LEVIN JUNIOR CHAMBER

Chronicle (Levin), 31 August 1946, Page 4

LEVIN JUNIOR CHAMBER

PRESIDENT REVIEWS ACTIVITIES TO DATE TALK ON JET PROPULSION h The activities of the Levin Junior Chamber of Commerce to date were reviewed by the' president, Mr. D..J. Sweetzer, at a meeting of members on Thursday evening. He said the chamber. was playing au increasingly important part in the eommunioy. It had affiliated with che New Zealand Junior Chamber of Commerce, and badges would shortly be obtainable. Two delegates, Messrs. E. E. Tyrrell and C. M. Wallace, would attend the con,vention to be held in Timaru-, ahci an invitaticn was extended to any. member to attend if . possible. Mr. Sweetzer then introduced Mr. Noel Mackay, of the Department of Sci6ntiflc and Industrial Research, where he is employed as a research engineer. He recently returned to New Zealand after having spent some years overseas in England, Germany and Australia. Mr. Mackay had gone to England as one of a team of technical experts, and had been attached to the RoUs Royce works, where he later became assistant ro the works manager, specialising in high speed aero engines. He was present at the jet propelled speed record attempt. Speaking on the subject of jet propulsion, Mr. Mackay showed to his audience the crux of the jet propelled engine, a stainless steel impeller about six inches in length which was capable of withstanding enormous speed and pressure. Britain had a jet engine which had not been used owing to tne fact that an air frame had not been made which could stand the enormous stresses involved in its use. He went on to outline the difficulties of high speed travel, illustrating his points so that his hearers had no difficulty in grasping the technical processes involved He stated that the German "Viper" rocket propelled machine was capable of 2000 miles per hour, while the Americans had another rocket propelled machine capable of 1500 miles per hour, but that the difficulties with these rnachines were not so much in attaining a great speed but in obtaining a law enough speed to land and take off. He compared the relative weight to horse power of the piston engine as that compared with the jet, but stated that jet engines were not yet in universal use as they were not economical to run below 200 miles per hour, and needed to reach a speed of 400 miies per hour before being cheaper to run than the piston engine. From another point of view, while the piston engine requircd a highly refined fuel, the jet engine would run on practicaliy any fuel, kerosene being most suitable. He felt, however, that the jet engine would come more into its own, as to-day it was at the stage where the piston engine was in 1914. Mr. Mackay then went on to explain in detail the principles of the rocket and jet engines, and also the new jet-propeller combination. In generally outlining the history of the jet engine as we knew it to-day, he stated that this type of motor was first -thought of by the Italians, but it was not until 1936 that Group Captain Whittle started his experiments on small capital when Britain first become interested. Whittle produced his first engine in 1938 and received a grant of £2000 from the Air Ministry for his report, with which he built a second engine, an improvement on the first. This engine, however, blew up, and on receiving a further grant of £5000 from the Air Ministry, Whittle succeeded in building a third engine, with which the first flight took place in 1941, and which was sent to America in 1942. Whittle's difficulties with small capital could be imagined, •said the speaker;;- when- . it ,-wa^ realised that 'tfr'e: Rblis. Rpycje "Derwent" jd6;ler^iaier cost £.l^,QCjD to build. Ixlf'' L'i '.L" . Mr. Mackay prflc'eeded ' to contrast the methods of Britain and America in, the engineering field. He stated that although Britain had received much in Lend-Lease aid from America, yet Britain's scientific discoveries made freely available to the Americans, in his opinion, far outweighed the aid received. Britain, he stated, was pre-eminent in the scientific field and although we heard that Henry Kaiser built a tremendous number of ships in a remarkably short time, yet the ship builders on the Clyde built more shipping per man per hour than the Americans. He also contrasted t£e production methods in building Rolls Royce aero engines at the Rolls Royce and Packard factories, and concluded his talk by giving the Rolls Royce tradition, which was that "Rolls and your grandfather built the best aero engine in the world; you should do the same." Questions were then asked, and Mr. Ian Park, in moving a very hearty vote of thanks on such a splendid address said that Junior Chambers in places like Levin were far removed from the centres _of_ knowledge, and it was indeed a treat to have someone who had so recently returned from England and the Continent, and who had an intimate knowledge of working conditions there. His remarks were endorsed by all those present with sustained applause. Visitors present at the buffet tea was Messrs. Ted Tarrant (Dominion president), Russell Mackay, of Wellington, and Jack Rishworth, Lower Hutt.