Secrets of the Spitfire

Author: Lance Cole
Secrets of the Spitfire: The Story of Beverley Shenstone, The Man Who Perfected the Elliptical Wing
Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN: 184884896X
2012
Format: EPUB
Pages: 272
Size: 2 Mb
Language: English

This book tells the tale of the brilliant aerodynamicist Beverley Shenstone MASc, HonFRAes, FAIAA,AFIAS, FCASI, HonOSTIV. As R.J. Mitchell's chief aerodynamicist, it was Shenstone who designed the Spitfire's wing - the wing that gave the Spitfire it crucial advantage in the Battle of Britain and beyond. A quiet man, Shenstone never sought glory for his work, yet in recent years he has been credited as the man who persuaded Mitchell to adopt the ellipse - a modified ellipse that was unique in its shape and its combined use of two integrated aerofoil sections. Shenstone's knife-edge shape reached far back into early aeronautics for its inspiration.