Jet planes have shrunk our world and brought thousands of jobs to the West. Little wonder that BBC viewers and listeners in the region voted the inventor of the jet engine - Sir Frank Whittle - as their 'Local Hero'. On Sunday March 21, Adam Hart Davis tells his story, and meets those who stood beside him on a Westcountry airfield to witness Britain's first jet-powered flight. Jet powered flight The history books say it happened in Lincolnshire. But Paul Smith knows otherwise. The first ever jet-powered flight in Britain took place, he says, in Gloucestershire a month earlier. And he has it on good authority.  He (Whittle) said that while they were doing taxiing trials the pilot opened the throttle and flew for a couple of hundred yards. He was in no doubt that it was a worthwhile flight. The Wright brothers' first flight was shorter than that. | | Paul Smith |
He spoke directly to the man universally credited with developing the jet engine in Britain - Sir Frank Whittle, who was present at both flights. Paul said, "Back in 1971 I was making first-day covers to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first jet flight when I heard that Whittle himself disputed the official date. "So I rang Sir Frank. He was adamant that the history books were wrong." Most accounts of the development of the jet engine list the first flight as having taken place at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire on 15 May 1941. But a month earlier, a Gloster E28/39 aircraft powered by Whittle's jet engine had surprised everyone present by lifting a few feet off the runway at Brockworth just outside Gloucester. Frank Whittle told Paul Smith what had happened: "He said that while they were doing taxiing trials the pilot opened the throttle and flew for a couple of hundred yards. He was in no doubt that it was a worthwhile flight. The Wright brothers' first flight was shorter than that." BBC1 documentary The story of that first jet flight is told in a special programme on BBC One this Sunday, 'Frank Whittle: The Man Who Shrank the World'.  | Adam Hart-Davis will present the documentary on Sir Frank Whittle |
It shows how Whittle worked through the war years with a variety of engineers in Gloucestershire to get a jet-powered aircraft into the air in top secrecy. The engine was made in Cheltenham; the aircraft itself at the Gloster Aircraft Company factory at Brockworth. Even though he'd come across Whittle's work before, presenter Adam Hart-Davis says he learned a lot about the jet pioneer as he was filming. | Whittle was an amazing chap. Tiny, stubborn, unstoppable - jet-propelled! It's amazing the impact his invention has had upon the world. | | Adam Hart-Davis |
"Whittle was an amazing chap. Tiny, stubborn, unstoppable - jet-propelled! It's amazing the impact his invention has had upon the world." The film-makers uncovered an interview with Sir Frank recorded in 1986, ten years before his death. Whittle's son Ian, a former airline pilot, also talks about his father. Your vote counts The programme is unique in that the subject was determined entirely by BBC viewers and listeners across the West. BBC local radio stations asked them to nominate their local heroes. An expert panel sifted through the nominations to come up with a shortlist of five. Apart from Whittle, they were: - John James, a millionaire and philanthropist from Bristol
- Michael Eavis, farmer and festival organiser from Glastonbury, Somerset
- Explorer David Hempleman-Adams from Swindon
- William Henry Fox-Talbot from Lacock in Wiltshire, a key figure in the development of photography.
Whittle polled more than 40 percent of the votes, a few hundred more than runner-up John James.  » Read more about Sir Frank Whittle's life and achievements
The BBC1 documentary on the life and achievements of Sir Frank Whittle, presented by Adam Hart-Davis, will be screened on BBC1 on Sunday March 21, 2004. Digital satellite viewers from outside the West can watch on channel 956. BBC Radio Gloucestershire has organised a special public screening for those unable to watch the broadcast. It's being held on Sunday March 21 at 2.30pm at the Oxstalls Lecture Theatre, University of Gloucestershire. BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Vernon Harwood and Mark Cummings will host the event and will be joined by Sir Frank Whittle's son Ian.
For more information about the screening contact Sue Hargreaves on 01452 308585. 
If you would like to comment on this or any other story in this section get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk | 
He was the county's Local Hero and thanks to YOU jet engine pioneer Sir Frank Whittle has now been voted the best in the West. See a special TV documentary on BBC1 on Sunday March 21.
