Shortround6
Major General
Fellas,
What does "a slice in time" mean?
Thanks
To my way of thinking ( and they may disagree) it is the situation at a particular point in time. As in what engines were available in Aug of 1941 while disregarding what was available in either July or Sept.
While you don't want to compare engines that debuted several years apart "a slice in time" comparisons can also give a false picture if you are comparing the future potential of an engine near the end of it's development cycle and one near the beginning.
It has been said by people wiser than me that an engine goes through three stages.
1. It''s early stage, where it is low on power and teething troubles are being worked out so reliability is not all it could be. Users/customers are a bit unhappy but generally OK.
2. It's mid life where power is up and reliability is way up making for very happy users/customers.
3. near the end of it's life when it is being pushed to it's limits to remain competitive with newer designs. Power is even higher but the engine is temperamental and needs careful handling, reliability and durability are both going down hill and users/customers are increasingly starting to look elsewhere.