Aircraft-Technological Firsts

[kool kitty89]

Meteor:

First jet with pressurised cockpit

First jet to be flown with four distinct kinds of engines within the space of 2 years.
Axial flow jet - Metro-Vick 1943 (9 axial, 2 turbine, cannular combustor)
Single sided centrifugal jet - 1943 DH Goblin
Double sided centrifugals - Whittle/RR 1943, 1944
Turboprop - RR 1945

Steven

I think the reverse flow Wellands and the straight through Derwents is distinct enough, and '43-45 could be 3 years, but assuming the dates match up that's 5 distinct types.

Let's see, the He 280 was tested with
-HeS-8's centrifugal compressor, annular combustor, along with a radial inflow turbine. (rather uncommon, except in some modern turboshaft and some plant power generators, maybe some turbochargers, I don't think it was ever used again for jets, or not even turboprops)
-Jumo 004A axial flow with can combustors.
-BMW 003 Axial flow with annular combustor.
-Argus As 014 pulsejets.

But either way that's kind of an odd first, though with all the test bed work the Meteor had done over the years, it has probably been tested with the most engines of any a/c. (and set a record for climb with Sapphire engines) I think it's used, Goblins, Welland, Metrovic F.2, Derwent I, Derwent V, MetroVic F.2/4 Beryl, Nene, Avon, Sapphire, Rolls-Royce Soar mini-jet. Probably others.

 

[Kurfürst]

The UK had beam riding and semi-active homing missiles from 1942/3.

Never heard of that, any details?

 

[kool kitty89]

Meteor:

First jet with pressurised cockpit

And the Meteor wasn't the first, the He 280 had a pressurized cockpit.

The Meteor was the first allied jet and first operational jet to have one. (the Me 262 was designed for one but never used it)


The He 280 was also the first Jet (and first aircraft) to be equipped with an ejection seat (compressed air), and the first to use one in flight. (when the controls iced up on the As 014 engine test flight)

The He 219 was the first to carry one into combat. (also compressed air)

The He 162 was the first with an ejection seat powered by an explosive/propellant charge.

 

[red admiral]

Meteor was the first aircraft with thrust vectoring as well, a post-war Nene version having 90° vectoring to look towards reducing take-off runs.

Never heard of that, any details?

You want British Secret Projects: Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles by Tony Buttler and Chris Gibson. Theres a fair amount in there. The most promising projects were Brakemine, a beam-rider fired from a modified 3.7" mounting using 6x3" rockets for propulsion, Ben which was another beam rider/photoelectric missile, but smaller using only 2x3" rockets for propulsion. There were also some nice air-to-air missiles both using a 3" rocket which gave limited range of about 3000yds. Air Spaniel used MCLOS and Artemis used semi-active radar homing.

 

[buzzard]

What about the Fokker Eindecker? The first tractor fighter with an efficient fixed forward-firing armament. What other plane could claim as much influence on the evolution of the fighter aircraft?

JL

 

[Graeme]

What about the Fokker Eindecker? The first tractor fighter with an efficient fixed forward-firing armament. What other plane could claim as much influence on the evolution of the fighter aircraft?

I guess the key word is "efficient", but the I think the first fixed forward-firing gun (a .315-in Hotchkiss) was installed on a Morane-Sauliner L in early 1915



Morane-Saulnier L - The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I

 

[buzzard]

Is that Roland Garras' s plane? Ain't he the guy that shot off his own prop, was captured with his AC, and gave Anthony Fokker the impetus to develop the interrupter gear-governed machine gun armament? You know, the Fokker Scourge...

It's nice to be able to shoot down the enemy...but it's even nicer to do it without shooting down yourself

JL

 

[Graeme]

Ain't he the guy that shot off his own prop, was captured with his AC, and gave Anthony Fokker the impetus to develop the interrupter gear-governed machine gun armament?

Yep. Proof that first doesn't necessarily mean best!

 

[Arsenal VG-33]

Is that Roland Garras' s plane? Ain't he the guy that shot off his own prop, was captured with his AC, and gave Anthony Fokker the impetus to develop the interrupter gear-governed machine gun armament? You know, the Fokker Scourge...

It's nice to be able to shoot down the enemy...but it's even nicer to do it without shooting down yourself

JL

Wrong. Garros was the first to place deflector blades on his aircraft propellor to deflect bullets that would otherwise have struck the prop. He was forced down and captured after his aircraft developed engine problems ( either fuel or oil line problem ) and the Germans studied his aircraft, thus the inspiration for an interuptor system by Fokker. Garros did NOT shoot off his own prop.

