Abstract
A NEW speed record of l6 m.p.h. was set up by Group Captain E .M. naldson, leader of the R.A.F. High-Speed Bpgji? on September 8. The aircraft was a Gloser Meteor', jet propelled, with Rolls Royce ‘Dervert internal combustion turbine engines. The actual course was a three-kilometre one as laid down by the F.A.I, international regulations, off the Sussex coast between Rustington and Kingston Gorse. The R.A.F. High-Speed Flight is stationed at Tangmere, near Chichester, and has been waiting for some time past for suitable weather. The principal requirement is a high temperature, in order to reduce the retarding compressibility, and had the air been as warm as might have been expected at this season a much higher speed could have been reached. The speed is taken by regulation as the average of four runs over the course, two in each direction. The recorded speeds were 623, 610, 623 and 609 m.p.h., which beats the previous record made by Group Captain H. J. Wilson, on an earlier design of 'Meteor', by 10 m.p.h. The machine appeared to be under perfect control in spite of the bumpy air conditions and a stiff breeze blowing across the course. This is a tribute to both the skill of the pilot and the accuracy of the design, as when flying near the sonic speeds the aircraft is susceptible to changes in compressibility effects that set up a see-saw track which not only reduces the overall speed over the course, but is also dangerous to the structure of the machine.
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New Air Speed Record. Nature 158, 371 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158371b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/158371b0