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Sir Frank Whittle was an English air officer in the Royal Air Force. He was well-known and recognized for inventing the turbojet engine single-handedly. Whittle was one of the 20th century’s best “hands” engineers because of his inventions and his persistence in demonstrating his innovations.
See the fact file below for more information on the Frank Whittle or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Frank Whittle worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
BIOGRAPHY
- Frank Whittle was born in Coventry, England, on June 1, 1907. He was the son of a mechanical engineer. In 1923, Whittle joined the Royal Air Force as an aircraft apprentice at Cranwell and underwent three years of training to become an aircraft mechanic.
- Later on, Whittle attended the Royal Air Force College as an office-cadet in Cranwell. After Whittle graduated in 1928, even though he was just 21 years old, Whittle started to focus on producing higher speeds and greater altitudes for the propellor-driven aircraft at that time.
- According to ‘Aviation Week & Space Technology’, Whittle’s thesis discussed rocket propulsion and gas-turbine propellers entitled ‘Future Developments in Aircraft Design’.
- Whittle’s thesis also discussed several alternatives to the conventional piston engines available.
DESIGNING THE FIRST TURBOJET
- After graduating from Cranwell, he became a fighter pilot and was offered an instructor’s course at the Central Flying School. While facing several responsibilities, Whittle was able to spend some time designing his first turbojet.
- During that time, Whittle’s invention was in advance of its time in its material demands. With this, the Air Ministry rejected this proposal. Despite this, Whittle wanted patent protection for his invention in 1930.
- Whittle tried to catch manufacturers’ attention in production, and in 1932, he was granted a patent. However, because of the Great Depression, he had only a little success in finding promising manufacturers.
- In 1932, Whittle attended the Officers’ Engineering Course at Cambridge University, where he completed his engineering training while pursuing interested investors for his engines.
- Having no success in interesting factories, in 1935, Whittle established his own company together with Williams and Tingling. In 1936, Power Jets, Ltd. opened and immediately took out several patents with OT Falk and Company for financial backup.
- During this time, the Royal Air Force began to take Whittle’s invention seriously. They transferred him to the special-duty list to continue his work on his engine.
THE JET PROPULSION ENGINE
- An experimental version was run in the British Thomson-Houston works in Rugby in April 1937. By 1938, the feasibility of jet propulsion was established. After World War II started, the development of the engine became dependent on the Air Ministry finance.
- However, the progress became very slow because of the civil servants’ ambiguous attitude towards Power Jet Ltd.’s unconventional organization.
- In April 1941, the Gloster Aircraft Company completed an experimental airframe, and it was fitted with an early Whittle engine for driving trials. After having an airworthy engine fitted, the Gloster-Whittle E28/39 made its first test flight on May 15, 1941.
- Simultaneously, Whittle did not realize that he had a competitor for his invention in Nazi Germany. Hans Von Ohain only produced a turbojet and flew it in a Heinkel plane as early as 1939. Even though his engine was the first to fly, Von Ohain did not have the last word.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JET ENGINES
- Whittle was generous with his research and shared his technology with British Rolls Royce and the American General Electric Company. Whittle’s anticipation led to renewed interest in the design of production engines and the airplane, which became the Gloster Meteor twin-engine jet fighter.
- The US collaboration on jet engines’ development with the Bell Aircraft Corporation and General Electric Company began in September 1941. The Meteor aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce “Welland” into service by May 1944 was within Britain’s reach.
- In 1946, Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s Labor government nationalized Whittle’s Power Jets company and was forced to limit its activities to components research. With this, Whittle and several co-workers resigned from the company.
- Two years later, Whittle retired from the RAF with the Air Commodore rank, a knighthood, and an award of 100,000 pounds.
LATER IN LIFE
- In 1976, having had several mental breakdowns, Sir Frank Whittle emigrated to the US and married a retired US Navy nurse named Hazel Hall. Whittle was appointed as a visiting research professor of Aerospace Engineering in the Division of Engineering and Weapons at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
- In 1978, while Whittle was doing new research, the Federation Aviation Administration awarded him the Extraordinary Service Award, the highest award that the office can give. It was a shining and outstanding moment in a quiet appointment that ended in September 1979.
- In 1987, Smithsonian Institution Press published Whittle’s autobiography entitled ‘Whittle, The True Story’ on which John Golley collaborated. Whittle gave his personal experiences of the jet engine’s development and transformed it into an aeronautical design.
- In October 1993, Whittle experienced a lot of public attention when an article about his achievements appeared in Aviation Week & Space Technology. The article had several inaccuracies that enraged Whittle.
- Within a month, Whittle presented the editor a list of 11 corrections made by an 86-year-old author who had lost neither his formidable intellect nor his prodigious memory.
- Whittle died in January 1996, and that letter was his last appearance in print.
Frank Whittle Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Frank Whittle across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Frank Whittle worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Sir Frank Whittle who was an English air officer in the Royal Air Force. He was well-known and recognized for inventing the turbojet engine single-handedly. Whittle was one of the 20th century’s best “hands” engineers because of his inventions and his persistence in demonstrating his innovations.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Frank Whittle Facts
- Whittle’s Profile Writing
- Timeline of the Officer
- Turbojet Engine
- Jumbled Innovation
- Questions of Whittle
- Filling the Turbo
- Fact or Bluff?
- Whittle, the True Story
- Air Commodore’s Words
- Engine Analysis
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Use With Any Curriculum
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