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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0612.PDF
218 FLIGHT. MARCH 3, 1938. THE INDUSTRY A New TrainerD ETAILS of a factory to be established in the near future at Leicester airport, by Reid and Sigrist, for the manu- facture of a " new type of training machine," have, it appears, been announced by Sqn. Ldr, G. H. Reid. So far it has been a secret that a twin-engined three-tandem- seat training machine has been developed and built at New Maiden, Surrey, where the firm have their instrument works. Reid and Sigrist have taken over two hangars at Braunstone which Leicester Corporation built for Crilly Airways and which were never used by that concern. The building of the trainers is to start in these hangars while the factory is being erected. High-speed Holes IT is now possible to describe and illustrate the latest additionto that never-ending flow of ingenious electric and pneumatic portable tools from the works of Desoutter Bros., Ltd., at The Hyde, Hendon, London, N.W.9. It is a tool which has been causing quite a lot of interest at the Bir- mingham B.I.F. Known as a jig drill, it does away with the necessity for bushed drilling jigs, a very important consideration in modern, high-speed production of metal aircraft. A study of the accompanying drawing almost tells the story at a glance. The jig, a simple, easily made template with the necessary number and arrangement of holes (not bushed, but merely tapered) is clamped up to the job. The tapered pig bush or nose of the Desoutter tool, with the actual drill hidden within it, is pushed into the tapered hole. Further pressure then causes the drill to emerge from its telescopic casing (though, more accurately the casing recedes to expose the drill). The drill does its duty, then a penetration stop This part - sectional view shows the modus operandi of the Desoutter jig drill. limits the movement as soon as it breaks through, thus saving the operator fatigue. Among advantages claimed are: Accuracy of positioning; telescopic guide, steadying drill, allows motor speeds up to 14,000 r.p.m.; drill does not have to blunt itself on corners of hard jig bushes; and drill is protected from breakage. Jig maintenance is obviously reduced, and it is stated that for non-precision jobs plywood jigs are quite satisfactory. An- other practical feature is that a wide sector of the telescopicnose is cut away to allow work right up in the angle of corners. It is stated that 100 holes a minute have been drilled with the new tool, which is at present pneumatic only; an electric one is on the way. Flexible Fettling TIME was when much of the excess metal on a castinghad to be laboriously chipped and scraped off by hand. More recently certain firms in Germany have been producing a range of rotary milling tools, resembling scaled-up den- tist's drills, which have been used extensively in conjuction with suitable flexible drives. Mr. Hands, of F. Gilman (B.S.T.), Ltd., tells us that Three examples from the wide range of Gilman milling tools. hitherto this has been the only source of such tools. With the increased demand for these rotary milling shapes in all our aero-engine factories, the need for their home production became urgent. Co-opeiating with the Air Ministry, the firm of F. Gilman. Ltd., of Regent Street, Smethwick, Staffs, are now beginning to produce several shapes, and soon a large range will be available. Examples with 6 mm. shanks for recommended speeds of 1,500 to 3,000 r.p.m. may be seen at the B.I.F. Birmingham Section (Stand Cb.516). Napier Results AS foreshadowed by the chairman a year ago, the accountsof D. Napier and Sons show greatly improved results. A trading profit of £58,172 is reported for the year ended Septem- ber 30, 1936. Straight Appointments T^HE staff of the Straight Corporation has recently been in- -*- creased by three, one of the new appointments being concerned with flying and training matters, another with aero- drome development, and a third with engine overhauls. Mr. O. G. E. Roberts, who has joined as a director, is to be concerned with the flying side. He owns a Monospar ST12, is very fully qualified, and, in fact, won the blind flying trophy at A.S.T. a year or two ago. He has, of course, a "B' licence with an instructor's endorsement, and holds both Second Class Navigator's and W/T licences. He was educated at Eton and Sandhurst, and afterwards served in the Scots Guards. The second appointment is that of Mr. J. W. D. Rowland- son, who has come from the Air Ministry, where he was on the operational staff of the home section of the Department of Civil Aviation. Mr. VV. Lancaster, the third new member of the staff will be in charge of the engine overhaul depot at Ipswich, and was formerly on the staff of British Airways. COOLERS and HEATERS (Concluded from page 215) larger tubes placed in the front. The heat taken from these tubes is carried over the small high-efficiency tubes behind them, thus preventing congelation. The firm have carried out a great deal of research in each of their sections and submit designs to suit the special require- ments of each aircraft manufacturer. In this way the com- bined oil cooler and cabin heater for certain Gloster machines and for Airspeed aircraft used in the tropics were evolved. Cabin heaters for the heavy bombers are quite small and have condensers so that the water does not need frequent replenishment. The new quick-refuelling anti-surge tank embodies hinged baffles which take up a horizontal position when the filler caP is opened. The inlet pipe is then arranged so that fuel fl"ws in below the baffles and drives air out above them, s< pre" venting a possible air-lock. When the cap is closed a system of levers moves the hinged baffles back to the vertical. The weight of this new tank will be little more, if any, than the present types, which can be made of aluminium, duralu- min, or magnesium. The Gallay works are in Edgware Road, Cricklrwood, London. N.NV.2.
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