Gloster E28.39 at Lutterworth

Yes please!

This Island with the E28/39 on, is literally 30 seconds away in my car from where I live. If any one wants any photo’s of this monument I will gladly rattle a load off and post them on this thread. Just let me know! 🙂

Whittle at Farnborough

I was contracted to apply the paint to this aircraft at Lutterworth and I have all the pictures of the before, during and after the paint application.
However I only have one picture of the finished plane on the roundabout so if anyone has more please send them through

Regards
Steve

I happened upon the mounting of the Farnborough E25/39 one night when driving home from Fleet. The mounting was carried out at about midnight and was an interesting spectacle. I was told that the wing cross section has been profiled so as to minimise the lift created in strong winds.

Attached is a picture of the Farnborough one shortly after it was put on display. Sorry for the grainy quality – My pre DSLR days.

Just found a pic of the model DHFan started this thread about, when it was at RIAT.

I presume this is the same one. Anyone got pics of the other model in situ?

I thought I’d check the facts on the naming of the E-28/39 Best source is Tim Kershaw’s excellent book “Jet Pioneers” (Sutton Publishing, 0750932120, www.suttonpublishing.co.uk) published a year or so ago, and highly recommended as an excellent, entertaining read.

On page 19 he says:

Carter’s aeroplane, then, became known as the Gloster E28/39, usually referred to the E28 for short. Sometimes it was referred to as the Gloster-Whittle. Later it would referred to unofficially as the Pioneer, and nicknamed by some the Squirt. It also bore the code name Weaver and appeared in recognition notes for the armed forces as Experimental Aircraft No.137. At the time of the later Edge Hill trials, the two E28s were code named Tourist 1 and Tourist 2.

Quite a few aircraft were initially known by their experimental specification contract, but once accepted for service the name would then be given and allocated. As the E28/39 never became a production service aircraft, it’s reasonable to conclude that it never got named properly.

I’d say that the ‘Pioneer’ term was an attempt to give the aircraft a suitable name unofficially, but it may have been late, it wasn’t official as in being allocated by the Air Min, and it never really stuck.

The E28/39 breaks down as “E” for Experimental, 28th specification in the year 1939.

The habit of naming aircraft as numbers or acronyms is, IMHO a stupid and bureaucratic habit. Names, good or bad, on vehicles and items, good or bad, always work better. The Nadir of this poverty of imagination was BAe’s ‘FLA’ for ‘Future Large Aircraft’. I’d ask ‘what were they thinking of’ except it’s quite evident that ‘thought’ hadn’t taken any part in that process. Was it going to become the ‘CLA’ for Current Large Aircraft when it entered service? Then, no doubt ‘OMA’ For Obsolete Medium Aircraft when it was replaced by something bigger. :rolleyes: Rant over. 😀

While the E28/39 in the Science Museum may not be presented to its best effect, it is, unarguably one of the most historic aircraft in the world (oldest surviving jet aircraft in the world, second jet to fly, first British jet) it is at least in safe hands.

One of the E28/39FSMs was at the Century of Flight display at RIAT 2003. Can’t find me pics at the moment, though!

HTH

oooh, raw nerve alert… 😀

yep

Roger Smith

There is no ‘glazing’ as such. This is more in the line of a sculpture than an attempt to reproduce the detail of an airframe, and as such is a wholly display for the middle of a roundabout.

There is an awful lot of detail on the model if we take a close look at photos so some attempt at realism, reminds me in a way of many classical marble statues where the eyes are left smooth and undetailed.

Also referred to as the Weaver in some places.

Its nickname was the Squirt – I seem to remember reading somewhere…?

What is the collective opinion on whether the name ‘Pioneer’ was ever applied to the E28/39 ??

I first saw it in a Russian aviation magazine – and subsequently in the western press.

But others have denied that it had such a name – or they had no knowledge of said name.

The name is used on the RAF website :- http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/e28_spec.html

Discuss………….

Ken

yep, but i think the canopy did/does actually slide back, its made from GRP i think

TT

silver? even the glazing 🙂

“The Hurricane must be one of the oldest in preservation, with the shorter ‘stub’ spinner instead of the longer one i’ve seen on all flying ones.”

IIRC,there is just one other Hurri preserved with the pointy DH prop and that’s in Finland. L1592 at South Kensington is thought to be the only survivor with canvas covered wings though.
I could go into a bit of a rant about the lack of light and the dark ceiling in the museum’s flight gallery,but I’ll resist…

oooh, raw nerve alert… 😀

Despite the Lutterworth one only being about 20 miles from me I haven’t seen it yet!

Just so everyone knows the first jet engine ran in RUGBY on 12th April, 1937.

Roger Smith.

Yes they made a lovely job of them didnt they – I beleive they used the Kensington example for moulds/specs etc – built them next to the Beech when she was in the Vulcan hangar ( 🙁 )

True, last time i went there the Shorts was barely noticeable, at first i thought it was a large photo of one cut out! Does have some amazing aviation exhibits, especially the early Spit and Hurricane. The Hurricane must be one of the oldest in preservation, with the shorter ‘stub’ spinner instead of the longer one i’ve seen on all flying ones.

They haven’t come out too bad, after cropping to remove lamp-posts, traffic etc. There are couple more but they don’t add anything to the 3 I posted.

In common with many others on this forum, I don’t approve of hanging aircraft. The Science Museum is one organisation I’m prepared to forgive however. The aircraft in the aviation gallery are unique historic survivors and they have no room. That doesn’t excuse them bolting half the Shorts SC.1 to a wall though.