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http://drive.123-reg.co.uk/F/5022885-166930853
Here is the second tranche of Whittle's papers showing the diagrams and designs.
FW's father seemed to be a great influence on his son Frank. His father was a self taught engineering type working as a foreman in Coventry; then buying his own company in Leamington Spa. He taught young Frank the rudiments of engineering through engineering drawing on a Sunday and later on as a machinist in his business, presumably Frank helped out with drawings and specifications. I wonder how many drawings Frank corrected or upgraded for his father's business? This could have been the foundation of Frank's inventiveness; it must be remembered here that FW was still only in his early teens?
Even at that it still took FW some years to come to the jet engine, in fact the idea did not occur until he was serving a stint as a flying instruction in the RAF in 1928/29.
He had earlier written a thesis called 'Future Developments in Aircraft Design'. This discusses the possibilities of rocket propulsion and gas turbines driving propellers.
It was not until the instructors course, which includes weight of plane, forward thrust and lift that the ideas must have formed, especially seeing the performance of planes and pilots at first hand: then going on to understand the theory of lift and atmospheric/stratospheric flight.
It was the genius of thrust and lift without propeller effort that put FW above the ordinary person.
FW also seems to have been a person that liked pushing the boundaries of life.
So in all maybe we have here the recipe of life that gave the world this invention?
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