Name	GLOBE Legislators Organisation (GLOBE International)
Formation	1989
Type	International Environment Legislators Organisation
Purpose	Climate change and the environment
Headquarters	London, UK
Region served	International
Num staff	6
Website
Remarks	}}

GLOBE is the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment, founded in 1989. GLOBE facilitates high level negotiated policy positions from leading legislators from across the major economies parliaments and from regional dialogues.

GLOBE's objective is to support ambitious political leadership on issues of climate and energy security, land-use change and ecosystems. Internationally, GLOBE is focussed on progressive leadership from G20 leaders and the leaders of the major emerging economies as well as formal negotiations within the United Nations.

GLOBE shadows the formal G8 negotiations and allows legislators to work together outside the formal international negotiations. Without the burden of formal governmental negotiating positions, legislators have the freedom to push the boundaries of what can be politically achieved.

At an international level GLOBE consists of senior cross-party members of parliament from the 16 major economies - the G8 countries, European Parliament, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. Also, GLOBE facilitates regional policy dialogues amongst legislators.

GLOBE believes that legislators have a critical role to play in holding their own governments to account for the commitments that are made during international negotiations.

History

Since 2005 and following the invitation of the former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, GLOBE has brought together one hundred legislators from all major political parties within the parliaments of the G8, European Parliament, Brazil, China, India, Mexico & South Africa. GLOBE has convened this group twice a year in a series of focussed policy dialogues held in the US Senate, German Bundestag (2007), Brazilian Senate, Japanese Diet, Mexican Congress (2008) UK House of Commons, Italian Chamber of Deputies, and most recently in the Danish Parliament, the Folketing (2009). The dialogues have included participation by President [Luis Inacio Lula] of Brazil, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, then Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK, then Prime Ministers Fukuda, and Abe of Japan and the Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. In addition both 2008 US Presidential candidates addressed the GLOBE Forum just months prior to the US election. During COP15 in Copenhagen in December 2009 UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented Mexican President Calderon with the GLOBE Award for International Leadership on the Environment.

Between the two annual meetings smaller groups of legislators have been convened in working groups and most recently in two International Commissions on Climate & Energy Security chaired by US Congressman Ed Markey, and on Land Use Change & Ecosystems chaired by former World Bank Vice President, Mr Ian Johnson.

Members

GLOBE has legislative members in all of the 16 major economies that have national GLOBE chapters. At a regional level, they also have members in all European Member states and within several African and Latin American countries.

GLOBE’s International Commissions

GLOBE International supports two International Commissions on Climate and Energy Security; and Land Use Change and Ecosystems.

International Commission on Climate & Energy Security

GLOBE’s International Commission on Climate & Energy Security was launched in the US Congress in Washington DC on Monday 30th March 2009. This Commission comprises senior legislators from each of the major economies. The Commission met for two days under the Chairmanship of US Congressman Ed Markey and Lord Michael Jay of the UK House of Lords. The Commission was launched with the support of the Danish Prime Minister, the UK Prime Minister and the Italian G8 Presidency. The aim of the Commission was to produce a major report to the GLOBE Copenhagen Forum in October, presenting its conclusions to the Danish Prime Minister and the major economies. GLOBE national chapters are now advancing these recommendations.

The commissions report was adopted by the GLOBE Copenhagen Legislators Forum and submitted to the UNFCCC and leaders of the major economies ahead of COP15.

International Commission on Land Use Change and Ecosystems

GLOBE’s International Commission on Land Use Change and Ecosystems was initially announced in June 2008 by the British Foreign Secretary, Rt. Hon [David Miliband] MP, and the Chief Scientist to the Japanese Cabinet, Dr Kiyoshi Kurokawa, and formally supported by the G8+5 Legislators Forum of one hundred senior legislators. With the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Commission was launched in November 2008 in the Mexican Congress. The Chairman of the International Commission is Mr Ian Johnson, former Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, and the political co-chairs are Barry Gardiner MP (UK) and Senator Renato Casagrande (Brazil).

In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) concluded that human activity is rapidly and extensively degrading ecosystem services in order to meet growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. Extensive land use change and ecosystem transformation have contributed considerably to economic development. However, these gains have also created barriers to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and significantly depleted the Earth’s natural capital. The ''International Commission on Land Use Change & Ecosystems'' was established in order to initiate a step change in the way that policy makers value the ecosystems that are being degraded at a rapid rate.

The ''International Commission on Land Use Change & Ecosystems'' has three main workstreams; Forest policy, Marine environment policy and Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Policy.

Forestry Policy

The International Commission met twice during 2009 to develop a policy framework to address tropical deforestation, first in July at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and then in the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, USA, in September. The Commission, consisting of 20 legislators from both developed countries and rainforest nations along with a panel of expert economists and scientists, agreed to a set of “Forestry Policy Proposals” that included recommendations on how to reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) as part of the post-2012 climate change agreement and measures to prevent illegal logging and to address the demand-side drivers of deforestation. These policy proposals were endorsed by the GLOBE Copenhagen Forum in October 2009.

