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Francis Rodwell Banks
Air Commodore Francis Rodwell "Rod" Banks CB, OBE, Hon. CGIA., Hon. FRAeS, Hon. FAIAA., FlMechE., Flnst Pet., FRSA, CEng., MSAE, (22 March 1898 – 12 May 1985) was a British engineer who was involved in the development of the internal combustion engine, as well as special fuels for the engine, and was one of the people responsible for the development of higher-octane fuels. Early life Francis Rodwell Banks was born on 22 March 1898, son of Bernard Rodwell and Frances Emily Banks. He married Christine Constance Grant Langlands in 1925, the couple having two daughters. Banks entered the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen in 1914. After promotion, he commanded several coastal motor boats, his navy service ending in 1919 while on service in the Caspian Sea during the Russian Revolution. Interwar years Between the First World War and the subsequent world conflict, Banks was involved in the development of marine diesel engines, later leading to involvement as a consultant on the prob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Commodore
Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. Air commodore is immediately senior to group captain and immediately subordinate to air vice-marshal. It is usually equivalent to a commodore or a brigadier/ brigadier general. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "air commandant". Canada The rank was used in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian air commodores then became brigadier-generals. In official Canadian French usage, the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compression Ratio
The compression ratio is the ratio between the maximum and minimum volume during the compression stage of the power cycle in a piston or Wankel engine. A fundamental specification for such engines, it can be measured in two different ways. The simpler way is the static compression ratio: in a reciprocating engine, this is the ratio of the volume of the cylinder when the piston is at the bottom of its stroke to that volume when the piston is at the top of its stroke. The dynamic compression ratio is a more advanced calculation which also takes into account gases entering and exiting the cylinder during the compression phase. Effect and typical ratios A high compression ratio is desirable because it allows an engine to extract more mechanical energy from a given mass of air–fuel mixture due to its higher thermal efficiency. This occurs because internal combustion engines are heat engines, and higher compression ratios permit the same combustion temperature to be reached wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century. His base of power was the largest circulation newspaper in the world, the ''Daily Express'', which appealed to the conservative working class with intensely patriotic news and editorials. During the Second World War, he played a major role in mobilising industrial resources as Winston Churchill's Minister of Aircraft Production. The young Max Aitken had a gift for making money and was a millionaire by the age of 30. His business ambitions quickly exceeded opportunities in Canada, and he moved to Britain. There he befriended Bonar Law, Andrew Bonar Law and with his support won a seat in the House of Commons at the December 1910 United Kingdom general election. A knighthood followed shortly after. During the First World War, he ran the Can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boscombe Down
MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has one active runway in length. The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS). It will be home to an anti-jamming test facility by 2026. History First World War An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeroplane And Armament Experimental Establishment
The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its work continues following privatisation as part of the Qinetiq company. History In 1917, the Experimental Aircraft Flight of the Central Flying School was transferred from Upavon, Wiltshire to a site on the heathland at Martlesham, Suffolk, and on 16 January 1917 Martlesham Heath Airfield was officially opened, as an experimental airfield. The unit was renamed the Aeroplane Experimental Unit, Royal Flying Corps. After the end of World War I the site continued to be used and was, once again, renamed as the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment of the Royal Air Force. At the outbreak of the Second World War, on 9 September, the A&AEE was removed to RAF Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, owing to the proximity of Martlesham Heath t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), the active reserve for the RAF, by providing an additional non-active reserve. However, during the Second World War, the high demand for aircrew absorbed all available RAuxAF personnel and led the RAFVR to quickly become the main pathway of aircrew entry into the RAF. It was initially composed of civilians recruited from neighbourhood reserve flying schools, run by civilian contractors with largely RAF-trained flying instructors as well as other instructors in related air war functions, such as observers and wireless operators. After the war, and with the end of conscription in the early 1960s, the RAFVR considerably reduced in size and most functions were absorbed into the RAuxAF. The RAFVR now forms the working elements of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macchi M
