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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 2319.PDF
NOVEMBER 5TH, 1942 FLIGHT 501 H&sr* ' —.£.*, •* m m*M British Overseas Airways have designed a rostrum for attending to seen here in use with the Short boat Champion. now occasions when B.O.A. can supply spares to the manu facturers from this source when urgency demands. With the Assistant Service Engineer, Mr. G. J. Bryan, we began a tour of the base, starting at the engine bay where the Bristol Hercules and Pegasus engines are received from the engine overhaul depot and built up as complete power eggs ready for installation in the aircraft nacelles. About 25 hours are required for this build-up, but owing to stan dardisation empower plants complete with cowling and mount ings, the changing of engines in the aircraft is a comparatively easy and quick job. Following on to the unit shop, where all units removed from aircraft and engines are overhauled and made ready for refitting, one was struck with the ingenious rigs available to cover all tests required to be carried out. These are mosth designed and constructed by the engineers of the department; in fact, throughout the base, the time and money-saving devices produced by the department are a distinct revelation deserving the greatest credit. Entering the stores, which unfortunately was only about half the size necessary for the work entailed at this base, the efficient layout method and organisation was already evident when the chief storeman himself explained just how he obtained "one gallon in this pint pot" and yet, as could be seen from the tabs and bins, had anything and everything available and within easy reach, and was still able to maintain a clear passage way on both floors. C. of A. Routine The inspection department was a revelation, with its wall of charts of various colours which at first glance were baffling to even one frequently accustomed to this procedure. Mr. ••Bryan left it to the inspector in charge to enlighten us on the procedure of his department and to explain the mystic charts of many colours. The technical log carried by each aircraft was explained in detail, for it is this document with which the inspection department is primarily interested in connection with the subsequent overhaul. From the numerous charts it eventually became obvious that here, at a glance, could be told the exact amount of work carried out on the various flying boats in the service of the Corporation, the position of work already in hand, when the " C. of A." was due for renewal, and many other details. After the work called for in the inspection reports and routine sheets has been completed to the satisfaction of the specialist supervisors, the inspection staff carry out a final examination to ensure each item has t>oon completed in accordance with the standards laid down. The specialists who cairy out the work, their.supervisors and inspectors, are all required to sign against each item, thus establishing beyond all doubt the responsibility for the satisfactory completion ot the job. The tour concluded with a visit to the instrument shop where all instruments used on the aircraft are checked, followed by the airscrew overhaul shop with equipment for balancing and minor overhauls to airscrews, the component shop, and finally the main hangar. In this building were various types of aircraft in the B.O.A. service, including "G" class, "C" class, and American " Catalina " flying boats. In a few days the "G" class lx>at will be once again withdrawn from the hangar and the engines, con trols, instruments, and equipment given a thorough ground test. The boat will then be launched arid a test flight made to ensure the mechanical behaviour of the aircraft is satisfactory. The signed copies of the routine sheets and in spection reports will then be centralised in the office of the inspector in charge, where the "aircraft prepared for ser vice" form will be completed. This document will advise the traffic and operations department of the tare weight of the aircraft, so that fuel and oil requirements and pav load may be regu lated. During maintenance, additions and alterations sometimes have to be made to the structure and equipment of the aircraft, involving alterations in its tare weight. It is thus very necessary for a careful check to be maintained so that the maximum permissible weight is not exceeded and valuable pay load is not lost. Thus the aircraft is once again ready for operation, " certified airworthy " by qualified ground engineers. Once again it will be on its way across the Atlantic or to some other corner of the Empire, maintaining the fines of communi cation of the United Nations. flight " yhotoQraiih. engines. One is " Flight " photograph Reassembling a de Havilland c.p. airscrew hub in the air screw department. Three-a-Night Pilot is Ex-Motor Cyclist BY shooting dow*n three enemy bombers at night recently Flying Officer George Pepper, D.F.C., becomes the second night fighter pilot to accomplish this feat in a single night over Britain. The first was Wing Commander John Cunningham, who bagged three Heinkel Ill's in April last year. Flight Lieutenant Kuttelwascher, the famous Czech night fighter, shot down three German bombers on intruder patrol over Northern France on the night of May 4 this year. Flying Officer Pepper, who is 26, is a former T.T. motor cyclist and dirt-track rider. He rode for West Ham, and at or 3 time captained the Newcastle dirt-track team. His home is at Belleville, Ontario. He won the motor cycle road racing championship of Canada in 1936; joined the R.A.F. in 1940; and has now been a night flyer for almost a year. He and his Flight Commander, who holds the D.S.O., D.F.C., and Bar, have together destroyed 18 German bombers.
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