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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0059.PDF
JANUARY 29, 1925 Brinell hardness testers, scleroscopes, etc., for the testing of metals, and the same care is taken here as in the case of the •wood components. Add to this the fact that the head of the Fairey Inspection Department (which is, of course, entirely separate from and additional to the A.I.D.) is responsible to the directors of the firm only, and it will be realised that everything possible is done to ensure perfection of materials and workmanship. On the subject of Fairey experiments in metal construction a whole article could be written, but this, unfortunately, is one of the subjects on which one has to be reticent. Certain highly interesting experiments have recently been carried out with cheap forms of metal construction, but all that can be said concerning these is that they have definitely shown the possibility of doing metal work with semi-skilled, or even unskilled, labour. Whether the system has any chance of being " approved " in official circles is, perhaps, another matter. It is by now well known that the Fairey company has produced metal wings of the usual type, i.e., crinkled strip construction, and these have proved quite satisfactory after prolonged service, but it is to an entirely different system of metal construction that we refer, and the experiments with which were undertaken by the firm as a purely private piece of research. While on the subject of metal construction reference should be made to the Fairey-Reed Duralumin airscrews. On the occasion of our visit we had an opportunity of seeing these propellers manufactured. It was a somewhat astonishing sight to see a Duralumin " plank " being sawn to plan form in a band saw, but this is actually done, and without any apparent difficulty. The " plank " is first tapered in thickness from centre to tips, and the blade plan form then marked on it. It is then put into a machine and bent to the desired pitch angle. This operation is illustrated in one of our photo- graphs. The-" Winding sticks," to borrow a wood-working term, are sighted along each other and when parallel the desired angle has been reached. The propeller is then placed in a third machine in which a circular saw, placed at an angle with the blade and travelling on a carriage, cuts the blade roughly to the desired section, the feed of the saw being governed by templates representing the section at any radius. After leaving the saw the propeller is finished off by a large power-driven buff. In quantities the manufacture of the Fairey-Reed Duralumin airscrews should be a relatively simple matter, and in spite of the fairly high cost of the metal should be capable of being manufactured at a cost not greatly in excess of that of a wooden airscrew. That the propeller is very effective for certain types of aircraft cannot be doubted, and it may be recalled that the present holder of the world's speed record, the Bernard " Ferbois," which did 280 m.p.h., SOME INTERESTING DETAILSlONfcTHE FAIREY "FLYCATCHER " : 1, the pilot's cockpit is providedwith sliding panels working in grooves and locked in any position by the spring catches shown in 2. In 3 are shown the rudder pedals, which are adjustable to suit pilots of different height. 4 shows the tail-skidassembly of the " Flycatcher." Rubber discs, working in compression provide the springing. Details are given in 5, 6, and 7. .' • • 59
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