Macchi is an Italian surname, the patronymic or plural form of the old personal name ''Macco'' from the Latin ''Maccus''. It is possibly a variant of ''macchia''. Notable people with the surname include: *Aurelio Macchi (1916–2010), Argentine sculptor *Carlos Macchi (born 1974), Uruguayan footballer *Fabrizio Macchi (born 1970), Italian cyclist *Filippo Macchi (born 2001), Italian foil fencer *Françoise Macchi (born 1951), French alpine skier *Gabriel Macchi (born 1975), Portuguese track and field athlete *Giulio Macchi (1866–1935), Italian aeronautical engineer and founder of the Aermacchi aircraft manufacturer *Hiralal Macchi, Indian cricketer *Laura Macchi (born 1979), Italian basketball player *Luigi Macchi (1832–1907), Italian Catholic nobleman and Cardinal *Luis González Macchi (born 1947), Paraguayan politician *Odile Macchi (born 1943), French physicist and mathematician *Pasquale Macchi (1923–1906), Italian archbishop *Piera Macchi (born 1959), Italian alpine s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiat AS
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellantis Europe. Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 when Fiat S.p.A. reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899, when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP, was produced. Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. During its more than century-long history, it remained the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the third in the world after General Motors and Ford for over 20 years, until the car industry crisis in the late 1980s. In 2013, Fiat S.p.A. was the second-largest European automaker by volumes produced and the seventh in the world, while FCA was the world's eighth-largest automaker. In 1970, Fiat Automobiles employed more than 100,000 in Italy when its production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Speed Record
The world unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method. The current unlimited record is , achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the ''Spirit of Australia'' on 8 October 1978. Warby's record was still standing more than 45 years later."The deadly history of the water speed world record" by Sanj Atwal, GuinnessWorldRecords.com, February 7, 2024 The record is one of the sporting world's most hazardous competitions; seven of the thirteen people who have attempted it since June 1930 have died trying. Two official attempts to beat Ken Warby's 1978 record resulted in the pilot's death, with Lee Taylor in 1980 and Craig Arfons in 1989. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Speed Record
The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), respective governing bodies for racing in automobiles and motorcycles (two or three wheels), both bodies recognise as the absolute LSR whatever is the highest speed record achieved across any of their various categories. While the three-wheeled Spirit of America (automobile), ''Spirit of America'' set an FIM-validated LSR in 1963, all subsequent LSRs are by vehicles in FIA Category C ("Special Vehicles") in either class JE (jet engine) or class RT (rocket powered). FIA LSRs are officiated and validated by its regional or national affiliate organizations. Speed measurement is standardized over a course measuring either or , Arithmetic mean, averaged over two runs with flying start (commonly called "passes") going in oppo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Cobb (motorist)
John Rhodes Cobb (2 December 1899 – 29 September 1952) was an early to mid 20th century England, English racing motorist. He was three times holder of the Land Speed Record, World Land Speed Record, in 1938, 1939 and 1947, set at Bonneville Speedway in Utah, US. He was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1947. He was killed in 1952 whilst piloting a jet powered speedboat attempting to break the Water Speed Record, World Water Speed Record on Loch Ness in Scotland. Early life Cobb was born in Esher, Surrey, on 2 December 1899, near the Brooklands motor racing track which he frequented as a boy. He was the son of Florence and Rhodes Cobb, a wealthy furs broker in the City of London. He received his formal education at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, before joining his father's firm and pursuing a successful career as the managing director of a number of companies in the trade, the personal financial resources from which he used to fund a passion for large capacity motor high ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Segrave
Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneously and the first person to travel at over in a land vehicle. He died in an accident in 1930 shortly after setting a new world water speed record on Windermere in the Lake District, England. The Segrave Trophy was established to commemorate his life. Early life Segrave, who was a British national, was born on 22 September 1896 in Baltimore, Maryland, to an American mother and an Irish father. He was raised in Ireland and attended Eton College in England. He spent some time at 'Belle Isle' house, near Portumna and learnt to drive the family houseboat. He is reported to have attended the North Shannon Yacht Club regatta on Lough Boderg between Leitrim and Roscommon. First World War At the outbreak of war the Sandhurst officer training co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
