COMBAT AND COMPETITION.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

COMBAT AND COMPETITION
had no propeller braking and little idea of its gliding angle, it was a
good effort.
We itched to get our hands on the Meteor and Vampire. Not only
were they very different to anything we had flown before but in a real
sense they were a glimpse into the future.
In my case the Meteor came first. The cockpit felt unfamiliar, with
its rather upright seating position and long travel throttles, but the
automatic sequencing system made engine starting easy. The rising
whine of the turbines was an urgent reminder that they were burning
fuel at a vast rate. There was no time to waste. I taxied gingerly, then
faster, adjusting easily to the tricycle undercarriage. Aware that the
Meteor's wheel and air brakes, not to mention its four 20mm cannon,
depended for their operation on the contents of a single compressed air
bottle. For it was still early days and there was no thrust to spare for
engine driven compressors.
Sitting astride the runway centreline 1 listened to the turbines
winding up against the brakes, watching the twin temperature gauges.
Jet pipe temperature was critical on take off and harsh throttle
movements were to be avoided at all costs. Failure to do so was to risk
flooding the combustion chambers with fuel and wrecking the hot
section.
Although the Meteor was easy to fly it was a disappointment. To
be fair the main problem was shortage of thrust, and this was already
in hand on the new Mark IVs which I had seen at Moreton Valence.
But ours were Mark Ills. The acceleration on take off was poor and the
climb sluggish. The ailerons were heavy and the stick force per 'G'
fairly high. Even a short session of aerobatics was hard work.
The approach and landing was quite straightforward, although the
response to changes in throttle setting was much slower than a piston
engine.
On the first occasion, misled by the splendid forward view, I
touched down with the nose too high and continued to hold the stick
hard back, until the aircraft pitched smartly onto its nose wheel. The
tail bumper had to be replaced and there was much leg pulling.
The Vampire I also suffered from lack of thrust. But it was much
more my idea of a jet fighter. The cockpit was simple and functional,
with a gunsight reflecting straight onto the armoured windscreen like
the Typhoon and Tempest. The throttle lever was much better
positioned, with the high pressure cock conveniently close by ,and the
three vital direct reading fuel contents gauges unmistakably visible
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