Marine Environment Policy

The International Commission aims to coordinate simultaneous parliamentary debates on the marine environment in the major economies of the world on World Oceans Day, 8th June 2010. Prior to this event, the International Commission, consisting of 20 legislators from the major fishing nations and an expert panel of marine scientists and economists, will convene in US Congress in April 2010. At this meeting, the International Commission will develop a “Marine Ecosystem Recovery Plan”, which will outline the policy framework that is necessary to set the oceans on a path to a sustainable future.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Policy

GLOBE’s Programme on Ecosystems Services and Biodiversity aims to mainstream biodiversity and ecosystem services within the world’s parliaments by a creating an international leadership group of parliamentarians from the finance or audit committees of a select group of countries. By developing a common framework for economic and environmental information, GLOBE believes that governments will be able to more accurately gauge the contribution of the environment to the economy and the impact of the economy on the environment.

Statements and Reports

GLOBE International concludes each Forum with a consensus statement agreed by all the legislators attending, which is submitted to leaders of the major economies. GLOBE also produces a number of policy papers and reports to support it’s work. The International Commissions on Climate and Energy Security; and Land Use Change and Ecosystems produce a number of reports and background documents to support their work.

References

External links

http://copenhagen.globeinternational.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2009/g/globe_success_criteria_for_cop15_final.pdf http://globe.publiczone.co.uk/content.php?id=1:0:0:0:0

Lobbyists who cleared 'Climategate' academics funded by taxpayers and the BBC, The Daily Telegraph, 23 April 2011

GLOBE Documents

2009

Summary of the Recommendations from the First Meeting of GLOBE’s Marine Technical Advisory Group, London, October 2009

GLOBE Policy Positions for Copenhagen

GLOBE Legislative Principles Paper

Report of the GLOBE Copenhagen Legislators Forum and GLOBE’s International Commission on Climate & Energy Security

GLOBE Forestry Policy Proposals

International Commission on Land Use Change and Ecosystems background documents

GLOBE Rome G8 +5 Legislators Forum

2008

GLOBE Americas Legislators Forum Statement

GLOBE Post 2012 Framework Agreement

Market Mechanisms Work Group Paper

GLOBE Efficiency Working Group Paper

GLOBE Technology Working Group Paper

GLOBE Adaptation Working Group Paper

GLOBE Brasilia Legislators Forum Biofuels Agreement

GLOBE Brasilia Legislators Forum G8 Illegal Logging Agreement

2007

GLOBE Berlin G8 +5 Legislators Forum Statement

GLOBE Washington Legislators Forum Statement

Category:International environmental organizations

name	Sir Frank Whittle
honorific suffix	OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS
birth place	Earlsdon, Coventry, England
death place	Columbia, Maryland, United States
death cause	Lung cancer
resting place	Cranwell, England
nationality	British
known for	Development of the jet engine
education	Peterhouse, University of Cambridge
employer	Royal Air Force
occupation	RAF Engineer Officer
title	Sir
spouse	Dorothy Lee (1930–1976)Hazel Hall
children	2 sons

}}

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air Force (RAF) engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine (some years earlier than Germany's Dr. Hans von Ohain) and is generally regarded as the father of jet propulsion.

From an early age Whittle demonstrated an aptitude for engineering and an interest in flying. Determined to be a pilot, he overcame his physical limitations to be accepted into the RAF, where his abilities earned him a place on the officer training course at Cranwell. He excelled in his studies and became an accomplished pilot. While writing his thesis there he formulated the fundamental concepts that led to the creation of the turbojet engine, taking out a patent on his design in 1930. His performance on an officers' engineering course earned him a place on a further course at the University of Cambridge where he graduated with a First.

Without Air Ministry support, he and two retired RAF servicemen formed Power Jets Ltd to build his engine with assistance from the firm of British Thomson-Houston. Despite limited funding, a prototype was created, which first ran in 1937. Official interest was forthcoming following this success, with contracts being placed to develop further engines, but the continuing stress seriously affected Whittle's health, eventually resulting in a nervous breakdown in 1940. In 1944 when Power Jets was nationalised he again suffered a nervous breakdown, and resigned from the board in 1946.

In 1948 Whittle retired from the RAF and received a knighthood. He joined BOAC as a technical advisor before working as an engineering specialist in one of Shell Oil's subsidiaries followed by a position with Bristol Aero Engines. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1976 he accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy from 1977–1979. In August 1996, Whittle died of lung cancer at his home in Columbia, Maryland.

Early life

Whittle was born in a terraced house in Newcombe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry, England on 1 June 1907, the eldest son of Moses Whittle and Sara Alice Garlick. When he was nine years old, the family moved to the nearby town of Royal Leamington Spa where his father, a highly inventive practical engineer and mechanic, purchased the Leamington Valve and Piston Ring Company, which comprised a few lathes and other tools and a single-cylinder gas engine, on which Whittle became an expert. Whittle developed a rebellious and adventurous streak, together with an early interest in aviation.

After two years attending Milverton School, Whittle won a scholarship to a secondary school which in due course became Leamington College, but when his father's business faltered there was not enough money to keep him there. He quickly developed practical engineering skills while helping in his father's workshop, and being an enthusiastic reader spent much of his spare time in the Leamington reference library, reading about astronomy, engineering, turbines, and the theory of flight. At the age of 15, determined to be a pilot, Whittle applied to join the RAF.

