Post by Diarist on Nov 20, 2016 3:18:20 GMT 1
This morning Edward and I drove to de Havilland at Hatfield. He didn't mention yesterday's talks so I didn't ask. Edward had arranged that Ernest Hives from Rolls-Royce and Arthur Davenport from Westland would also be there. It was good to see Geoffrey de Havilland again and he introduced us to his son, Geoff Jr. who is a senior test pilot. His younger brothers, John and Peter, are also test pilots at de Havilland. That's what I call a family business.
Davenport greeted me with, "so you're the person who is insisting we use Merlin engines in our design."
"Yes I am, primarily because there won't be any Peregrine engines. Rolls-Royce was having problems with them so it was decided to concentrate on the Merlin and on a successor to it. Geoffrey is also designing a twin-engine cannon-armed fighter to meet Air Spec. F.37/35 using the Merlin and is hoping for 400 mph which is much more than the minimum of 330 mph required by the Air Ministry. Now how is your design doing? Ernest Hives will be producing a few dozen Merlin E's to meet requirements for half a dozen prototypes being designed around this engine, including your aircraft."
"We are making excellent progress."
"Engines will be delivered next month. Will you have a prototype available for a maiden flight in early Spring?"
"No, but hopefully before the end of next year."
"So what problems are you having?"
"We are working on a minimum drag design and are trying to save weight."
"Talk to Geoffrey and his team. Maybe they can help. Any innovative ideas incorporated in the design? Have you shown them the Hornet, Geoffrey?"
"Not yet. We've have the same design philosophy. It would be good to compare notes and possibly help each other."
"I would welcome that too. We have the radiators fitted inside the wing inboard sections and the engine exhaust is routed through the fuel tanks in the wings to reduce parasitic drag."
"Exhaust routed through the fuel tanks? Now I'm not an engineer but that does sound a bit dangerous. Geoffrey, what's your opinion?"
"Do you have blueprints here, Arthur. I admit that I'm a bit sceptical about that idea myself."
I listened for about 10 minutes. "Arthur, the Air Ministry would definitely veto that idea. There is talk about using the exhaust as extra thrust but that's something for the future. The radiator idea is good though. Could we make use of that, Geoffrey?"
"Definitely, it's a great idea. It could be used on single-engine fighters too. It could considerably reduce drag."
"So, Arthur. If you were to drop the exhaust idea would that speed up things? We need maiden flights in order to identify unforeseen problems. The fancy stuff can be tested later."
"It would save time but our chief designer won't like it."
"I'll give it to you in writing while Geoffrey shows you the Hornet." I sat at a vacant desk and started typing the letter. Five minutes later I gave it to Arthur he was noticeably impressed by de Havilland's design. "The wooden part of the design is top secret so don't mention it to anybody at Westland. I'm serious about that, Arthur."
"My lips are sealed but at Westland we have thought of using wood to save weight too. The Air Ministry has approved that?"
"It's so secret that we forgot to tell them. We're hoping that it's performance will silence the critics."
"Four MG's in the nose in addition to the four cannon. That is impressive. And you are aiming for 400 mph?"
"Merlin engines. You got the message, Arthur?"
"Loud and clear. When do you plan your maiden flight?"
"In March. Its power-to-weight ratio may make taxiing a problem. It would also be good to have a left hand tractor engine in the port nacelle for twin engine aircraft. We are working on that, Ernest."
"I welcome the idea but it's not a problem for single-engine aircraft."
"Is that difficult?" I asked Geoffrey.
"Not very. We are looking at placing an additional idler gear in the reduction gear casing."
"That should work," Ernest added.
"Good, is there anything else we need to discuss?"
Geoffrey added that he has something for me after the meeting so with that we adjourned. I thanked Ernest and Arthur for coming all the way from Derby and Somerset but it was a constructive meeting. After they had left Geoffrey asked me for clarification about the Mosquito.
"The Hornet has priority but aren't they parallel designs. You'll be receiving engines for both aircraft. Do you have enough personnel to work on both?"
"There is no problem with personnel. So you are suggesting prioritizing the Hornet until it is turned over to the RAF for evaluation then equal priority afterwards."
"Yes. Once the Air Ministry has accepted the 'wooden' Hornet the Mosquito shouldn't be a shock anymore. That's the theory. Could you apply the radiator idea into the Mosquito design?"
"We could do that together with counter-rotating Merlin's."
"With the same 4 plus 4 armament?"
"That too. There's one thing more I have for you." He showed me a Merlin without the supercharger. "The tank engine. We've managed to get 630hp out of it."
"Excellent. That's 50% more than the engine being used on the current design. This will be for the next tank generation a few years from now. Send me the bill for the development costs please. You're not in the tank business, Geoffrey."
