The jet engine was an extremely important invention, and was one that greatly impacted air travel and the building of aircraft in general.
A comic was recently found that detailed the invention of the jet engine. It was published by General Electric and highlights the history of the jet engine.
The comic is called Adventures In Jet Power, and it follows the development of the jet engine as it rose to prominence.
While GE itself didn't invent the jet engine, it was the company to create the first American jet engine, which took place during World War II. At the time, GE was already making turbines for power plants as well as superchargers for planes that used propellers. It was expertise in these areas that helped GE be able to build jet engines.
The comic, which was published in 1958, tells how the engineers at GE were able to turn the jet engine design by Sir Frank Whittle into a machine that powered the first jet plane from America in 1942. The breakthrough was a result of the U.S. war effort, and it was largely a race to complete plans because of the fact that other countries were experimenting with jet engines as well.
The first engine was the GE I-A engine, which was successfully tested on April 18, 1942. By October 1942, two of the engines were used to fly the Bell XP-59A Airacomet.
Of course, the research that went into creating the jet engine took place long before the final design. In fact, the comic goes back as far as 2,000 years with the invention of the first steam turbine. Basically, steam formed in a vessel, after which it passed into a hollow ball at the top of the vessel, escaping through the nozzles in the ball and making it spin.
Instead of using steam, however, modern jet engines, as the comic explains, use the reaction from hot gases that expand through the burning of fuel.
After World War II, the manufacturing of jet engines was in full swing. The Air Corps, however, was concerned about disrupting the supply of superconducters, and thus put jet engine manufacturing in the hands of other companies. GE, however, then set out to design another jet engine, designing the J47, which was in such high demand that GE had to open another factory.
The comic itself is being shown off at the Museum of Innovation and Science, located in Schenectady, N.Y.
Via: General Electric
