Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996) was the greatest aero-engineer of the twentieth century. His invention of the jet engine didn't just change the face of the Earth; it enabled millions of us to see what it actually looked like.
Whittle's story is inspirational and yet so sad. Born to working class parents in Coventry, he joined the Royal Air Force, making himself taller via Maxalding exercises so that he met its height requirement. A genius for mathematics helped him make the rare transition from apprentice to cadet.
At RAF Cranwell Whittle quickly showed he was both an outstanding pilot and a visionary. For his course there he wrote Future Developments In Aircraft Design, predicting flight at 500 mph. He began to seek a new kind of aviation power plant.
He saw that a gas turbine and compressor – with a combustor in between – could produce the thrust to propel a plane at high speeds. And so the turbojet was born.
Sir Frank tells his amazing story in Whittle – The Jet Pioneer, supported by contributions from his son Ian, veteran test pilot Captain Eric Brown RN and Hans von Ohain, who designed the first German jet engine.
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