Garros eventually escaped and rejoined the fight, and was shot down and killed only weeks before the war's end.

 

[buzzard]

Yep. Proof that first doesn't necessarily mean best!

Indeed. And yet more proof that Gallic elan is no match for Teutonic efficiency...

JL

 

[buzzard]

Arsenal VG-33,

I stand corrected.

My version is more fun, tho.

JL

 

[kool kitty89]

But pusher props have advantages too, particularly in that timeframe.

In addition to the unobstrusted nose armament, no oil flying back at the pilot (especially the Rotary engins), and a clear foreward view.

Disadvantages, less lift (no prop wash over wings) and possible more complex layout.

You would have "engine armor" behind you though, but vulnerable for head on passes though. (bailing out was not an option so danger of hitting the prop is not an issue here)

Bonus, pushers look cool. 8)



And the Germans couldn't use te bulltet deflection for the prop due to their steel-jacketed bullets being too hard to deflect, so they came up with their much better solution. Which the allies then copied,,,

 

[kool kitty89]

The first Delta wing aircraft to fly:
Lippisch DM-1, an unpowered glider built to test low speed handling for the P.13a

 

[kool kitty89]

Convair XF-92A first jet powered delta winged aircraft to fly and the first delta to break the sound barrier. (in a dive)

The Convaie XF92

 

[buzzard]

Let's jazz things up a bit...

"Oberleutnant Rudolf Schönert of 4/NJG2 decided to experiment with upward firing guns in 1941 and began trying out upward-firing installations amidst scepticism from his superiors and fellow pilots. The first installation was made late in 1942, in a Do 17Z-10 that was also equipped with the early UHF-band version of the Lichtenstein radar. Apparently the tests were not successful, and the idea was dropped[citation needed]. Further experimentation was carried out by the Luftwaffe weapons testing centre at Tarnewitz through 1942, and an angle of between 60 and 75 degrees was found to give best results.

Meantime Schönert was made CO of II./NJG5, and an armourer serving with the gruppe, Obfw. Mahle developed a working arrangement with the unit's Bf-110's and a pair of MG FF/M 20 mm cannon. Schönert used such a modified Bf-110 to shoot down a bomber in May 1943." ~Wik

JL

 

[parsifal]

Let's jazz things up a bit...

"

Very Good

 

[Soren]

Its not self-guided as it uses radio transmissions from the ground to control it for which it wasn't first. The UK had beam riding and semi-active homing missiles from 1942/3. Admittedly they didn't work too well, but neither did Wasserfall.

The last prototypes were selfguided, red admiral. Using the Rheinland system.

Infact one of the very last guidance system developed in Germany, relying on an infrared photocell, was used to develop the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

 

[Graeme]

"Oberleutnant Rudolf Schönert of 4/NJG2 decided to experiment with upward firing guns in 1941 and began trying out upward-firing installations amidst scepticism from his superiors and fellow pilots.

Pioneered by the British?

No Allowance Sighting

"In October 1918, the COW gun was installed in the rear cockpit of an Airco D.H.4, fixed and aimed up. The angle of the installation in at least one (A2168) was about 80 degrees. The gun fired through a hole in the upper wing. The idea was to use this weapon against the large German bombers and Zeppelins, and after some reinforcement to prevent blast damage, testing was successfull."

Bristol Bulldog (1934) with Vickers IIIN gun set at 60 deg. Fired from 1000ft below a target, results showed that 90% of the rounds were accurate.

 

[The Basket]

Indeed. And yet more proof that Gallic elan is no match for Teutonic efficiency...

JL

Fokker was Dutch.

 

[eddie_brunette]

October 11, 2003 A team of NASA researchers has developed and demonstrated a ground-breaking small-scale aircraft that flies on laser power. Rather than carrying fuel on-board, the aircraft is powered entirely by an invisible, ground-based laser that tracks the aircraft in flight and delivers energy to a special panel of photovoltaic cells on the plane that in turn drive the propeller.

Similar demonstration flights were made in 2002 using a theatrical searchlight as the power source, but the recent flights are the first known demonstration of an aircraft flying totally powered by a ground-based laser according to NASA's recent press statement: "The craft could keep flying as long as the energy source, in this case the laser beam, is uninterrupted," said Robert Burdine, Marshall's laser project manager for the test. "This is the first time that we know of that a plane has been powered only by the energy of laser light. It really is a groundbreaking development for aviation.

"The laser-power breakthrough could provide a means to keep telecommunications or remote sensing aircraft aloft indefinitely as well as having enormous implications for space travel.

NASA demonstrates laser-powered aircraft first