In Germany experiments have been made with a Huettner turbine constructed for aircraft, and some years ago plans were worked out for a big aircraft powered with a single Huettner engine of 2,500 h.p. Tt was calculated that its speed would be 270 m.p.h. and that it would be able to fly at 43,000 feet.
It is not known in this country to what extent this project advanced The steam aero engine, if it could be brought to a practical form, would have very definite advantages over the petrol engine for war purposes. A steam-engine bomber, flying at a great height, would be inaudible from the ground, for the power unit would have no external exhaust and problems of fuel supply would be solved, Furthermore, the steam engine ix not seriously affected by conditions at high altitudes as is the petrol engine, which has to be supercharged in order to maintain power output, There are also cooling problems.
The substitution of the steam engine for the petrol engine would be a radical change, and as the possibilities of the former in aircraft use are virtually unexplored it is extremely unlikely that any developments will be made for a consider-
Inspection of Australian Troops Concluded Cairo, Feb. 1
Prime Minister, concluded his tour of inspection of Australian troops in Palestine, Egypt and Libya.—Reuter.
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