The Gloster Whittle

Britain's first jet aircraft.

Many of you will know that I tend to give away most of my completed models. I gain a good deal from the challenge of building a kit and then making it appear as real as possible. I have kept one or two- the TSR2 (of course) and the P51D Mustang which was the first kit I built in over 40 years. I also kept the XB70A, but that mainly has to do with not knowing anyone who might want such a large and ungainly model. In 1/72 scale it is still about 2 1/2 feet long. There was also a problem with the port side decal which folded up when applied and could not be encouraged to disentangle itself. What remains is hieroglyphic in appearance, so the aircraft generally faces nose to the right so that no one has to see this.

I have now been asked to build a kit for someone. I haven’t had such a request before so I am surprised and rather pleased, for both the obvious reasons and some that I do not propose to go into detail about. The subject is an interesting one and fits well with projects of experimental aircraft that I have undertaken in the past. You may have guessed that I am going to build a Gloster E28/39 for someone who wants one as a keepsake. I write this simply for the purposes of clarity.

The Gloster aircraft company was based (predictably I suppose) in Gloucester and had had been incorporated in 1917, originally being named “The Gloucestershire Aircraft Company.” This name was changed apparently because the word “Gloster” was easier for visitors to say. Quite which visitors had problems is not clear.

Gloster’s output consisted almost exclusively of biplane fighters and floatplanes from the first aircraft all the way until the production of the Gladiator in 1934. Having said that, they were quite involved in producing Schneider trophy aircraft and indeed, Gloster held the world speed record for a floatplane, but only for a few hours. You will no doubt be aware that the Gladiator was the last RAF biplane fighter and also the first to employ an enclosed cockpit. By all reckoning, Gloster was an innovative company willing to drive themselves to excel and to “push the envelope” so to speak. An excellent pedigree for a manufacturer.

Frank Whittle was an engineer in the RAF. He joined as an engineering apprentice in the 1920s. He had been refused entry at the first application, but listened to what the instructors told him, dealt with that and re-applied- it is said under another name in order to prevent bias I gather, (I have no reference for this), and was accepted. This was an example of persistence which was to serve him well throughout his career.

During the course of his apprentice training he was an outstanding student excelling in mathematics. His CO recommended him for officer training and so it was that he entered the officer training school at RAF Cranwell. Engineering students at Cranwell were expected to produce a thesis before graduation to illustrate their understanding of the engineering principles that they were learning. Whittle’s seminal piece “Future developments in aircraft design” was the launch pad for his thoughts on a new power plant (the turbo jet) and impressed his instructors for the originality of his thinking. Unfortunately however it would appear that there was some resistance to Whittle’s ideas as the concepts were at the leading edge of the technology of the day. Whittle himself was not deterred by this and continued to develop his ideas to the point of producing a working prototype which happened in 1937. I might add that Whittle, in partnership with others, started the company “Power Jets Ltd” which allowed the development work to be done whilst Whittle himself continued to serve as an officer in the Royal Air Force.

In general, the Pioneer was fairly simply built and constructed around Whittle’s newly developed W1 turbo jet. It had no radio and no ejection seat. There was no cockpit heating which meant that high altitude flying was uncomfortable at best. The second Pioneer to fly suffered aileron failure at high altitude leading to a bailout by the pilot who suffered frostbite on his way to the ground. He survived I might add.

The model itself is a Special Hobby example that I acquired from a friendly, (but costly) local internet to me. I have reviewed the kit on my channel and, if you haven’t seen that, you can see it here- it’s not too long:

As you will see, the kit is fairly simple and will lend itself quite well to some adaptation which I intend to undertake. The cockpit is lacking detail in the side panel areas as well there not being a throttle lever. I gather that the lever is a slider control similar to that found in the Meteors and also Lightnings, so that is the first thing to attack with some plastic card and a little patience. The side panel wiring and tubing (such as exists) should be simple enough to complete and I will cannibalise some seat belts from a 1/48 Corsair kit but don’t tell anyone.

My intent is also to create a simple baseboard diorama which will depict the concrete hardstanding of a dispersal area or similar. I have had some hare-brained ideas for other details but these remain to be fully crystallised yet. For now, I will keep them to myself.

The history of “Gloster” is similar in many respects to some other aircraft companies who made considerable jumps in aviation development in very short periods. The idea that, in five years or so, Gloster moved from producing biplane fighters of mainly wooden construction to monocoque aluminium and steel fighter aircraft is one to consider for a while. The maximum speed of a Gladiator was around 250 MPH. The E28/39 maximum speed was recorded at double this, but could easily reach 460 MPH at 30,000 feet. Improvements in rate of climb and maximum operating altitude came along with this and all of these factors were considered in Sir Frank Whittle’s graduation thesis. Rarely does one encounter prescience of this kind. It is little wonder that Whittle’s legend lives on and that interest in his life and work continues to this day.

And so it is that in looking carefully at the Gloster company, Sir Frank Whittle and the pioneering aircraft that contained his progeny, we steep ourselves in the history of aviation. A history that is littered with experimentation, innovation and achievement. The Gloster Pioneer is well named as it heralded the beginning of a magnificent period in the aviation history of this country. A time when records were set and broken repeatedly. A time when the very best minds that Britain could muster applied themselves to the business of building world beating engines and aircraft simultaneously driving forward technological development in a way that had perhaps not been done before. A time when, as it has been said by other (more worthy writers), Britain ruled the skies.

Perhaps you may take an interest in my project to build this development aircraft as I will make one or two videos of it. Certainly I will record the completed model for posterity. I do hope that you may join me.