"You're not staying for lunch?"
"I would love to but I have a lot planned today. Does the canteen have something we can take with us?. I'll visit you again soon. I promise."
Next stop is Scammell.
Davenport greeted me with, "so you're the person who is insisting we use Merlin engines in our design."
"Yes I am, primarily because there won't be any Peregrine engines. Rolls-Royce was having problems with them so it was decided to concentrate on the Merlin and on a successor to it. Geoffrey is also designing a twin-engine cannon-armed fighter to meet Air Spec. F.37/35 using the Merlin and is hoping for 400 mph which is much more than the minimum of 330 mph required by the Air Ministry. Now how is your design doing? Ernest Hives will be producing a few dozen Merlin E's to meet requirements for half a dozen prototypes being designed around this engine, including your aircraft."
"We are making excellent progress."
"Engines will be delivered next month. Will you have a prototype available for a maiden flight in early Spring?"
"No, but hopefully before the end of next year."
"So what problems are you having?"
"We are working on a minimum drag design and are trying to save weight."
"Talk to Geoffrey and his team. Maybe they can help. Any innovative ideas incorporated in the design? Have you shown them the Hornet, Geoffrey?"
"Not yet. We've have the same design philosophy. It would be good to compare notes and possibly help each other."
"I would welcome that too. We have the radiators fitted inside the wing inboard sections and the engine exhaust is routed through the fuel tanks in the wings to reduce parasitic drag."
"Exhaust routed through the fuel tanks? Now I'm not an engineer but that does sound a bit dangerous. Geoffrey, what's your opinion?"
"Do you have blueprints here, Arthur. I admit that I'm a bit sceptical about that idea myself."
I listened for about 10 minutes. "Arthur, the Air Ministry would definitely veto that idea. There is talk about using the exhaust as extra thrust but that's something for the future. The radiator idea is good though. Could we make use of that, Geoffrey?"
"Definitely, it's a great idea. It could be used on single-engine fighters too. It could considerably reduce drag."
"So, Arthur. If you were to drop the exhaust idea would that speed up things? We need maiden flights in order to identify unforeseen problems. The fancy stuff can be tested later."
"It would save time but our chief designer won't like it."
"I'll give it to you in writing while Geoffrey shows you the Hornet." I sat at a vacant desk and started typing the letter. Five minutes later I gave it to Arthur he was noticeably impressed by de Havilland's design. "The wooden part of the design is top secret so don't mention it to anybody at Westland. I'm serious about that, Arthur."
"My lips are sealed but at Westland we have thought of using wood to save weight too. The Air Ministry has approved that?"
"It's so secret that we forgot to tell them. We're hoping that it's performance will silence the critics."
"Four MG's in the nose in addition to the four cannon. That is impressive. And you are aiming for 400 mph?"
"Merlin engines. You got the message, Arthur?"
"Loud and clear. When do you plan your maiden flight?"
"In March. Its power-to-weight ratio may make taxiing a problem. It would also be good to have a left hand tractor engine in the port nacelle for twin engine aircraft. We are working on that, Ernest."
"I welcome the idea but it's not a problem for single-engine aircraft."
"Is that difficult?" I asked Geoffrey.
"Not very. We are looking at placing an additional idler gear in the reduction gear casing."
"That should work," Ernest added.
"Good, is there anything else we need to discuss?"
Geoffrey added that he has something for me after the meeting so with that we adjourned. I thanked Ernest and Arthur for coming all the way from Derby and Somerset but it was a constructive meeting. After they had left Geoffrey asked me for clarification about the Mosquito.
"The Hornet has priority but aren't they parallel designs. You'll be receiving engines for both aircraft. Do you have enough personnel to work on both?"
"There is no problem with personnel. So you are suggesting prioritizing the Hornet until it is turned over to the RAF for evaluation then equal priority afterwards."
"Yes. Once the Air Ministry has accepted the 'wooden' Hornet the Mosquito shouldn't be a shock anymore. That's the theory. Could you apply the radiator idea into the Mosquito design?"
"We could do that together with counter-rotating Merlin's."
"With the same 4 plus 4 armament?"
"That too. There's one thing more I have for you." He showed me a Merlin without the supercharger. "The tank engine. We've managed to get 630hp out of it."
"Excellent. That's 50% more than the engine being used on the current design. This will be for the next tank generation a few years from now. Send me the bill for the development costs please. You're not in the tank business, Geoffrey."
"You're not staying for lunch?"
"I would love to but I have a lot planned today. Does the canteen have something we can take with us?. I'll visit you again soon. I promise."
Next stop is Scammell.