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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0781.PDF
MARCH 16, 1939 FLIGHT. 279 THE "NUTZIES" on parade—an amusing yet informative piece of display-craft on the British Industries Fair stand of M.C.L. and Repetition, Ltd. THE INDUSTRY Important Rolls-Royce Appointments TWO appointments which will be received with acclamation by the aircraft industry have recently taken place at Derby. Mr. H. J. Swift, who has been with the Rolls-Royce firm since the very early days, has been appointed general manager of aero engine production, and will, in that capacity, be in charge not only at the Derby works but will also be responsible for the new R.-R. factory at Crewe. No one who has followed Mr. Swift's work hitherto will have any doubts that aero engine production will be in the best possible hands. The other appointment is really a reappointment. Lt. Col. L. F. R. Fell joined Rolls-Royce, Ltd., in 1928, after relin quishing his Air Ministry position of Assistant Director (Engines). He left the firm in 1934 to te^c UP tile Post of cllief engineer of Armstrong Siddeley's aero engine department, and now he has returned to the Derby fold. At the Sign 0/ the Hand and Spring OVER one hundred and fifty million springs, ranging from high-grade aero valve springs to the humble door lock variety, are, it is claimed, produced each year at the Redditch factory of Herbert Terry and Sons, Ltd. Colossal as this figure appears, it forms only a part of the company's total annual production, for springs are but one of the many pro ducts in which it is interested. Quite recently we were able to see for ourselves the extra ordinary variety of the work undertaken at the Redditch factory. Following in the slipstream of Mr. John Darby, the sales manager, we were conducted through the various shops, process rooms and stores, stopping only for tea served in what must be one of the finest canteen-cum-lecture halls in the Midlands. Here shifts of over two hundred employees can be served with meals in the absolute minimum of time. The factory, which covers several acres, is arranged with such orderliness that it is difficult to realise that it has been extended and added to over a period of many years; the modern layout appears to have been designed as a whole. In special controlled-temperature cellars hundreds of tons of steel wire of all gauges are stored. Nearby is the research department, equipped with apparatus for conducting the various tension, torsion and other tests necessary to ensure the high standards which are demanded in the finished products. i In the main, the production of springs is confined tp the older parts of the factory. Highly specialised automatics are employed. Here, also, are situated presses, for presswork forms a large part of the aircraft work undertaken by Herbert Terry and Sons. Clips, brackets, cases, small tools, race cages—all find their origin in these shops. Across the road are the most recent additions to the factory. Here is the spacious machine shop in which all types of precision work is carried out on batteries of capstans, automatics, etc. This, too, is the shop where the Anglepoise lamps are made; this type of lamp forms a by no means unimportant part of the chartroom equipment in Short Sunderlands. But to make any serious attempt at describing in detail the thousand-and-one different articles manufactured by Herbert Terry and Sons would be impossible except in book form. In fact, even Mr. Darby, with all his expert conjuring ability to make thimbles and cigarettes disappear, cannot dismiss the subject in catalogue form in less than a hundred pages! "The Aircraft Engineer" Next Week I N view of the fact that the issue of Flight dated March 30 will contain a series of special articles on world trends in military aircraft development. The Aircraft Engineer monthly technical supplement to Flight will be published in next week's issue, one week earlier than usual. Insurance Expansion ALTHOUGH R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm expansion has affected the British Aviation Insurance Co. only to a small extent, expansion in other directions has been consider able, and the company has taken further accommodation in Lloyd's Building in Lime Street, London, E.C.3. It is also announced that Mr. Jacques Lorentz, who was with the Pratt and Whitney Co. in the United States and with Junkers in Germany, has been appointed technical representa tive in South Africa, while a similar appointment will shortly be made in Australia. The company already has direct repre sentation in Canada and the United States. Recently Mr. E. V. Rutter, of the Phoenix Assurance Co.; was appointed secretary of the company. Captain A. G. Lamplugh remains underwriter and principal surveyor. GYRO REPAIR SCHOOL: The repair of gyroscopic instruments is a specialised branch of aircraft instru ment maintenance, and cannot be undertaken by ordinary instrument repairers without individual training and tool equipment. Seen above is the interior of the repair school which the Sperry Gyroscope Co., Ltd., has opened at its Great West Road (Brentford, Middlesex) factory. A six- weeks' course should give proficiency in Artificial Horizon and Directional Gyro work ; another two to four weeks is needed for the Gyropilot. The service is given free by the Sperry Co. to approved employees of aircraft operators using its equipment.
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