John Harwood (B. 1954) "Science - Painting for Use w/ Jet Engine, Radar, Faraday and Babbage (combo)" Airbrush Paint on Line's & Airbrush Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Westminster Collectors Society Science - Combination stamps issued March 05, 1991. The jet engine, which radically transformed military and civil aviation, is a modern adaptation of some old ideas. The Wright Brothers' amazing invention took the world by storm, and eventually the need for more sophisticated aircraft engines increased. In 1911 Alfred Buchi developed a turbocharger, the first successful application of a gas turbine. Turbocharged aircraft flew the skies by 1916 and continued to dominate aircraft engineering throughout World War II. In 1930 a British pilot named Frank Whittle patented an invention combining a gas turbine with a jet-propulsion device, and a decade later his company received a government contract to build jet engines. German scientists labored diligently to produce jet aircraft for the Nazi war effort and by war's end rolled out the M262E, which arrived too late to save Germany. Jet engine technology blasted forward after the war. During the 1950s test pilots broke the sound barrier and commercial airliners began transatlantic jet service. In 1976 the SST -- supersonic transport -- carried passengers from London to New York in less than four hours. The jet engine -- a cigar-shaped device able to compress, heat and eject gases with enough force to produce massive thrust -- revolutionized the aircraft industry and laid the foundation for rocket research. The artwork shows the Whittle W4041/G plane with it's jet engine specifications. Image Size: 8.5 x 13.75 in. Overall Size: 12.75 x 17.75 in. Unframed. (B12721)