Power Boosting of Jet Engines by Reheat: An Exposition of the Theoretical Advantages Proved by Experiments carried out on a Welland Engined Meteor Available to Purchase

IT is well known that aircraft designers and operators are never satisfied for very long with the power available from the engines installed in their aeroplanes. They arc always demanding overload power or some form of boosting for special conditions such as take‐off on elevated or tropical airfields or for interceptor aircraft during climbs. In the case of turbo‐jet engines, one way of achieving this is by ‘reheating’ or, perhaps less ambiguously, ‘after‐burning’. There have been many references to this form of boosting which would lead one to assume that it is a very recent idea; in fact, a Meteor aircraft was flying with an experimental reheat power boosting system as long ago as 1944. While the system suffered from a number of troubles, it is of more than historical interest and some account of its performance may be useful in assessing the potential value of reheat.