#GLOSTER METEOR COCKPIT SERIAL#

Specifications (Meteor F.8 modified) Artist's impression 12 Maintenance Unit, the aircraft was sent to RAF Colerne before being preserved at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. Meteor F8 WK935 was retired after a year and after storage at No. Lambert described flying Meteor WK935 in the 30 March 1956 issue of Flight magazine. Although prone pilots were able to control the aircraft as well as a standard Meteor, the extreme forward position with limited rear view presented a problem in mock combat with conventional aircraft. Operational history Testing and evaluation Meteor F8 WK935 at Royal Air Force Museum Cosfordįollowing some 55 hours of flight testing over 99 flights, the results were inconclusive although the prone position concept was feasible, the development of special aviation clothing ( g-suits) offered a simpler solution to the problem of counteracting inertial forces, and the prone position Meteor was no longer needed.

The prone pilot's emergency escape involved a complex procedure which included jettisoning the rudder pedals, crawling backward to an escape hatch and retracting the nose wheel. The Armstrong-Whitworth Chief Test Pilot Eric George Franklin carried out the test flights. A Meteor NF 12 tail unit was substituted for the usual F8 tail. The standard fighter cockpit was retained WK935 was never flown solo from the radically modified front cockpit, which incorporated a custom-built couch, offset tiny control column, and suspended rear pedals.

#GLOSTER METEOR COCKPIT SERIAL#

The last production Meteor F8, serial WK935, built by Armstrong-Whitworth was selected for modification and joined the Institute in autumn 1954.Īrmstrong-Whitworth carried out the modifications as an 'in-house' project. In order to establish the viability of a prone pilot cockpit, the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine required a jet aircraft that could be flown in experimental flight tests. The Bristol Aeroplane Company sought to exploit these advantages by incorporating a prone pilot position in its proposal for a rocket-powered fighter, the Bristol Type 185. While the Reid and Sigrist R.S.4 'Bobsleigh' explored low speed performance 1951–1956, the Royal Air Force soon also needed a higher performance concept aircraft. Secondly, aircrew can withstand greater inertial forces if not sitting upright, a vital consideration given the need for jet combat aircraft to manoeuvre at ever increasing speeds. Firstly, such a configuration enabled the frontal area of the airframe to be reduced and therefore reduced drag. In the early 1950s the adoption of a prone position cockpit in future combat aircraft designs appeared attractive for two reasons. Along with the Reid and Sigrist R.S.4 'Bobsleigh', the Gloster Meteor was engaged in a proof-of-concept experimental programme that proved in practice that the difficulties in rearward visibility and ejection outweighed the advantages of sustaining higher g effects. The Gloster Meteor was a remarkable fighter jet, Britain’s very first.A heavily modified Gloster Meteor F8 fighter, the 'prone position/prone pilot' Meteor, was used by the Royal Air Force in 19 to evaluate the effects of acceleration/inertia-induced forces while flying in a prone position. The nose guns also have hollow muzzles thanks to careful molding of this 1/72 plastic kit. Several photo-etched items such as air brakes add more finesse to the finished aircraft, without being a hassle to assemble.

The tail rudder can also be depicted in different positions as selected by the assembler. To give more flexibility, modelers can elect to display the transparent cockpit canopy either open or closed, with the cockpit sliding on tracks produced with the help of slide molds. The body is a beautiful piece of molding, with the panel lines carefully etched onto the curved surfaces. Based on high-tech drafting and engineering techniques, the fighter’s fuselage is accurately reproduced. The Cyber-Hobby Original Kit was fully designed using CAD. Although the Meteor was an innovative aircraft in the new age of jet-powered aircraft, it had an appalling safety record of 890 crashes and 450 pilots killed in RAF service alone. The greatest problem in WWII combat was that of friendly fire caused by the aircraft looking similar to the enemy Me 262! This problem of misidentification was eased by painting the meteor all white. This newer variant had longer nacelles, larger cockpit canopy, increased fuel capacity and it was powered by Rolls-Royce Derwent engines. The very first Meteor F.I aircraft were used to tackle German V-1 flying bombs, while the F.III was introduced in December 1944. It commenced combat operations in July 1944, and it served with the RAF and a number of other air forces for decades in some cases. The Gloster Meteor was a British jet fighter whose primary claim to fame was its status as the UK’s very first operational jet.

Gloster meteor cockpit