Entering the RAF

In January 1923, having passed the RAF entrance examination, Whittle reported to RAF Halton as an aircraft apprentice. He lasted only two days: just five feet tall and with a small chest measurement, he failed the medical. He then put himself through a vigorous training programme and special diet devised by a physical training instructor at Halton to build up his physique, only to fail again six months later, when he was told that he could not be given a second chance, despite having added three inches to his height and chest. Undeterred, he applied again under an assumed name and presented himself as a candidate at the RAF Cranwell apprentice school instead. This time he passed the physical, and in September that year, 364365 Boy Whittle, F started his three-year training as an aircraft mechanic at the No. 4 Apprentices Wing, No. 1 School of Technical Training.

Whittle hated the strict discipline and, convinced there was no hope of ever becoming a pilot, at one time seriously considered deserting. However, throughout his early days as an aircraft apprentice, first at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, and later at RAF Halton, he maintained his interest in the Model Aircraft Society, where he built replicas. The quality of these attracted the eye of his commanding officer, who felt that Whittle was also a mathematical genius. He was so impressed that in 1926 he recommended Whittle for officer training at Cranwell.

For Whittle, this was the chance of a lifetime, not only to enter the commissioned ranks but also because the training included flying lessons on the Avro 504. While at Cranwell he lodged in a bungalow at Dorrington. Being an ex-apprentice amongst a majority of ex-public schoolboys, life as an officer cadet wasn't easy for him, but he nevertheless excelled in the courses and went solo in 1927 after only 13.5 hours instruction, quickly progressing to the Bristol Fighter and gaining a reputation for daredevil low flying and aerobatics.

A requirement of the course was that each student had to produce a thesis for graduation: Whittle decided to write his on potential aircraft design developments, notably flight at high altitudes and speeds over 500 mph (800 km/h). In ''Future Developments in Aircraft Design'' he showed that incremental improvements in existing propeller engines were unlikely to make such flight routine. Instead he described what is today referred to as a motorjet; a motor using a conventional piston engine to provide compressed air to a combustion chamber whose exhaust was used directly for thrust – essentially an afterburner attached to a propeller engine. The idea was not new and had been talked about for some time in the industry, but Whittle's aim was to demonstrate that at increased altitudes the lower outside air pressure would increase the design's efficiency. For long-range flight, using an Atlantic-crossing mailplane as his example, the engine would spend most of its time at high altitude and thus could outperform a conventional powerplant.

Of the few apprentices accepted, only about one percent normally completed the course, and Whittle graduated in 1928 at the age of 21, being commissioned as a Pilot Officer in July. He ranked second in his class in academics, won the Andy Fellowes Memorial Prize for Aeronautical Sciences for his thesis, and was described as an "exceptional to above average" pilot. However, his flight logbook also showed numerous red ink warnings about showboating and overconfidence, and because of dangerous flying in an Armstrong Whitworth Siskin he was disqualified from the end of term flying contest.

Development of the turbojet engine

Whittle continued working on the motorjet principle after his thesis work but eventually abandoned it when further calculations showed it would weigh as much as a conventional engine of the same thrust. Pondering the problem he thought: "Why not substitute a turbine for the piston engine?" Instead of using a piston engine to provide the compressed air for the burner, a turbine could be used to extract some power from the exhaust and drive a similar compressor to those used for superchargers. The remaining exhaust thrust would power the aircraft.

On 27 August 1928 Pilot Officer Whittle joined No. 111 Squadron, Hornchurch, flying Siskin IIIs. His continuing reputation for low flying and aerobatics provoked a public complaint that almost led to his being court-martialled. Within a year he was posted to Central Flying School, Wittering, for a flying instructor's course. He became a popular and gifted instructor, and was selected as one of the entrants in a competition to select a team to perform the "crazy flying" routine in the 1930 Royal Air Force Air Display at RAF Hendon. He destroyed two aircraft in accidents during rehearsals but remained unscathed on both occasions. After the second incident an enraged Flight Lieutenant Harold W. Raeburn said furiously, "Why don't you take all my bloody aeroplanes, make a heap of them in the middle of the aerodrome and set fire to them – it's quicker!"

Whittle showed his engine concept around the base, where it attracted the attention of Flying Officer Pat Johnson, formerly a patent examiner. Johnson, in turn, took the concept to the commanding officer of the base. This set in motion a chain of events that almost led to the engines being produced much sooner than actually occurred.

Earlier, in July 1926, A. A. Griffith had published a paper on compressors and turbines, which he had been studying at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). He showed that such designs up to this point had been flying "stalled", and that by giving the compressor blades an aerofoil-shaped cross-section their efficiency could be dramatically improved. The paper went on to describe how the increased efficiency of these sorts of compressors and turbines would allow a jet engine to be produced, although he felt the idea was impractical, and instead suggested using the power as a turboprop. At the time most superchargers used a centrifugal compressor, so there was limited interest in the paper.

