them all must be a cavalry charge.. The way the world seems to shudder beneath you and the hypnotic rhythm of thousands of hooves beating the ground.. Thunder from the earth..
Now that is a sound to inspire terror.. As well as countless stories, poems, movies and so forth...
Hardraade said:Sweet! I am ready for my close up Mr. DeMille.
Cmoing right up. How do you feel about being a Jet Tech with a strange nickname?
trekaddict said:Cmoing right up. How do you feel about being a Jet Tech with a strange nickname?
To tell you the absolute truth... I feel great about it!
trekaddict said:Will I have artistic freedom about the origin of that nickname?
Absolutely! You are, after all, the story teller. Oh, and feel free to not misspell the name like I accidentally did.
o
The nxt update will be delayed unfortunately as I have decided that I have to buy a new Keyboard first. My current one is looking...a bit shabby to say the least and several keys only function when they want. I will buy the same one again, mainly because a) I like it, and b) because it does not have the extra buttons and all that crap that is so fashinable today.
Wise decission.. Do people actually use those anyway? or are they, as I suspect, merely for show...?
Probably. I once had one of those and I never used them.
Turns out I could fix what was wrong, and I setteled for cleaning it throughly.
Work on the update should therefore resume this afternoon.
Turns out I could fix what was wrong, and I setteled for cleaning it throughly.
Work on the update should therefore resume this afternoon.
Chapter 28
November 23rd, 1938
Power Jets Ltd Research Labs, Engine Testing
The Engine Testing platform of Power Jets Ltd was beehive of activity. Not only was the first test of the new engine just around the corner and now word had arrived that both the procurement committee and the Prime Minister would come to watch. Absolutely nothing was allowed to go wrong. The Jet Engine was already strapped in at the platform, all it needed to either work or blow up was fuel and the fuel-hose too lay ready. Frank Whittle however was his usual nervous self, getting on everyone's nerves by demanding endless checks of every nut and bolt. Normally this greatly annoyed everyone, but not today. Power Jets had long suffered from underfunding and if everything went well today this might change in an instant. One Scientist approached Whittle. “Mr, Whittle, we have completed the checks, and so far everything seems fine.” Whittle only replied: “Have you checked the fuel injector pump?” “Yes, and it is working fine.” 'just like the previous 16 times we checked it' the scientist thought. “Well, check the fuel pump again, and after that take a break.” Whittle raised his voice. “That goes for everyone. Finish the current battery of checks and tests and then take your lunch break.” When everyone was gone Whittle stayed behind to survey his creation. He was a firm believer in Jet Engines. He believed that this type of Engine would one day propel aircraft over the Atlantic to Canada without the usual tank-stop at Iceland, push fighters beyond the speed of sound, and allow passenger liners that could take on dozens of people. “I see that you are still working here, just like I expected.” “Hardraade, what the bloody hell are you doing here? You almost gave me a heart attack!” “I came here to make sure that the fair haired child of the company also takes a break.”
“I have to finish this.” Hardraade, whose first name was Harold Johnson, an exiled American who had worked for his late Uncle, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson. When he had arrived in the United Kingdom from Canada in late 1936 he had immediately started to work for Power Jets, already hired while still on the boat where he had met Whittle. The men had started talking, and when they had discovered that both were working in the same field of aviation Johnson had found himself with both a new job and a new nickname, with the latter the result of a tremendous amount of Scottish Whiskey consumed in celebration of the former. Whittle normally did not drink, he rather smoked an endless row of pipes and cigars, but he had made an exception on that day. He grinned at his friend and said: “You, Sir, have been up and about for the last three days. One day you'll break apart and we can't have that, now can we?” With that he literally dragged Whittle to the exit and the company restaurant, ignoring the audible and sometimes unprintable protests by the British Engineer.
Only an hour everyone was back at work. Whittle and Hardraade were preparing the fuel pump and the emergency backup system for the tests when the phone in Whittle's office rang violently. Whittle picked up and everyone could see him go as white as the cliffs at Dover. The next that could be seen or rather heard was a quiet whimpering. “The Prime Minister and his entourage are waiting at the entrance. Everyone look busy.” With that he dashed of to greet Churchill. Luckily for him the procurement committee was a bit late due to a car breakdown or they would have arrived at the same time. When Whittle left the hall he could already see the PM and several officials standing about the entrance. Churchill appeared to be talking to a secretary who was busy taking notes, while the rest appeared to be slightly bored. “Excuse me for letting you wait, Prime Minister.” Whittle said after introductions were exchanged. “No trouble, Mr. Whittle.” Churchill answered. Whittle smiled nervously and tried to steady his voice. “The test will not begin for another hour or so, and we have to wait for the committee anyway, so should I give you the grand tour, Prime Minister?” “I'll be delighted.” After a wile Whittle spoke again. “Sir, if we are to continue to do our work here we need more funding.” The Prime Minister retorted: “If I may be so bold, but why should we?” Whittle had hoped that it would have been a member fo the committee who raised this question first, but he figured that if he could pull the Prime Minister to his side it would have a great weight, and so he answered enthousiastically. “Two main reasons, Prime Minister. First, the Germans are reportedly working on something similar, and Heinkel is supposed to work and a plane powered by a engine of that type. Second, if...no, I stand corrected, when we will be able to produce a production engine in a few years then the result will be amazingly fast, faster than anything currently in production. And these are only the military applications...” Whittle rambled on for a few more minutes, and Churchill could see what enthusiasm and decided to endure. “And Prime Minister, if we also focus research into rocketry then even more military and civillian applications are opened up to us. Rockets that could deliver bombs from here to Germany and later even to America without the need for a piloted Aircraft, artificial satellites...” He paused to open the door to the testing shed. “And here it is Prime Minister, the Whittle Unit.”
