National Gas Turbine Establishment facts for kids

The National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE Pyestock) was a super important place in Farnborough, UK. It was part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). For over 50 years, this site was the main spot in the UK for designing and testing turbine and jet engines. It was a leader in jet engine development for a long time!

NGTE started in the mid-1940s. It combined two groups: Power Jets, a company led by Frank Whittle (who invented the jet engine), and the RAE's own turbine team. Whittle and Hayne Constant first led the new group. When NGTE was created, it became a government-owned place. Its main job was to test and develop new engines. It also helped commercial companies with their engine designs.

The site for NGTE was chosen at Pyestock, which used to be a golf course. It was a secret location hidden among trees between Farnborough and Fleet. This spot was picked because the work was top secret. Being far from people helped keep things private. The trees also helped to quiet the loud engine tests. Building started in 1949 with small test "cubicles" inside buildings. Later, when supersonic jets were thought possible, the site grew. The Air House and other big test cells were built around 1961. Pyestock was probably the biggest site of its kind in the world. For 50 years, NGTE played a huge role in designing and testing most of the British military's jet engines. This included engines for navy ships too.

After the Cold War ended, NGTE's work slowed down a lot. In 1995, it became part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Five years later, in 2000, NGTE Pyestock closed for good. The land has now been turned into homes, called Hartland Village.

History of Jet Engine Testing

In 1942, the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Turbine Division moved to Pyestock. On March 28, 1944, Frank Whittle agreed to his company, Power Jets, becoming government-owned. This happened after talks with the Air Ministry. Power Jets was bought for £135,000. It then joined with the RAE's Turbine Division. The new group was called Power Jets (Research and Development) Ltd. Their main office was at Pyestock that same year. After Second World War ended, the group changed again. It became a part of the Ministry of Supply and was renamed the National Gas Turbine Establishment, or NGTE Pyestock. In February 1946, Frank Whittle left NGTE. He resigned because he didn't agree with some government plans.

In 1951, the NGTE received $4,000,000 (about £1,428,600) from the US government. This was an early payment for the US to use about 200 of Power Jets' gas turbine patents for the next 20 years. Before this, Power Jets had let the US use their patents for free during the Second World War.

For over 50 years, NGTE designed and tested new engines for the British military. Engines for many Royal Air Force planes from the Cold War era were tested at Pyestock. This included planes like the V bombers, the Harrier Jump Jet, and the Panavia Tornado. NGTE's work was very important for Britain to keep up with military advances in the Soviet Union. Every gas turbine engine used in Royal Navy ships was checked by NGTE. They even secretly looked at captured Soviet engines.

At its busiest, 1,600 people worked at Pyestock. The site was as big as a small town! It had 11 large buildings and many smaller ones. These smaller buildings provided services like power stations, workshops, and laboratories. Many buildings were connected by large pipes. The whole site worked like one big machine. Five special test cells were built to test engines at different heights. They could copy the air conditions for both slower and supersonic flights. These systems used compressed air from a huge turbine hall called the air house. These facilities were so powerful they could create conditions like flying at Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and 70,000 feet high for hours!

Even though Pyestock was kept secret, local people often knew about the tests. Some residents living miles away said they heard low rumbling noises. They also said their house lights would sometimes dim. Very demanding tests were usually done at night. This was because they needed so much electricity from the National Grid. As early as 1957, early computers from Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd were used to help test the engines. These tests measured things like temperature, fuel flow, and pressure in different parts of an engine.

In 1965, NGTE took over the Admiralty Marine Engineering Establishment. Later, in 1971, the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory and the Admiralty Oil Laboratory also joined NGTE. This happened when the Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive was created.

The site became less important over time, especially after the Cold War ended. It's thought that new computer programs could predict engine performance better. This meant less need for physical testing. Running the site was also very expensive. So, the British government decided to slowly make NGTE smaller and close parts of Pyestock. In 1995, it became part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). In 2000, the Pyestock site closed for good. This was part of a plan to make DERA partly private.

Exploring the Buildings

The Air House

The Air House (built in 1961) looked very modern. Its east side was made of glass. Eight large blue exhaust pipes ran up the side of the building. These pipes carried fast-moving air to and from the test cells. Inside were eight huge compressor/exhauster machines.

The Air House could either blow or suck air. It could create wind speeds up to 2,000 mph for Cell 4! The eight machines inside were all the same. They had a total power of 352,000 horsepower. This was the biggest setup of its kind in the Western world at the time.

These machines were designed in the late 1950s. Each one had an 8,000 horsepower steam turbine, two low-pressure compressors, a high-pressure exhauster, and a 27 MW (megawatt) electric motor. The steam turbine, powered by the site's boiler house, helped start the compressor sets. It could also be used during tests, but that was expensive. It was mainly used for supersonic tests.

Cell 3

Cell 3 was mostly underground. It was a newer, better version of Cell 2 for supersonic tests. It allowed for faster speeds and a wider range of engine temperatures. There was a fairly big building above ground. This building was just to lower engines into the test chamber using a huge crane. The actual test room was almost completely underground.

Cell 3 West

Cell 3 West was a smaller building. It had a large blue and white round opening on the front of the test chamber. This was the last altitude test cell built at the site. Inside, it was one of the largest cells. This allowed for icing tests to be done. These tests checked how ice affected an engine's performance. They also tested helicopter rotors here. The engine or turbine hung from the cell's roof.

Cell 4

Cell 4 was the biggest test cell at the site. It was built in 1965 and cost £6.5 million. It was made for the Concorde aircraft program, but also for other supersonic jet engines. This test cell was unique in the world. It filled most of the steel building with its many pipes, strong blast doors, and electronics. Blue pipes connected it to the Air House. It was designed to copy Concorde's flying conditions: Mach 2 (1522 mph) at 61,000 feet high. It could even test Concorde's engines at a maximum wind speed of 2,000 mph!

The Air House needed a huge amount of energy to run at these speeds. The site's own power station couldn't provide enough electricity. So, power had to come from the National Grid. By the early 1970s, Pyestock had to talk with the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) to get enough power. To avoid putting too much strain on the grid, Cell 4 could only be powered up at night.

Number 9 Exhauster

Pyestock's designers built the Air House to be very large. They thought it would provide enough suction for the supersonic test cells. But they couldn't have known how much power Cell 4 would need. Even with all eight exhausters in the Air House running, it wasn't enough suction. The answer was to build another exhauster right next to Cell 4. Since there were eight in the Air House, this new one was called Number 9.

It was a Parsons "multi-stage axial-flow exhauster." It was mainly used by Cell 4. Sometimes, Cell 3 and Cell 3 West also used it. A 36,000 horsepower electric motor drove it. Power first came from the site's power station. Then, when it reached 3,000 rotations per minute, it connected to the National Grid.

Filmography

Pyestock was used for some scenes in the 2005 film Sahara. This movie was directed by Breck Eisner. It was based on the popular book of the same name by Clive Cussler. Parts of Cell 3 and Cell 4 were changed to look like a solar-powered waste disposal facility for the film.

See also

• List of wind tunnels