Encouraged by his Commanding Officer, in late 1929 Whittle sent his concept to the Air Ministry to see if it would be of any interest to them. With little knowledge of the topic they turned to the only other person who had written on the subject and passed the paper on to Griffith. Griffith appears to have been convinced that Whittle's "simple" design could never achieve the sort of efficiencies needed for a practical engine. After pointing out an error in one of Whittle's calculations, he went on to comment that the centrifugal design would be too large for aircraft use and that using the jet directly for power would be rather inefficient. The RAF returned his comment to Whittle, referring to the design as being "impracticable".

Pat Johnson remained convinced of the validity of the idea, and had Whittle patent the idea in January 1930. Since the RAF was not interested in the concept they did not declare it secret, meaning that Whittle was able to retain the rights to the idea, which would have otherwise been their property. Johnson arranged a meeting with British Thomson-Houston (BTH), whose chief turbine engineer seemed to agree with the basic idea. However, BTH did not want to spend the ₤60,000 it would cost to develop it, and this potential brush with early success went no further.

In January 1930, Whittle was promoted to Flying Officer. In Coventry, on 24 May 1930, Whittle married his fiancée, Dorothy Mary Lee, with whom he later had two sons, David and Ian. Then, in 1931, he was posted to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe as an armament officer and test pilot of seaplanes, where he continued to publicize his idea. This posting came as a surprise for he had never previously flown a seaplane, but he nevertheless increased his reputation as a pilot by flying some 20 different types of floatplanes, flying boats, and amphibians. Every officer with a permanent commission was expected to take a specialist course, and as a result Whittle attended the Officers’ Engineering Course at RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire in 1932. He obtained an aggregate of 98% in all subjects in his exams, completing the course in 18 months instead of the more normal two years.

His performance in the course was so exceptional that in 1934 he was permitted to take a two-year engineering course as a member of Peterhouse, the oldest college of Cambridge University, graduating in 1936 with a First in the Mechanical Sciences Tripos. In February 1934, he had been promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

===Power Jets Ltd=== Still at Cambridge, Whittle could ill afford the £5 renewal fee for his jet engine patent when it became due in January 1935, and because the Air Ministry refused to pay it the patent was allowed to lapse. Shortly afterwards, in May, he received mail from Rolf Dudley-Williams, who had been with him at Cranwell in the 1920s and Felixstowe in 1930. Williams arranged a meeting with Whittle, himself, and another now-retired RAF serviceman, James Collingwood Tinling. The two proposed a partnership that allowed them to act on Whittle's behalf to gather public financing so that development could go ahead.

The agreement soon bore fruit, and in September 1935 the pair introduced Whittle to two investment bankers at O.T. Falk & Partners, Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter and Lancelot Law Whyte. The firm had an interest in developing speculative projects that conventional banks would not touch. Whyte was impressed by the 28-year-old Whittle and his design when they met on 11 September 1935:

Falk & Partners financed an independent engineering review that was favourable, and with that the jet engine was finally on its way to becoming a reality.

On 27 January 1936, the principals signed the "Four Party Agreement", creating "Power Jets Ltd." The parties were O.T. Falk, the Air Ministry, Whittle and, together, Williams and Tinling. Falk was represented on the board of Power Jets by Whyte as Chairman, and Bonham-Carter as a director. Whittle, Williams and Tinling retained a 49% share of the company in exchange for Falk and Partners putting in £2,000 with the option of a further £18,000 within 18 months. As Whittle was still a full-time RAF officer and currently at Cambridge, he was given the title "Honorary Chief Engineer and Technical Consultant". Needing special permission to work outside the RAF, he was placed on the Special Duty List and allowed to work on the design as long as it was for no more than six hours a week.

The Air Ministry still saw no value in the effort, and having no production facilities of its own, Power Jets entered into an agreement with steam turbine specialists British Thomson-Houston to build an experimental engine facility at a BTH factory in Rugby, Warwickshire. Work progressed quickly, and by the end of the year the prototype detail design was finalised and parts for it were well on their way to being completed, all within the original £2,000 budget.

Financial difficulty

Earlier, in January, when the company formed, Henry Tizard, the rector of Imperial College London and chairman of the Aeronautical Research Committee (ARC), had prompted the Air Ministry's Director of Scientific Research to ask for a write-up of the design. The report was once again passed on to Griffith for comment, but was not received back until March 1937 by which point Whittle's design was well along. Griffith had already started construction of his own turbine engine design and, perhaps to avoid tainting his own efforts, he returned a somewhat more positive review. However, he remained highly critical of some features, notably the use of jet thrust. The Engine Sub-Committee of ARC studied Griffith's report, and decided to fund his effort instead.

Given this astonishing display of official indifference, Falk and Partners gave notice that they could not provide funding beyond £5,000. Nevertheless the team pressed ahead, and the W.U. (Whittle Unit) engine ran successfully on 12 April 1937. Tizard pronounced it "streets ahead" of any other advanced engine he had seen, and managed to interest the Air Ministry enough to fund development with a contract for £5,000 to develop a flyable version. However, it was a year before the funds were made available, greatly delaying development.

In July, when Whittle's stay at Cambridge was over, he was released to work full-time on the engine. On 8 July Falk gave the company an emergency loan of £250, and on the 15th they agreed to find £4,000 to £14,000 in additional funding. The money never arrived and, entering into default, Falk's shares were returned to Williams, Tinling and Whittle on 1 November. Nevertheless, Falk arranged another loan of £3,000, and work continued. Whittle was promoted to Squadron Leader in December.