Churchill was not impressed. What he saw was a collection of tubes and pumps arranged around what amounted to a huge tube in the centre. Whittle went on to explain the principle behind the engine: “At high speeds air is sucked into the air intake here and transferred into the combustion chamber in the middle, about here...” he gestured towards the centre of the Unit. “There it is united with the fuel and the mixture is burned and ejected out the back with high pressure which in turn generates the forward thrust.” He took of his glasses and started to clean them nervously. “The problem we still have is that we need a auxiliary Engine to spool up the turbine to the speeds it needs, and Engine life is still rather limited. While the second is simply a matter of metallurgical research the first problem needs massive scientific and financial investment to solve, that unfortunately goes over Power Jets Ltds current capacity, and this is why you are here today.” Churchill inspected the Unit from close up and then said after a few minutes: “And when can we see this in operation, Mr. Whittle?” “In a few Minutes, Prime Minister. We need to complete some tests first. This is the only prototype we could afford to build you see.” At this time the Procurement committee finally arrived and Whittle rushed off to greet them, leaving Johnson to deal with the PM. “You are an American, Johnson?” Churchill asked. “Yes Sir, my family left the States in 33 and went to Canada. In fact my uncle is currently working for Canadian Vickers.”
Some minutes later the Members of the committee and the Prime Ministers entourage chatted amongst themselves, waiting for the test to begin. Whittle interrupted. “Gentlemen, would you please step into the observation chamber with me, we are ready to start.” In the chamber Whittle explained the proceedings. “At first we will pump the necessary fuel into the system, and then the compressor will spool up the fans and the turbine to operational speed. When we ignite the fuel please protect your ears, because the Unit will make a very loud noise.” In the chamber below them the technicians connected the fuel hose and left the chamber hurredly. The pump roared into life and soon Whittle said: “Prepare yourselves, I am about to ignite the fuel, and this is going to get loud.” A whining noise could be heard that grew louder and louder and after a few seconds the Unit burst into life. Flames spurted out from the exhaust and the roar grew louder and louder. The unit itself seemed to be about to break free from the constraints it was harnessed in, it seemed as if it was about to fly on its own, and gave the impression of raw power to the onlookers. After five minutes Whittle pressed a button that cut the fuel supply to the Unit and the noise slowly died down. “So Gentlemen, what do you think?” Churchill and Beaverbrook exchanged a few hushed words and the PM adressed the Air Force representative on the committee, Wing Commander Dashwood. “So, Commander, what do you think?” Dashwood was visibly impressed by the demonstration. “Sir, if we can fit this on a fighter or Bomber it will revolutionize the Air War.” “I agree, Commander.” Churchill turned to Whittle. “How much do you need to have a working prototype plane within say.. three years?”
[Game Effects: None yet, but I intend to push jet techs as soon as I can spare a slot. This is one more case were increased funding at an earlier point in time advances useful techs ahead of OTL. Also this was written during a time of extreme caffeine deprivation, so it is a little bit more silly than usual. I have portrayed Whittle to be a British Version of von Braun. I also hope that with this update I have eliminated the flying coffin that was the F-104G Starfighter that cost the life of too many German pilots in OTL. Also if anyone has more knowledge of early Jet propulsion he is invited to point out any mistakes I made.]
alright, I concede.. I've been listening to some playbacks of turbejet tests and the sound is, indeed, very cool..
I still believe a full charge of horses sounds cooler, but hey, for some reason, part of me cannot help but believe that every simple development of transport, since the horse, was nothing but a bloody shame really.. Although I must admit some of the inventions have turned out to be rather practical..
As to the update, I like to see the description of a not-yet functional turbojet engine.. Usually, what we see is either a description of, when the engine fully works, or when jet aircraft is implemented..
You know how I like to work things up to the 'moment' in my own AAR and I do believe I like to read such work-up posts even more than writing them.. Absolutely excellent...
I still believe a full charge of horses sounds cooler, but hey, for some reason, part of me cannot help but believe that every simple development of transport, since the horse, was nothing but a bloody shame really.. Although I must admit some of the inventions have turned out to be rather practical..
As to the update, I like to see the description of a not-yet functional turbojet engine.. Usually, what we see is either a description of, when the engine fully works, or when jet aircraft is implemented..
