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The jet engine was invented twice. Frank Whittle, a young Royal Air Force officer, applied for a British patent on a turbojet in 1930. In Germany, Hans von Ohain developed his own jet engine separately, backed by the aircraft maker Ernst Heinkel, and the Heinkel He 178 made the first jet-powered flight in August 1939.

Frank Whittle / Hans von Ohain

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A turbojet draws in air, squeezes it with a compressor, burns fuel in it and blasts the hot gas out of the back, which pushes the aircraft forward; on the way out, the gas also spins a turbine that drives the compressor. Whittle's idea found little official backing for years, and his engine did not fly until the Gloster E.28/39 took off on 15 May 1941. Von Ohain later said he had not known of Whittle's patent when he began. After the war jets spread quickly: the de Havilland Comet first flew in 1949 and in 1952 became the first jet airliner to carry paying passengers.

Türkçe oku
Jet motoru iki kez icat edildi. Genç bir İngiliz hava subayı olan Frank Whittle, 1930'da turbojet için patent başvurusu yaptı. Almanya'da ise Hans von Ohain kendi jet motorunu ayrıca geliştirdi. Uçak üreticisi Ernst Heinkel'in desteğiyle yapılan Heinkel He 178, Ağustos 1939'da jet gücüyle uçan ilk uçak oldu.

Turbojet havayı içine çeker, bir kompresörle sıkıştırır, içinde yakıt yakar ve ısınan gazı arkadan dışarı püskürtür; uçağı ileri iten budur. Gaz çıkarken bir türbini de döndürür, türbin de kompresörü çalıştırır. Whittle'ın fikri yıllarca resmî destek bulamadı; motoru ancak 15 Mayıs 1941'de Gloster E.28/39 havalanınca uçtu. Von Ohain, çalışmaya başladığında Whittle'ın patentinden haberi olmadığını sonradan söyledi. Savaştan sonra jet motorları hızla yayıldı: de Havilland Comet 1949'da ilk uçuşunu yaptı ve 1952'de bilet satarak yolcu taşıyan ilk jet yolcu uçağı oldu.

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Background reading: Frank Whittle
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