Testing continued with the W.U., which showed an alarming tendency to race out of control. Because of the dangerous nature of the work being carried out, development was largely moved from Rugby to BTH's lightly used Ladywood foundry at nearby Lutterworth in Leicestershire in 1938, where there was a successful run of the W.U. in March that year. BTH had decided to put in £2,500 of their own in January, and in March 1938 the Air Ministry funds finally arrived. This proved to be a mixed blessing – the company was now subject to the Official Secrets Act, which made it extremely difficult to gather more private equity.

These delays and the lack of funding slowed the project. In Germany, Hans von Ohain had started work on a prototype in 1935, and had by this point passed the prototype stage and was building the first flyable design, the Heinkel HeS 3. There is little doubt that Whittle's efforts would have been at the same level or even more advanced had the Air Ministry taken a greater interest in the design. When war broke out in September 1939, Power Jets had a payroll of only 10 and Griffith's operations at the RAE and Metropolitan-Vickers were similarly small.

The stress of the continual on-again-off-again development and problems with the engine took a serious toll on Whittle. He suffered from stress-related ailments such as eczema and heart palpitations, while his weight dropped to nine stone (126 lb / 57 kg). In order to keep to his 16-hour workdays, he sniffed Benzedrine during the day and then took tranquillizers and sleeping pills at night to offset the effects and allow him to sleep. Over this period he became irritable and developed an "explosive" temper.

Changing fortunes

By June 1939 Power Jets could barely afford to keep the lights on when yet another visit was made by Air Ministry personnel. This time Whittle was able to run the W.U. at high power for 20 minutes without any difficulty. One of the members of the team was the Director of Scientific Research, David Randall Pye, who walked out of the demonstration utterly convinced of the importance of the project. The Ministry agreed to buy the W.U. and then loan it back to them, injecting cash, and placed an order for a flyable version of the engine. In June, Whittle received a promotion to Wing Commander.

Rover

Meanwhile work continued with the W.U., which eventually went through nine rebuilds in an attempt to solve the combustion problems that caused the engines to race and surge. On 9 October the W.U. ran once again, this time equipped with Lubbock ("Shell" type) atomizing burners which solved the racing problems, but surging continued.

By this point it was clear that Gloster's first airframe would be ready long before Rover could deliver an engine. Unwilling to wait, Whittle cobbled together an engine from spare parts, creating the W.1X ("X" standing for experimental) which ran for the first time on 14 December 1940. On 10 December Whittle suffered a nervous breakdown, and left work for a month. This engine powered the E.28/39 for taxi testing on 7 April 1941 near the factory in Gloucester, where it took to the air for two or three short hops of several hundred yards at about six feet from the ground.

The definitive W.1 of 850 lbf (3.8 kN) thrust ran on 12 April 1941, and on 15 May the W.1-powered E.28/39 took off from Cranwell at 7:40 pm, flying for 17 minutes and reaching a maximum speed of around 340 mph (545 km/h). At the end of the flight, Pat Johnson, who had encouraged Whittle for so long said to him, "Frank, it flies." Whittle replied, "Well, that's what it was bloody well designed to do, wasn't it?"

Within days the aircraft was reaching 370 mph (600 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,600 m), exceeding the performance of the contemporary Spitfires. Success of the design was now evident; the first example of what was a purely experimental and entirely new engine design was already outperforming one of the best piston engines in the world, an engine that had five years of development and production behind it, and decades of basic engineering. Nearly every engine company in Britain then started their own crash efforts to catch up with Power Jets.

In 1941 Rover set up a new laboratory for Whittle's team along with a production line at their unused Barnoldswick factory, but by late 1941 it was obvious that the arrangement between Power Jets and Rover was not working. Whittle was frustrated by Rover's inability to deliver production-quality parts, as well as with their attitude of engineering superiority, and became increasingly outspoken about the problems. Rover decided to set up secretly a parallel effort with their own engineers at Waterloo Mill, Clitheroe. Here Adrian Lombard started work developing the W.2B into Rovers own production quality design, dispensing with Whittle's "reverse-flow" burners and developing a longer but simpler "straight-through" engine instead. This was encouraged by the Air Ministry, who gave Whittle's design the name B.23, and Rover's became the B.26.

Work on all of the designs continued over the winter of 1941–42. The first W.1A was completed soon after, and on 2 March 1942 the second E.28/39 reached 430 mph (690 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m) on this engine. The next month work on an improved W.2B started under the new name, W2/500. In April Whittle learned of Rover's parallel effort, creating discontentment and causing a major crisis in the programme. Work continued, however, and in September the first W2/500 ran for the first time, generating its full design thrust of 1,750 lbf (7.8 kN) the same day. Work started on a further improvement, the W2/700.

Rolls-Royce

Earlier, in 1940, Whittle had met with Stanley Hooker of Rolls-Royce, who in turn introduced Whittle to Rolls-Royce board member, Ernest Hives at a subsequent meeting. Hooker led the supercharger division at Rolls-Royce, which was naturally suited to jet engine work. Hives agreed to supply key parts to help the project and it was Rolls-Royce engineers who helped solve surging problems experienced in the early engines. In early 1942 Whittle contracted Rolls-Royce for six engines, known as the WR.1, identical to the existing W.1.

