Whittle - The Jet Pioneer

The story of how Sir Frank Whittle invented the jet engine and shrank the world is one of the great dramas of the 20th century. 'Whittle - The Jet Pioneer' reveals the titanic struggle of a young aviator and engineer as the Nazis took Europe into total war. It was a race for air superiority between Germany and the Allies. Ultimately the young inventor became one of the most influential Britons of the 20th century with an invention that changed the face of our planet. Sir Frank Whittle's invention of the jet engine is an inspiring story with near tragic elements along the way. It starts in England and ends in the United States. Not only did his vision change the face of the earth, it now enables tens of millions of us to see what it actually looks like first hand. Unknowingly, Sir Frank Whittle made our planet smaller, impacting the development of a now global economy. His story also had its challenges. With Sir Frank Whittle telling his own story, the film includes exclusive interviews with veteran test pilot Captain Eric Brown and the German jet pioneer Hans von Ohain. Their accounts are mixed with fantastic wartime color archive of Sir Frank Whittle's first jet planes and more. It is a powerfully told story with a dramatic result. - THE AMERICAN CONNECTION - In 1941 Sir Whittle s turbojet was sent to Boston, Massachusetts to enable General Electric to build the first American jet engine. Whittle came over in 1942 to help on GE's jet program. Whittle fell in love with America and with an American girl. In 1976 he married her and moved to the United States, where he accepted the position of NAVAIR Research Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. In August 1996, Sir Frank Whittle died of lung cancer at his home in Maryland. His spirit and his innovations, however, will live on forever.