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Jet
planes have shrunk our world and brought thousands of jobs to the
West. Little wonder that ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ viewers and listeners in the region
voted the inventor of the jet engine - Sir Frank Whittle - as their
'Local Hero'.
On
Sunday March 21, Adam Hart Davis tells his story, and meets those
who stood beside him on a Westcountry airfield to witness Britain's
first jet-powered flight.
Jet
powered flight
The
history books say it happened in Lincolnshire. But Paul Smith knows
otherwise.
The
first ever jet-powered flight in Britain took place, he says, in
Gloucestershire a month earlier. And he has it on good authority.
 He (Whittle) said that while they were
doing taxiing trials the pilot opened the throttle and flew
for a couple of hundred yards. He was in no doubt that it was
a worthwhile flight. The Wright brothers' first flight was shorter
than that. |
| Paul
Smith |
He
spoke directly to the man universally credited with developing the
jet engine in Britain - Sir Frank Whittle, who was present at both
flights.
Paul
said, "Back in 1971 I was making first-day covers to commemorate
the 30th anniversary of the first jet flight when I heard that Whittle
himself disputed the official date.
"So
I rang Sir Frank. He was adamant that the history books were wrong."
Most
accounts of the development of the jet engine list the first flight
as having taken place at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire on 15 May
1941. But a month earlier, a Gloster E28/39 aircraft powered by
Whittle's jet engine had surprised everyone present by lifting a
few feet off the runway at Brockworth just outside Gloucester.
Frank
Whittle told Paul Smith what had happened:
"He
said that while they were doing taxiing trials the pilot opened
the throttle and flew for a couple of hundred yards. He was in no
doubt that it was a worthwhile flight. The Wright brothers' first
flight was shorter than that."
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½1
documentary
The
story of that first jet flight is told in a special programme on
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ One this Sunday, 'Frank Whittle: The Man Who Shrank the World'.
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Adam
Hart-Davis will present the documentary on Sir Frank Whittle
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It
shows how Whittle worked through the war years with a variety of
engineers in Gloucestershire to get a jet-powered aircraft into
the air in top secrecy. The engine was made in Cheltenham; the aircraft
itself at the Gloster Aircraft Company factory at Brockworth.
Even
though he'd come across Whittle's work before, presenter Adam Hart-Davis
says he learned a lot about the jet pioneer as he was filming.
| Whittle was an amazing chap. Tiny, stubborn,
unstoppable - jet-propelled! It's amazing the impact his invention
has had upon the world. |
| Adam
Hart-Davis |
"Whittle
was an amazing chap. Tiny, stubborn, unstoppable - jet-propelled!
It's amazing the impact his invention has had upon the world."
The
film-makers uncovered an interview with Sir Frank recorded in 1986,
ten years before his death. Whittle's son Ian, a former airline
pilot, also talks about his father.
Your
vote counts
The
programme is unique in that the subject was determined entirely
by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ viewers and listeners across the West.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
local radio stations asked them to nominate their local heroes.
An expert panel sifted through the nominations to come up with a
shortlist of five.
Apart
from Whittle, they were:
-
John James, a millionaire and philanthropist from Bristol
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Michael Eavis, farmer and festival organiser from Glastonbury,
Somerset
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Explorer David Hempleman-Adams from Swindon
- William
Henry Fox-Talbot from Lacock in Wiltshire, a key figure in the
development of photography.
Whittle
polled more than 40 percent of the votes, a few hundred more than
runner-up John James.
 »
Read more about Sir Frank Whittle's
life and achievements
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½1 documentary on the life and achievements of Sir Frank Whittle,
presented by Adam Hart-Davis, will be screened on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½1 on Sunday
March 21, 2004.
Digital
satellite viewers from outside the West can watch on channel 956.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Radio Gloucestershire has organised a special public screening for
those unable to watch the broadcast.
It's
being held on Sunday March 21 at 2.30pm at the Oxstalls Lecture
Theatre, University of Gloucestershire.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Radio Gloucestershire's Vernon Harwood and Mark Cummings will host
the event and will be joined by Sir Frank Whittle's son Ian.
For
more information about the screening contact Sue Hargreaves on 01452
308585.
If
you would like to comment on this or any other story in this section
get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
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He
was the county's Local Hero and thanks to YOU jet engine pioneer Sir
Frank Whittle has now been voted the best in the West. See
a special TV documentary on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½1 on Sunday March 21.
