Re: New "What Ifs?"

Posted by Steve203 On 2014/8/19 11:20:20

<i>A lot of this is selling Packard very short on their really BIG dream and some of the direction based on their expertise in building jet engines and advancing that technology.</i>

Packard did fantastic work in jet engines in the late 40s. The Packard team in Toledo invented the fan jet, the type of engine we see on every jet airliner in use today.

Overview of Packard's work in Toledoenginehistory.org/members/articles/PackardGasTurbines.pdf

Wiki article on the XJ49 fanjet.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_XJ49

In the late 40s, the government was subsidizing jet engine development at a number of companies. The government decided it didn't need so many companies developing jets, and Packard's subsidy was eliminated. Unable to fund the development itself, Packard closed the shop in 49 and the development team members went their seperate ways.

The Toledo plant, which is government owned, stood idle until Contiental CAE, then headquartered on Kercheval, behind the engine plant on Jefferson, in Detroit, won a contract in 55 to make engines for the Air Force T-37 trainer. CAE occupied the plant and made small jets there for years, for the T-37 and cruise missles.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teledyne_Turbine_Engines