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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0877.PDF
AUGUST 23, 1917. VTHE COWPER-COLES AIRCRAFT COMPANY. THERE is a branch of the aeroplane industry in process of establishment at the little riverside village of Sunbury-on- Thames that may well cause that abode of Dolce jar niente to wake up and metaphorically rub its eyes. Somehow the haste and bustle and noise of an up-to-date factory engaged in the production of our latest engines of war, and one of the most restful spots on our brave old river seem as far apart as the poles. One can hardly believe or credit the idea of circular saws screaming their way through plank and beam midst the sylvan woods round and about; of barges laden with timber and steel nosing their way through the placent waters. Bargees and the noble exponents of Sir Isaac will no doubt bandy expletives, punters in immaculate flannels and tug skippers in greasy overalls will doubtless exchange diatribe, but We are at War, and war means progress, covering, and this appears to be no dream-picture, but a proposition within, measurable distance of becoming an accomplished fact. " Sherardising," the invention of Mr. Cowper-Coles. is one of the processes now in operation, and one that should be of great value in seaplane construction work. It is a method of making metal rustproof by a new process in which zinc dust is employed in place of the usual method of galvanising. In this way the zinc instead of simply coating the article becomes incorporated in the skin to a considerable depth. So much so is this the case that whereas in the old process there is a tendency to the chofing'Tip of fine threads and small depressions, such articles as screws with finely Lcut threads now retain all their original keenness. 3PT~1 Another of the inventions of this scientist in a similar Some views of the Cowper-Coles Aircraft Company's temporary workshops at Sunbury.—1. The fitter's shop. 2. The wing building shop. 3. One of the laboratories. 4. A stitching room. 5. The "*..-.. - machine shop. . so the hand of necessity has reached out and gathered in Sunbury. • Mr. Sherard Cowper-Coles, the well-known scientist, engineer, metallurgist, and author, son of the famous Captain Cowper-Coles, C.B., R.N., who invented the armoured turret for battleships, is head of affairs. For many years Mr. : Cowper-Coles has carried on an immense amount of experi- mental and research work at his laboratories at Sunbury, and it was his researches into metallurgy and the knowledge gained thereby that suggested to him how great a help he could be and to what great purpose his knowledge could be put in the interests of aviation. Let it be said that that help has been put to immediate good in the most useful channels in that his works are now engaged on aeroplane parts of the orthodox description. But the purpose of the Cowper-Coles Aircraft Co. is an aeroplane composed entirely of metal, even to the wing direction is a method by Which copper water jackets to cylinders are deposited in large numbers with a depositing time of only one hour. Radiator tubes of extraordinary lightness are produced in "the same way, without weld or seam. With such a man as the guide expansion must /follow naturally and be reckoned with. Thus the present workshops having proved aH too small a large estate of over 30 acres encompassing a house containing about 40 rooms Has been acquired, together with a river frontage of some 370 ft. to a backwater of the Thames. Here will be erected seaplane shops and wharfage, together with landing stages and warehousing accommodation. - The works are quickly getting towards full swing, mean- while it being interesting to speculate on the all-metal plane that will some day emanate from this colony of workers so comfortably settled in a Thames beauty-spot. 877
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