WAN 084 Hangar Talk:Layout 1 2009/09/07 02:34 PM Page 1 treme bravery found in those young pioneers. are known as jet engines. We gotta get rid of As the pilot to first fly the rocket-powered those turbines, they’re ruining aviation and Heinkel He 176, as well as the real first jet, the our hearing. He 178, Warsitz was quickly noticed by those A turbine is too simple-minded, it has no in positions of power, and was promoted mystery. The air travels through it in a straight through the ranks, and handsomely rewarded line and doesn’t pick up any of the pungent fra- for his bravery and flying skills – skills which grance of engine oil or pilot sweat. A book review by Kevin Barker saw him team up with Wernher von Braun, Anybody can start a turbine. You just need Hans Pabst von Ohain, and Ernst Heinkel, to ex- to move a switch from “OFF” to “START” and N TERMS of aviations pioneers, a few key tend the frontiers of aviation, in speed, altitude then remember to move it back to “ON” after names are always sure to get a mention. and propulsion technology. a while. IHowever, a sphere of aviation develop- Needless to say, Warsitz also experienced a My PC is harder to start. Cranking a round ment often overlooked by the history books is number of life-threatening situations, and the engine requires skill, finesse and style. You that of the world’s first jet engine by the Ger- book takes a somewhat jaded, very humorous have to seduce it into starting. It’s like waking mans in the run-up to World War II. look at some of these incidents. up a horny mistress. On some planes, the pi- The First Jet Pilot written by the son of test Having been translated from German by Ge- lots aren’t even allowed to do it. Turbines start pilot Erich Warsitz, rips the cloak off a chapter offrey Brooks, The First Jet Pilot makes for ex- by whining for a while, then give a lady-like in aviation history that has remained shrouded tremely easy reading of a somewhat difficult poof and start whining a little louder. in secrecy for nearly 80 years. subject, and the personal interludes and intro- Radial engines give a satisfying rattle-rattle, Penned by Erich Warsitz’ son Lutz, the book spection add a great touch for being able to click-click, BANG, more rattles, another BANG, is written in the first person, compiled from di- gauge the mental make-up of the test pilots of a big macho BURP or two, more clicks, a lot aries and notes of the time, and vividly cap- a bygone era. more smoke and finally a serious low pitched tures the Halcyon days of German aviation Including many previously unreleased pho- roar. We like that. It’s a GUY thing. research and development, shining a light on tos, diagrams and drawings, Lutz Warsitz has When you start a round engine, your mind the rich history of the German aviation sector. managed to uncloak a period that was hidden is engaged and you can concentrate on the Very little is known of this pioneering pe- in sinister secrecy, and managed to bring the flight ahead. Starting a turbine is like flicking riod, as all aviation development projects of reader out to the icy fields of Germany in the on a ceiling fan: Useful, but, hardly exciting. the time were shrouded in strict secrecy, and late 1930s to be an integral part of the flight When you have started his round engine what Warsitz manages to achieve with this test teams that paved the way for the future successfully your Crew Chief looks up at you book, is to portray the pioneers of the time, jet technologies that we all enjoy today. like he’d let you kiss his girl, too! Turbines don’t not as Nazi sympathisers, or Reich’s men, but More than just a good read, The First Jet Pilot break or catch fire often enough, which leads as young adventurous aviators and scientists, makes it as an historical document of ines- to aircrew boredom, complacency and inat- eager to get their new projects into the air. timable value in the aviation pioneering field. tention. A round engine at speed looks and In fact, the book has very little to do with The book was first published by Pen and sounds like it’s going to blow any minute. This the war, focussing on the development team’s Swords Books Ltd., and is priced at just under helps concentrate the mind. strife with the Government of the day for fund- £20 in the UK. Turbines don’t have enough control levers ing, the incidents and accidents – that if they or gauges to keep a pilot’s attention. There’s were not so serious, would be considered RADIALS VERSUS TURBINES nothing to fiddle with during long flights. laughable by today’s standards, and the gut- Ed Hirsch, our Miami-based US editor, obviously Turbines smell like a Boy Scout camp full of wrenching tension of developmental test fly- has a love-hate relationship for aero engines – Coleman lamps. Round engines smell like God ing in the days before modern test flight he loves radial engines and hates those turbines. intended machines to smell. methodologies and simulations were available. He sent in this piece to prove his point. Ed Hirsch has asked us to pass this on to a Each day was a case of strapping yourself Round engines are commonly known as ra- WWII guy (or his son, or anyone who flew into/on to a machine that might, or might not, dial engines. The piston jugs are placed in a cir- them, ever) in remembrance of that “Greatest explode at any second, highlighting the ex- cle, hence “round” engines. Turbine engines Generation”. Q 84 WORLD AIRNEWS, OCTOBER 2009. .