The problems between Rover and Power Jets became a "public secret" and late in 1942 Spencer Wilks of Rover met with Hives and Hooker at the ''Swan and Royal'' pub, in Clitheroe, near the Barnoldswick factory. They decided to trade the jet factory at Barnoldswick for Rolls-Royce's tank engine factory in Nottingham, sealing the deal with a handshake. The official handover took place on 1 January 1943, although the W.2B contract had already been signed over in December. Rolls-Royce closed Rover's secret parallel plant at Clitheroe soon after; however, they continued the development of the W.2B/26 that had begun there.

Testing and production ramp-up was immediately accelerated. In December 1942 Rover had tested the W.2B for a total of 37 hours, but within the next month Rolls-Royce tested it for 390 hours. The W.2B passed its first 100-hour test at full performance of 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN) on 7 May 1943. The prototype Meteor airframe was already complete and took to the air on 12 June 1943. Production versions of the engine started rolling off the line in October, first known as the W.2B/23, then the RB.23 (for Rolls-Barnoldswick) and eventually became known as the Rolls-Royce Welland. Barnoldswick was too small for full-scale production and turned back into a pure research facility under Hooker's direction, while a new factory was set up in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Rovers W.2B/26, as the Rolls-Royce Derwent, opened the new line and soon replaced the Welland, allowing the production lines at Barnoldswick to shut down in late 1944.

Despite lengthy delays in their own program, the Luftwaffe beat the British efforts into the air by nine months. A lack of cobalt for high-temperature steel alloys meant the German designs were always at risk of overheating and damaging their turbines. The low-grade alloy production versions of the Junkers Jumo 004, designed by Dr. Anselm Franz, would typically last only 10–25 hours (longer with an experienced pilot) before burning out, and sometimes exploded on their first startup. Whittle's designs were primitive, though more reliable because of the availability of better materials by comparison. The equivalent British engine would run for 150 hours between overhauls and had twice the power-to-weight ratio and half the specific fuel consumption. By the end of the war every major engine company in Britain was working on jet designs based on the Whittle pattern, or licensed outright. Nevertheless, German axial-flow designs were influential on designs after 1945.

Continued development

With the W.2 design proceeding smoothly, Whittle was sent to Boston, Massachusetts in mid-1942 to help the General Electric jet programme. GE, the primary supplier of turbochargers in the U.S., was well-suited to starting jet production quickly. A combination of the W.2B design and a simple airframe from Bell Aircraft flew in autumn of 1942 as the Bell XP-59A Airacomet.

Whittle's developments at Power Jets continued, the W.2/700 later being fitted with an afterburner ("reheat" in British terminology), as well as experimental water injection to cool the engine and allow higher power settings without melting the turbine. Whittle also turned his attention to the axial-flow (straight-through) engine type as championed by Griffith, designing the L.R.1. Other developments included the use of fans to provide greater mass-flow, either at the front of the engine as in a modern turbofan or at the rear, which is much less common but somewhat simpler.

Whittle's work had caused a minor revolution within the British engine manufacturing industry, and even before the E.28/39 flew most companies had set up their own research efforts. In 1939, Metropolitan-Vickers set up a project to develop an axial-flow design as a turboprop but later re-engineered the design as a pure jet known as the Metrovick F.2. Rolls-Royce had already copied the W.1 to produce the low-rated WR.1 but later stopped work on this project after taking over Rover's efforts. In 1941, de Havilland started a jet fighter project, the Spider Crab — later called Vampire — along with their own engine to power it; Frank Halford's Goblin (Halford H.1). Armstrong Siddeley also developed an axial-flow design, the ASX but reversed Vickers' thinking and later modified it into a turboprop instead, the Python.

Nationalisation

During a demonstration of the E.28/39 to Winston Churchill in April 1943, Whittle proposed to Stafford Cripps, Minister of Aircraft Production, that all jet development be nationalised. He pointed out that the company had been funded by private investors who helped develop the engine successfully, only to see production contracts go to other companies. Nationalisation was the only way to repay those debts and ensure a fair deal for everyone, and he was willing to surrender his shares in Power Jets to make this happen. In October, Cripps told Whittle that he decided a better solution would be to nationalise Power Jets only. Whittle believed that he had triggered this decision, but Cripps had already been considering how best to maintain a successful jet programme and act responsibly regarding the state's substantial financial investment, while at the same time wanting to establish a research centre that could utilise Power Jets' talents, and had come to the conclusion that national interests demanded the setting up of a Government-owned establishment. On 1 December Cripps advised Power Jets' directors that the Treasury would not pay more than £100,000 for the company.

In January 1944 Whittle was awarded the CBE in the New Year Honours. By this time he was a Group Captain, having been promoted from Wing Commander in July 1943. Later that month after further negotiations the Ministry made another offer of £135,500 for Power Jets, which was reluctantly accepted after the Ministry refused arbitration on the matter. Since Whittle had already offered to surrender his shares he would receive nothing at all, while Williams and Tinling each received almost £46,800 for their stock, and investors of cash or services had a threefold return on their original investment. Whittle met with Cripps to object personally to the nationalisation efforts and how they were being handled, but to no avail. The final terms were agreed on 28 March, and Power Jets officially became Power Jets (Research and Development) Ltd, with Roxbee Cox as Chairman, Constant of RAE Head of Engineering Division, and Whittle as Chief Technical Advisor. On 5 April 1944, the Ministry sent Whittle an award of only £10,000 for his shares.

