Report
From Aerojet: The Power of the Future
Aerojet
Engineering Corporation • Affiliate of the General Tire and
Rubber Company
A rare and
extremely informative, 42-page book entirely devoted to JATO ("jet-assisted
take-off") rocket engines. Originally published in 1947 by the inventors
of rocket propulsion for launching airplanes, it covers both the history
of rocket powered takeoff engines, their technology, and their (probable)
future applications.
Describes
in great detail the early history of what would become "the world's largest
research, development, and production company." Beginning with the
small five-man team that evolved into the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory
at California Institute of Technology (GALCIT), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL), and Aerojet-General Corporation, this valuable document relates
one of the most fascinating stories you'll ever read about rocket science,
engineering, and technology.
Under
the leadership of Dr. Theodore von Kármán, Dr. Martin Summerfield,
Dr. Frank J. Malina, Edward Forman, and John Parsons set out in 1939 to
build rockets that would boost warplanes into the air fast from any take-off
point. Some months before, this concept had grown out of a discussions
between Dr. von Kármán and General H. H. "Hap" Arnold, commander
of the Army Air Forces.
All sample illustrations
here, from the book, shown at reduced size and resolution
The only
thing resembling rockets in this country at the time were Fourth of July
fireworks. So this small team started from scratch, trying every
kind of chemical mixture that would ignite. After little more than
a year of trial and error, the group came up with two propellants--a liquid
and a solid. When ignited in a specially designed steel container,
either of the propellants shot a blast out of a nozzle opening faster than
the speed of sound, and with a terrific thrust.
This
text describes how the first JATOs (as the military called them) were tested,
how the Navy and AAF ordered a few, and this work soon supported military
efforts during World War II. It also describes (and illustrates with
many photos) the use of JATO motors for take-offs from Navy aircraft carriers,
and for daring Pacific sea rescues with rocket-powered Catalina "flying
boats."
But in
addition to the history of early U.S. rocket power, "Report From Aerojet"
also explains the theory and operation of rocket engines, shows and explains
how JATO rockets are designed and built. The book's photos are themselves
quite fascinating, with several showing JATO production lines, test stands,
individual JATO "bottles," etc.
For the
rocket scientist and engineer, the book also provides specifications and
descriptions of JATO motor cases, nozzles, propellant, safety burst diaphragms,
igniters, ignition temperature, impulse, and thrust curves. The Aerojet
Model 12AS-1000 D-1 JATO rocket motor is described in great detail.
Several
pages are devoted to the use of JATO rockets on civilian aircraft, including
the DC-3, Lockheed "Lodestar," Curtis CW-20 (C-46 "Commando"), together
with complete specs and data for JATO takeoffs with heavy loads from short
runways at high elevations, and how these planes can clear obstacles with
rocket assistance.
Fascinating
test photos and oscillograph data logs show C-47B (DC-3) aircraft in action
with JATO power. The book also describes the benefits of JATOs for
four-engine planes--the Douglas DC-4 "Skymaster," DC-6, and Lockheed "Constellation."
There's also a full chapter about JATO use for seaplanes (the PBM / PB2Y3),
and another chapter about JATO rockets for light planes, and yet another
about JATOs for gliders and sailplanes--complete with propellant and thrust
requirements for various rates of climb and acceleration.
A "Question
and Answer" chapter covers 19 important questions about these novel propulsion
units:
-
Can the
Aerojet motor damage the airplane?
-
Can the
pilot determine the amount of thrust at any time?
-
How are
these motors stored?
-
Can the
motor be reloaded?
-
Will the
jet motor frighten the passengers?
-
What kind
of smoke does a jet motor give off?
-
Can the
motor be dropped?
-
What is
one Aerojet motor equivalent to in horsepower?
-
Can Aerojet
motors be used successfully in "instrument" take-offs?
-
... and
other interesting topics ...
The book
closes with an imaginative chapters: "Supersonic Journey ... 1955."
This section--replete with exceptional artist's renderings--predicts the
future of rocket-powered vehicles. "Your stratosphere rocket ship
is waiting.... The airspeed needle says you're going 2,000 miles
per hour.... At this point you are 60 miles above the earth and traveling
at a velocity of 5,000 miles per hour.... Bring on that trip to the
moon!" This part is really rather like reading a nice science
fiction article.
This
exceptional book was found among the private collection of a retired Aerojet
rocket scientist. Almost impossible to find, and long, long
out-of-print, this new limited edition has been republished by the Rocket
Science Institute. It's printed with a high-resolution laser printer
on high-quality, bright-white, 20-pound, acid-free paper, and quality bound
for years of reference use. More than
60 photos, illustrations, drawings, graphs, tables, and charts! 42
pages, 11" x 8-1/2" size. $24.95
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(Insured
Priority Mail: $4.60)
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(Priority Airmail: $11.00) |
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worldwide -- you pay only actual postal costs: combine several books into
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