Jets

Big day today, my sister in law Deirdre came yesterday to load the 'van' with F.M.i.L's, boxes for the trip to Holland where she will stay for a few weeks. This morning they returned shortly before 0600 to pick her up and head off for the ferry at Dover.
Marlane and I had a bit more sleep then I got up and did a bit of shopping and took Jonty for a walk.
After lunch I decided to get the bike out and go to the Jet Age Museum, that fabulous museum in Gloucester (Javelin Business Park on the opposite side of the airfield from Gloucestershire Airport terminal). I took my membership renewal while I was at it.
I haven't been for a while but spent a few years volunteering there, particularly on the Vulcan forward fuselage section tours, even before there was a museum building!
It's is still a fascinating place, met a couple of old faces that I knew and had a chat as well as a look around.
The four photographs are;
Top left the Rolls Royce Welland jet engine, the first jet engine that was in production.
Top right, the E28/39 aircraft which was the test bed for the Whittle designed jet engine.
Bottom left is the Meteor, the first production jet fighter in service with the Royal Air Force. First flight was 5 March 1943, first entered RAF service in July 1944. 3,947 were built and sold to air forces all over the world. The first allied jet aircraft in combat service and wasn't retired from service until the 1980's.
Bottom right is the huge Javelin pictured from the rear. It was an all weather fighter and the last production aircraft of Gloster Aircraft Company although they did produce at least one other aircaft after the Javelin but it did not go into service.

Extra photograph is a model of the experimental 'Trent Meteor' where they fitted turbo prop engines instead of the jet engines. It was a test bed for the new Rolls Royce turboprop engine. The Jet Age Museum has one of the propellor blades from the Trent on display above the model.
The undercarriage had to be lengthened to allow for the propellor blades!
The Meteor had many 'first' records including the Trent making it the first aircraft to be powered by a turboprop engine.