You know how I like to work things up to the 'moment' in my own AAR and I do believe I like to read such work-up posts even more than writing them..
Absolutely excellent...
I like those two, mainly because it shows the technology in question when it was not yet the perfected instrument we know from the history books, it helps us apprechiate the finished product some more.
The next update will concern Pinie. I've decided to put in hints at the target and the location into every such chapter. Same rules as before.
And rest assured, the war will start soon. Maybe then people will start commenting again.
I've missed a great deal of updates while away, a veritable landslide of progress.
So random points from those updates;
The "new" Canadian flag looks spiffing though I am very surprised Churchill went for it.
Japan is in a very strong position. What are the chances of the Communist Yanks coming to the aid of the capitalist west, hell there's more chance of them taking the opportunity to roll into Canada than surging the fleet west. Not saying they'll win, the economic and industrial fundamentals are still against them, just there's a strong position there to be exploited.
Equally I think Frank Whittle will enjoy his time alot more, hopefully the contracts are given to a proper firm not Rover. Let us hope Alan Cobham also feels the benefit of all this.
As to the F104G, the problem wasn't the plane (terrible though it was) the problem was the massive bribes and corruption Lockheed dished out. No-one would have brought the damned thing without the bribes, it's the corrupt generals, civil servants and odd monarch who deserve most of the blame. For the overseas ones anyway. For the US that mistakes was all their own fault.
Interesting to see what this mysterious mission is, I've been reading so quickly to catch up I missed any subtle clues.o
So random points from those updates;
The "new" Canadian flag looks spiffing though I am very surprised Churchill went for it.
Japan is in a very strong position. What are the chances of the Communist Yanks coming to the aid of the capitalist west, hell there's more chance of them taking the opportunity to roll into Canada than surging the fleet west. Not saying they'll win, the economic and industrial fundamentals are still against them, just there's a strong position there to be exploited.
Equally I think Frank Whittle will enjoy his time alot more, hopefully the contracts are given to a proper firm not Rover. Let us hope Alan Cobham also feels the benefit of all this.
As to the F104G, the problem wasn't the plane (terrible though it was) the problem was the massive bribes and corruption Lockheed dished out. No-one would have brought the damned thing without the bribes, it's the corrupt generals, civil servants and odd monarch who deserve most of the blame. For the overseas ones anyway. For the US that mistakes was all their own fault.
Interesting to see what this mysterious mission is, I've been reading so quickly to catch up I missed any subtle clues.
o
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The new Canadian flag will only be adopted when the coming Imperial Treaty ( hopefully ) gets ratified which won't be for some time, and the other Dominions too have been encpuraged to adopt new flags that will represent this new structure of the Empire. Simply put it is the best compromise between the old colonial flag and the awesome flag they use in RL.
The Americans will ( hopefully ) sit it out indeed. But knowing the Japanese they will probably do something stupid and attack them anyway, which is what I hope, as it will keep the Japanese busy and allow me to defend India with a minimal ammount of troops.
Frank Whittle wil also enjoy his time more and not be as stressed out as he was in OTL, as he has a) more funding b) compatriots like Johnson who will help him out. Let us just say I have played beyond the point where the Gloster Meteor makes its first apperance.
We had a MAJOR scandal about the F-104 back then and our boys didn't quite like it, calling it "Witwenmacher" (Widowmaker) "Fliegender Sarg" ( Flying Coffin ) and Sargfighter ( Coffin Fighter, a pun on the Starfighter thing ). It almost felled the Minister of Defence and the General Inspector of the Luftwaffe was fired. Considering that we almost bought the Mirage III instead..... *shakes head* So anyway, however TTL turns out we will be spared this horrible contraption. If it goes well then we will probably buy the Lightning, if it goes badly either the Messerschmitt Me-Something or the Mig 21.
The Americans will ( hopefully ) sit it out indeed. But knowing the Japanese they will probably do something stupid and attack them anyway, which is what I hope, as it will keep the Japanese busy and allow me to defend India with a minimal ammount of troops.
Frank Whittle wil also enjoy his time more and not be as stressed out as he was in OTL, as he has a) more funding b) compatriots like Johnson who will help him out. Let us just say I have played beyond the point where the Gloster Meteor makes its first apperance.
We had a MAJOR scandal about the F-104 back then and our boys didn't quite like it, calling it "Witwenmacher" (Widowmaker) "Fliegender Sarg" ( Flying Coffin ) and Sargfighter ( Coffin Fighter, a pun on the Starfighter thing ). It almost felled the Minister of Defence and the General Inspector of the Luftwaffe was fired. Considering that we almost bought the Mirage III instead..... *shakes head* So anyway, however TTL turns out we will be spared this horrible contraption. If it goes well then we will probably buy the Lightning, if it goes badly either the Messerschmitt Me-Something or the Mig 21.
i'm always reading even if i dont comment. except for the next two weeks when i will be doing neither. i can look forward to reading lots when i get back.