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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0195.PDF
^JANUARY 20, 1938. FLIGHT. 75 AIRPORT EQUIPMENT A Review of Current Productions : Landing- ground and Building Construction Aerodrome Construction and Maintenance Bradshaw Bros. (Contractors), Ltd.,Blackbird Koad, Leicester, state that they have completed no fewer than twenty largeaerodromes during the past two years. in addition to constructional work of thiskind they are experts in the improvement and drainage of existing aerodromes, andhave recently perfected a gravel-filled mole drainage'system (see illustration) which isproving wry successful. They have also invented a piercing machine for cutting"plugs" out "of the ground. The holes thus.made, 9in. deep, are filled with sandor ashes, thus rendering badly drained aerodromes usable at short notice. It isstated that at a terrain Midland aerodrome, which might,otherwise be floodedv this pro-cess has. been so successfully applied that the heaviest bombers are taking off underall weather conditions. Carr, Ltd., J. B., Tettenhall, Staffs.—All phases of aerodrome preparation, from the choice of sites to final levelling andseeding, are carried out by this firm. Among recent contracts is one for A.S.T.,Ltd., at • Ansty, which involved drastic clearance of trees and filling of ponds andditches; the preparation of Leicester Muni- cipal Airport, including layout of roads andsewerage systems; and the preparation of Gloucester and Cheltenham Joint Airport.An outstanding aspect of the firm's activi- ties is the mole drainage system. The En-Tout-Cas Co., Ltd., Syston,Leicester, have, during the past year, been extremely busy on aerodrome and airportconstruction. They have completed the first portion of the new Manchester Airportcontract at Ringway, and now have a second contract there, extending the initialarea of approximately 200 acres by a fur- ther 50 acres. En-Tout-Cas have carried out the con-struction of aerodromes for corporations, private persons and the Air Ministry. Inparticular, they hqve extended Desford Aerodrome (belonging to Reid and Sigrist,Ltd.), by 80 acres, and for the past five months have been erecting extensive newbuildings on that aerodrome; these com- prise a hangar 200ft. long by 70ft. wide,large new clubhouse, machine-gun range, etc. In addition, they have laid out asquash rackets court and two hard tennis courts at this aerodrome. It will thus be seen that En-Tout-Cas arenot only in a position to undertake landing- ground construction, but also erect build-ings for operational purposes and carry out the construction of such recreational facili-ties as squash and tennis courts and swim- ming baths. Green and Sons, Ltd., Thomas, New Sur-rey Works, Southwark Street, London, h-Ii-i— This old-established firm of lawn mower manufacturers includes in its range<>t machines several types of triple, quin- tuple, and septuple gang mowers, particu-larly suitable for aerodrome maintenance, where quick and efficient mowing is a pri-mary consideration. The firm has fulfilled a number of Air Ministry contracts. Hunters of Chester (James Hunter, Ltd.), v-nester. aerodrome constructors, initiated the process known as " Hunterising." which wig surfac ' SOl'dly compact' setf-drain- a Jht?-\P0Ssess a staff of specially trainedand highly skilled workmen p.nd a battery of 148ft. meteorological tower by Wright, Anderson and Co., Ltd. soil-excavating, levelling, grading andtransporting implements, which, it is stated, is notable for perfection of perform-ance and magnitude of scope. Lloyds and Co. (Letchworth), Ltd., Penn-sylvania Works, Letchworth, Herts.—The problem of keeping down grass on aero-dromes is not easy of solution. Grazing by live stock has obvious disadvantages; theaverage farm mower is slow, and usually cuts only a 5ft. width; and the golf-coursegang mower is not usually designed for such strenuous work. What is wanted is amower of the gang type, but of robust con- struction, unchokable, capable of beingdrawn by a tractor and having an effectual cutting width of sixteen feet or more.: Such a machine, specially designed for aerodrome work, has recently been suppliedto the Westland Aircraft Company by Lloyds and Co., who claim to be pioneers Lighting : Radio : Re- fuelling and Service : Workshop Equipment : Marine-airport Craft " Mole drainage "—a photograph which explains the term. The " bur- row " is afterwards filled with pebbles (Bradshaw Bros.). in the construction of gang mowers. It hasno iron castings to tracture, neither are there any thin steel plates to warp andbend. The chassis is built up on two side plate* of heavy steel castings which aiemachined true on all faces, as are also the gear covers, so that an efficient seal againstdust and dirt is assured. The steel gear wheels are of accurate profile, and run ingrease. The cutting cylinders are sturdily built with double riveted blades and arelifted with anti-choke plates. The road wheels are of heavy malleable pattern, withdeeply fluted non-skid rims. Pugh, Ltd., Chas. H., Whitworth Works,Tilton Koad, Birmingham, 9, are makers of the well-known " Atco " motor lawnmowers and power-driven scythes. These are particularly useful for aerodrome mow-ing in the neighbourhood of clubhouses, etc., where the presence of heavier appara-tus, as used to mow the landing ground, would be inconvenient.Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, Ltd., Ips- wich, Suffolk, have had considerable, ex-perience with mowers for cutting aero- dromes, and they offer gang mowers With3, 5. 7. 9 or 11 units. The largest combina- tion has a cutting width of 25ft. and willdeal with as much as 80 or 90 acres in a day. • '. Kansomes also manufacture a number ofvery useful machines for aerodrome work, including a rotary scraper for levelling sites,a mole drainer, which is equally suitable for laying underground cables without diggingand without disturbing the ground surface, and special cultivators for turf cultivation.B. Sunley and Co., Ltd., Sunley's Island, Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex.—Sunley's have a specialised organisation equipped for the levelling, preparation andextension of civil and military aerodromes. A contract is carried through in thequickest possible time by the use of large caterpillar tractors and Le Tourneau equip-ment, which are but part of the large fleet of over eighty tractors which are always inuse and which Sunley's have available for hire.Sutton and Sons, Ltd., Reading, having studied every form of turf production fornearly a century, are in an excellent posi- tion to ensure satisfactory seeding of anyaerodrome. Webb and Sons, Ltd., Edward, Stour-bridge.—Experts on the subject of seeding for grass, Edward Webb have closelystudied the subject of aerodrome prepara- tion, and have been responsible for theseeding of several important aerodromes, the grass usually advised is of a particularlytough-rooted nature. . Hangars, Buildings and Doors Boulton and Paul, Ltd., Norwich.—Old-established specialists in constructional steel- work, Boulton and Paul have been respons-ible for the erection of numerous aircraft hangars and factories at home and abroad. A glance at their beautifully illustratedcatalogue shows that to their credit stand big buildings that are " household words "in the aviation industry, e.g., the Ainvork service hangar at Heston, the Saunders-Roeerecting shop at Cowes, and the open-jet wind tunnel at Farnborough, yet they alsoundertake the construction of small, ntaple and inexpensive airport buildings and H*b-houses.
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