From the end of March, Whittle spent six months in hospital recovering from nervous exhaustion, and resigned from Power Jets (R and D) Ltd in January 1946. In July the company was merged with the gas turbine division of RAE to form the National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE) at Farnborough, and 16 Power Jets engineers, following Whittle's example, also resigned.

After the war

Long a socialist, Whittle's experiences with nationalisation changed his mind and he later campaigned for the Conservative Party (especially for his friend Dudley Williams, who was Managing Director of Power Jets and became the Conservative Member of Parliament for Exeter).

In 1946 Whittle accepted a post as Technical Advisor on Engine Design and Production to Controller of Supplies (Air); was made Commander, the U.S. Legion of Merit; and was awarded the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1947. During May 1948 Whittle received an ex-gratia award of £100,000 from the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors in recognition of his work on the jet engine, and two months later he was made a Knight of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).

During a lecture tour in the U.S. he again broke down and retired from the RAF on medical grounds on 26 August 1948, leaving with the rank of Air Commodore. He joined BOAC as a technical advisor on aircraft gas turbines and travelled extensively over the next few years, viewing jet engine developments in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He left BOAC in 1952 and spent the next year working on a biography, ''Jet: The Story of a Pioneer''. He was awarded the Royal Society of Arts' Albert Medal that year.

Returning to work in 1953, he accepted a position as a Mechanical Engineering Specialist in one of Shell Oil's subsidiaries, where he developed a new type of self-powered drill, driven by a turbine running on the lubricating mud that is pumped into the borehole during drilling. Normally a well is drilled by attaching rigid sections of pipe together and powering the cutting head by spinning the pipe, but Whittle's design removed the need for a strong mechanical connection between the drill and the head frame, allowing for much lighter piping to be used. He gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1954 on ''The Story of Petroleum''.

Whittle left Shell in 1957 to work for Bristol Aero Engines who picked up the project in 1961, setting up "Bristol Siddeley Whittle Tools" to further develop the concept. In 1966 Rolls-Royce purchased Bristol Siddeley, but the financial pressures and eventual bankruptcy because of cost overruns of the RB211 project led to the slow wind-down and eventual disappearance of Whittle's "turbo-drill". The design eventually appeared only in the late 1990s, when it was combined with a continuous coiled pipe to allow uninterrupted drilling at any angle. "Continuous-coil drilling" has the ability to drill straight down into a pocket of oil and then sideways through the pocket to allow the oil to flow out faster.

In 1967, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) by the University of Bath.

Later life

Whittle received the ''Tony Jannus Award'' in 1969 for his distinguished contributions to commercial aviation.

In 1976, his marriage to Dorothy was dissolved and he married American Hazel S Hall ("Tommie"). He emigrated to the U.S. and the following year accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland). His research concentrated on the boundary layer before his professorship became part-time from 1978 to 1979. The part-time post enabled him to write a textbook entitled ''Gas turbine aero-thermodynamics: with special reference to aircraft propulsion'', published in 1981. Having first met Hans von Ohain in 1966, Whittle again met him at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1978 while von Ohain was working there as the Aero Propulsion Laboratory's Chief Scientist. Initially upset because he believed von Ohain's engine had been developed after seeing Whittle's patent, he eventually became convinced that von Ohain's work was, in fact, independent. The two became good friends and often toured the U.S. giving talks together.

In 1986 Whittle was appointed a member of the Order of Merit (Commonwealth). He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and in 1991 he and von Ohain were awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize for their work on turbojet engines.

Whittle died of lung cancer on 9 August 1996, at his home in Columbia, Maryland. He was cremated in America and his ashes were flown to England where they were placed in a memorial in a church in Cranwell.

Von Ohain stated that if the RAF had taken Whittle's design seriously when it was first submitted, there would have been no World War II. As it was found later in the war the fighter superiority over Europe was key to winning the war in Europe.

Styles and Promotions

1907–1923: Frank Whittle

1923–1926: Apprentice Frank Whittler

1926–1928: Officer Cadet Frank Whittle

1928–1930: Pilot Officer Frank Whittle

1930–1934: Flying Officer Frank Whittle

1934–1938: Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle

1938–1940: Squadron Leader Frank Whittle

1940–1943: Wing Commander Frank Whittle

1943–1944: Group Captain Frank Whittle

1944–1946: Group Captain (Actg. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CBE

1946–1947: Group Captain (Temp. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CBE

1947–1948: Group Captain (Temp. Air Commodore) Frank Whittle, CB, CBE

1948–1986: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, KBE, CB

1986–1996: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS

Memorials

Coventry, England

The "Whittle Arch" statue is a large double wing-like structure situated outside the Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Coventry City Centre.

