biology

R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket

R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket rather than just read about it. In short: The R.A.E. Vickers Transonic Research Rocket was developed from the Miles M.52, a British research supersonic aircraft a project which was undertaken in top secrecy between 1942 and 1945 to a Ministry of Supply specification E.24/43.

Key takeaways

R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The R.A.E. Vickers Transonic Research Rocket was developed from the Miles M.52, a British research supersonic aircraft a project which was undertaken in top secrecy between 1942 and 1945 to a Ministry of Supply specification E.24/43. The project was cancelled because the Government of the day was persuaded that with the accumulation of data it was felt that the E.24/43 aircraft was unlikely to reach sonic speed. Wind tunnel model tests apparently indicated serious loss of longitudinal stability at high subsonic speed as was then characteristic of existing aircraft. The decision was reached to acquire preliminary experience of flight under transonic conditions using rocket-driven pilotless scale models. The Ministry of Supply (MOS) formed the Guided Projectile Establishment under W. P. Cooke at Westcott, Buckinghamshire, and the Rocket Propulsion Group under A. D. Baxter at RAE, Farnborough. Work commenced in applying German technology, with the Halstead Experimental Centre of the MOS monitoring commercial exploitation.

Development A contract was placed in 1945 with Vickers Armstrong Limited for the design and construction of several test vehicles. Early in 1946 the contract for the E.24/43 was cancelled, since it was felt impossible to ensure safe escape for the pilot in the event of an emergency ejection at high speed. The difficulties surrounding flight at sonic speeds appeared to increase with increasing knowledge. In those circumstances, consideration of an improved version of the E.24/43 was discarded in favour of pilotless models which for the initial tryout were to be 3/10-scale versions of the Miles M.52 design. For drag and stress reasons the operational altitude had to be in the stratosphere, to which altitude the test vehicles would be carried by a parent aircraft, a De havilland Mosquito

Powerplant The design was to be powered by a 362 kg (800 lbs.) thrust hydrogen peroxide 'hot' motor evolved at Westcott with characteristics drawn from the Walter RI 2031209 ATO unit. This initiated the Beta- and the subsequent Gamma MOS-inspired engines. In October 1948 the Vickers Transonic model flew at 930 mph in level flight at 35,000 ft.

Design The test vehicle was a 3/10-scale model of the Miles E.24/43 design except for the omission of the distinctive annular air intake of the full-scale aircraft. To maintain the center of gravity (c.g.) it was necessary to include a large balance weight (a!most 1/10 of total all-up weight) in the foremost section of the nose. The layout was further restricted by the need to maintain a constant c.g. position during the consumption of the fuels. This was achieved by placing a small tank ahead of the wing holding one third of the total oxidant (as well as the fuel in the shaped nose tank) and locating the main oxidant tank aft of the wing. Other large components were placed fore and aft of the wing. In the space below and above the wing centre section were located the air, fuel, oxidant and warm-air pipes, telemetering transmitter, instruments and batteries as well as the autopilot, timing clock, wiring terminal fuses and the connections by which the test vehicle was carried on the parent aircraft. The rear section housed the combustion chamber, radar transponder, smoke-producing fluid, instruments and oscillators for combustion chamber pressure and tailplane angle, servos and dive mechanism for the tailplane which together with the fixed directional fin were fitted to the lower body prior. The single-piece wing was of mahogany with Dural inserts at the leading and trailing edges; it was of biconvex section and of tapered planform with an unswept half-chord line. The Dural inserts formed a convenient dipole-aerial system for the telemetering unit. (A similar arrangement on the tailplane served the radar transponder.)

Operational history A1: On the last check flight before live firing the parent aircraft descended into a storm at 22,000 ft. When smooth conditions were regained at about 8,000 ft altitude the test vehicle A1 carrying all the prototype examples of instruments and equipment was found to have parted from the aircraft and disappeared beneath the waters of the Bristol Channel. List of Test Vehicles in Chronological Order Ref. Type Details A1 Complete Lost in cloud during early flight trials—30 May 1947 A2 Complete First release—rocket motor failed to ignite—8 October 1947 A9 Fuselage Rocket motor starting tests. Released from 35,000 ft 29 February 1948 fired A8 Fuselage Rocket motor starting tests• Release from 35,000 if—29 February 1948 non firing A12 Fuselage Rocket motor starting tests. Release from 25,000 ft—ignition fired 5 March 1948 All Fuselage Rocket motor starting tests. Release from 25,000 ft—ignition fired 7 June 1948 A10 Fuselage Rocket motor starting tests. Release from 35,000 if—explosion in tail 9 June 1948 A3 Complete Rocket motor starting tests. Release from 35,000 ft successful 9 October 1948

Specifications Data from General characteristics Length: 8 ft 5.5 in (2.578 m) (0.3 scale M.52) Wingspan: 9 ft (2.7 m) (0.3 scale M.52) Airfoil: root: Biconvex 7.5%; tip: Biconvex 4.9% – (M.52) Powerplant: 1 × Rocket Propulsion Establishment liquid-fuelled rocket engine Performance

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket

In research: R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1940s British experimental aircraft, Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United Kingdom, History of science and technology in the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket in simple terms?

Why does R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket.