Customer Reviews

The History of Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Development in the United States: A Tradition of Excellence

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This is a great book for anyone interested in Jet Engine history. The book's opening sections are excellent. The coverage of Whittle's and the early British work are very complete. The transition of this technology to GE (USA) and GE's developments are also very well covered. The early German work is also well covered. There is some detail on Westinghouse's independent very successful turbine developments up to the J34; but then no real information on the causes of the failures of the J40 and J46, which knocked Westinghouse out of the aircraft turbine business. The Turbofan, which combined the smoothness and speed of the Turbojet with far superior fuel consumption, lower specific weight and noise levels has dominated commercial air transport for 40 years. Yet, the original development of this technology only rates a small sub-section in the chapter on Pratt&Whitney's work. In general, the unevenness of the detail detracts from this book. But overall, there is a very high level of well-researched information. For anyone interested in Jet Engines this book is a 'must read'.

A think that is an interesting historical review, in the preface the autors saids, that is an all american (only north american) centered point of view, and he offers us an anecdotical history of gas turbine engine development spanning some 50 years of scientific and technological discovery, and insight into the personalities who shaped this powerful invention from its technological beginnings in England and Germany to the modern IHPTET programs.

By other hand he dedicates this book to Sir Frank Whittle and Dr Hans von Ohain and all the great pioneers of this technology, this is great memorial.

This is incomplete version from the point of view of a global review, I think that should be a second part related to "The history of industrial and aeroderivative gas turbine development", this for cover all about land-based gas turbines, if you don't have any background in this kind of machines, if you should need more detailed information in this articles:

- Are USA and Russian gas turbines development systems defferents and can they benefit each other?. Published by ASME-IGTI in the newsletter GGTN Vol 36 Nº2 (1996)

- Introduction to gas turbines for non engineers by Lee Langston and Goerge Opdyke. Published by ASME-IGTI in the newsletter GGTN Vol 37 Nº2 (1997)

- Origins of the land-based gas turbine by Septimus van der Linden. Published by ASME-IGTI in the newsletter GGTN Vol 37 Nº2 (1997)

- A Brief History of Soviet Aircraft Gas Turbine Technology by James St. Peter. Part I Published by ASME-IGTI in the newsletter GGTN Vol 37 Nº3 (1997) Part II Published by ASME-IGTI in the newsletter GGTN Vol 38 Nº2 (1998)