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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0155.PDF
JANUARY 19, 1939 FLIGHT. 7i THE INDUSTRY " Snow-and-gas" Fire Extinction F OR some years American aircraft manufacturers have been fitting a certain. extinguishing system for use against engine fires in the air or on the ground. So far the gear has not been widely adopted in this country, though it figures on the new De Havilland Flamingo transport now on test and is being specified foi a number of forthcoming proto types, including the Fairey F.C.i. It has also been used on Howard Hughes' round-the-world Lockheed 14, Miss Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra and the new Bell twin-engined pusher fighter, end has been adopted, it is stated, by prac tically all the Fjuppliers of equipment to the major American airlines, the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the U.S. Navy, apart from several of the larger foreign lines. There are records of its having put out nineteen engine fires in the air. The system, which is manufactured in this country by the Walter Kidde Company, Belvue Road, Northolt, Middlesex, makes use of Lux gas (carbon dioxide), in which flames cannot exist. The gas is non-poisonous and will harm neither the pilot nor the engine. It is discharged under 850 lb. pressure and expands in the form of '' snow'' and gas; driven by the force of the slipstream it envelops the entire power plant. The installation, of course, differs widely among various aircraft types, but essentially it consists of three major parts ; the cylinder of gas, usually installed behind the fireproof bulk head ; the control; and the distributing piping. It is customary to mount a remote control on the pilot's instrument panel. The distributing piping is -fein. duralumin tubing installed in a perforated ring round the engine with a loop about the carburettor and an outlet in the intake. Multi engined aircraft are equipped with a valve to discharge the gas to the appropriate engine. A pull of about two inches on the control releases the extinguisher and the gas discharges under pressure of its own expansion, extinguishing a fire within, it is claimed, about three seconds. The gear as installed on the De Havilland Flamingo weighs rather less than 20 lb. In the case of a three- or four-engined machine the weight is by no means prohibitive, as only one cylinder is required. For use in conjunction with the system there is a special fire detector which guards against those engine fires which may be hidden by the nacelle or cowling. The detector consists of an indicator on the instrument panel and heat-sensitive '"Lux- stats" round the engine. These "Luxstats" are operated by flame as well as by excessive heat (250 deg.), and generate pressure which is transmitted through the tubing to the indicator on the instrument panel or to an electric alarm. Schemes are available whereby the detector and extinguisher A DISTRIBUTING PIPING ENCIRCLING CARBURETTOR CARBURETTOR DISTRIBUTING TUBING FOR NAOLLE UNION ENGINE MOUNTING f RING TO DISTRIBUTING VAIVE ON CONTROL PANEL DISTRIBUTING TUBING CARBURETTOR NOZZLE Layout of the Walter Kidde fire-extinguishing equipment in a radial-engine nacelle. may be combined so that they operate quite automatically During a recent visit to the Walter Kidde works we were shown the report of a fire-extinguishing demonstration before prominent Dutch technicians and fire brigade experts. The fuselages of two Fokker machines were used and four compaia- tive tests were made with typical Dutch thoroughness and with convincing results. Electric Machinery Production A FILM depicting the manufacturing processes of electric motors and dynamos has been prepared by Higgs Motors, Ltd., of Witton, Birmingham. They state that they will be pleased to loan this film free of charge to any recognised engineering society or similar organisation interested. The film is in two 16 mm. reels and lasts for approximately half an hour. * The Uses of Nickel A DVANCES in the uses of nickel in aircraft and engine manu- f*- facture are detailed in the annual survey of the nickel industry, obtainable from the Mond Nickel Co., Ltd., Thames House, London, S.W.i. Nickel is, of course, used extensive^ as an ingredient cf steels for highly stressed parts, and it is also an important con stituent of Inconel, a corrosion-resisting alloy used extensively for exhaust manifolds. Something to Celebrate WE always had the impression that Reid and Sigrist, Ltd., of instrument fame, were a "happy" firm. Now, hav ing studied a cross-section, as it were, at the works annual dinner, organised by the R. and S. Social Club, we are certain of it. The Ace of Spades, on the same formidable Kingston By pass as the company's works, was the scene of the celebration. Mr. G. T. Folkerd (works manager) having proposed "The Firm" in what local newspapers used to call "a few well- chosen words," Sqn. Ldr. G. H. Reid, D.F.C., Wh.Ex., A.C.G.I., M.I.Ae.E. (managing director), rose to reply, a Napoleonic paper hat quite failing to bestow an air of stern authority. He told his audience how the firm had started literally as a three-man affair (Mr. Blease and Mr. Lever being named as the other two) in the depression period ten years or so ago. They produced their first job for the Air Ministry before they had even received the contract. The trouble started when the A.I.D. came down and, sheltered by umbrellas TWO IN ONE : Those who have struggled with the prob lem of wearing both glasses and goggles will welcome the introduction of these new "Luxor No. 12'" safety- glass goggles, which include "Motex" safety-glass pre scription lenses at the modest inclusive figure of 55s. The makers are E. B. Meyrowitz Ltd., 1 a, Old Bond Street London, W.I.
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