A statue of Whittle by Faith Winter is situated under the Whittle Arch. It was unveiled on 1 June 2007 by his son, Ian Whittle, during a televised event. It shows Whittle at RAF Cranwell looking towards the sky observing the first test flight of a Whittle-powered Gloster E.28/39 on 15 May 1941.

A school is named after Whittle in the Walsgrave suburb of Coventry. It was first called ''Frank Whittle Primary'', then renamed in 1997 as ''Sir Frank Whittle Primary School''. A jet engine replica sits in the reception area of the school, donated by Whittle himself during his life.

A commemorative plaque marks the house in Newcombe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry, in which he was born and lived until age nine.

On Hearsall Common, near Whittle's Coventry birthplace, a plaque commemorates where Whittle gained inspiration when he saw an aircraft land.

Coventry University named a building after him.

The main hangar at the Midland Air Museum is called ''The Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre''.

Whittle house was one of the four "houses" at Finham Park School until they were renamed in 2008.

Lutterworth, England

Lutterworth Museum hold a very large unrivalled collection of original papers including the 1936 Patent, Power Jets Autograph book from 1945 and the Champagne bottle signed by everyone at a party at RAF Cranwell on the night of the first flight plus many more artifacts and displays. Also Luttrworth Museum give talks and put on displays all over the country.

A memorial has been erected in the middle of a roundabout outside Lutterworth and a bust of Frank Whittle has been erected in Lutterworth, where much of Whittle's development on the jet engine, was carried out.

A bust of Sir Frank Whittle near the war memorial on the corner of Church and George street.

The Sir Frank Whittle Public House is situated on the Greenacres estate in Lutterworth (opened in 2010)

'Whittle Road' in Lutterworth was named after Sir Frank Whittle.

Elsewhere

A full-scale model of the Gloster E28/39 Whittle has been erected just outside the northern boundary of Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire, UK.

The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an engineer, normally resident in the UK, for outstanding and sustained achievement which has contributed to the well-being of the nation.

Two roads in Derby are named Sir Frank Whittle Road and Sir Frank Whittle Way, as a tribute to his work at Rolls-Royce.

Whittle Parkway in Burnham is named after him.

One of the main buildings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell is called Whittle Hall. It houses the Officer & Aircrew Cadet Training Unit and the Air Power Studies Division of King's College London.

Cambridge University Engineering Department has a Whittle Laboratory.

A road in Shaw, Oldham, is named Whittle Drive.

A road in Rugby is named Whittle Close.

Whittle Close in Clitheroe is named after him.

Sir Frank Whittle Way, a new road in Blackpool Business park, Blackpool.

''The Jet'' public house in Leamington Spa, known as ''The Jet and Whittle'' until recent times, is named in honour of Whittle.

The Whittle Gas field in the Southern North Sea operated by BP.

''The Whittle Inn'' near the Gloster Aircraft Company's former test runway in Hucclecote, Gloucestershire is named after Whittle; the nearby Tesco has a picture of a Gloster Meteor incorporated in part of its glass frontage.

The bar/restaurant in Royal Mail's management college at Coton House, Churchover is named the ''Whittle Bar''.

A memorial stone was placed in the Royal Air Force Chapel in Westminster Abbey in his memory. The inscription on the stone reads: "Frank Whittle. Inventor & Pioneer of the Jet Engine. 1907–1996".

Sir Frank Whittle's national and international honours, medals, and awards (including the Order of Merit), are displayed in the Royal Academy of Engineering, London.

A building at Aero Engine Controls in Birmingham, UK has been named 'The Whittle Building' (1994)

Whittle Hangar is One of the main Hangars at HMS SULTAN and is used to house Navy marine gas turbines. The gas turbines are fully operational and used to train Royal Navy and foreign officers and sailors in gas turbine technology.

A plaque has been placed at the Port of Felixstowe to honour his link with the town (August 2010)

See also

Timeline of jet power

Notes

References

External links

Whittle Archive

News report – Memorial for University of Cambridge Student who Invented the Jet Engine

More about Frank Whittle

More about Frank Whittle and the jet age at the Royal Air Force History website

''Flight'', October 1945 – "Early History of the Whittle Jet Propulsion Gas Turbine" by Air Commodore Frank Whittle ''abstract''

Early History of the Whittle Jet Propulsion Gas Turbine by Frank Whittle ''Full text of the first James Claydon lecture''

Air of Authority - Sir Frank Whittle

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Pepe Escobar (born 1954) is a journalist based in São Paulo, Brazil. He writes a column entitled The Roving Eye for ''Asia Times Online'' and is analyst and correspondent for ''The Real News Network''. His article, 'Get Osama! Now! Or else...', was published by ''Asia Times Online'' two weeks before the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001; in it, he claimed that Al Qaeda was in tatters.

Bibliography

Escobar, P. 2007, ''Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War'', Nimble Books.

Escobar, P. 2007, ''Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge'', Nimble Books.

Escobar, P. 2009, ''Obama Does Globalistan'', Nimble Books.

References

External links

Manning, D. & Cotton, M. 2007, 'Embedded with Power: An interview with Pepe Escobar' (part 1, part 2), ''Mediabite'', no date.

The Real News Network

The Roving Eye (''Asia Times Online'')

Stories by Pepe Escobar

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Brazilian journalists