Joint U.S.-Canadian Aviation Projects and UFO Sighting Reports, 1954-1955

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figuration to such an extent that performance in level flight appears to have been seriously compromised. Since forward flight is, after all, the important function of any airplane, we have attempted to examine into the inventor's claim for the flight characteristics with particular care.

The inventor has advanced claims for favorable forward flight characteristics on the basis that the radial flow engine has a very favorable thrust to weight ratio (about .22), that the specific thrust on the projected area of the plane (about 600, excluding air intakes) is unusually high, and that the drag characteristics of the plane are very favorable. While not enough information is available to settle all of these points, we are compelled to take exception to all three of these claims. The specific engine weight is no longer unusual and would not in itself justify the radial engine development. Moreover, the radial engine possesses certain inherent limitations in pressure ratio and component efficiencies which are detrimental to good fuel consumption in comparison with the axial flow type. The shift to conventional turbojets has, of course, altered the situation, but it has not strengthened the claims based on the engine. The high thrust per frontal area is in part due to the fact that all discussions so far have been made around planes with no pay load. The situation with respect to drag appears to us the most serious, however, since we feel that the drag may have been underestimated by a factor of two. Very

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