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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1808.PDF
FLIGHT JULY 15TH, 1943 A lecture on the supercharger in progress in one of many excellent classrooms. Rolls-Royce Engine School Training of R.A.F. and F.A.A. Personnel in Engine Care, Maintenance and Control SOME day the complete story of the work and successof the Technical Training Command, R.A.F., may bedivulged. No doubt it would begin with an apprecia- tion of the tradition of craftsmanship laid down muchearlier by Lord Trenchard in the Halton School of Tech- nical Training. The pre-war ex-Halton apprentices pro-vided to a large extent the essential nucleus upon which to build the enormous expansion of the R.A.F. fitter andrigger trades, but war necessitated now methods to Copt with the colossal problem of technical training in the formof manufacturers' courses. From time to time such estab- lishments have been described in Flight, and recently, bypermission of the Air Ministry, we have had an opportunity to visit that provided by Rolls-Royce, Ltd. During 1938 the late Mr. E. Platford, himself one of SirHenry Royce's original apprentices, selected Mr. C. L. Minings, the present superintendent of the Rolls-RoyceEngine _ School, to create a department of organised specialist instruction on the Merlin engine, then just goingthrough its teething troubles in the R.A.F. He being a man of vision, possessing exceptional technical experience com-bined with a knowledge of what the R.A.F. required, the school quickly achieved the high standard demanded andassociated with the Rolls-Royce organisation. The Rolls-Royce Aero Instructional School is the oldestof its kind in the country, and possibly, in relation to its specialised application, in the world. It was functioningas a complete and integrated unit a year before the out- break of war. Apart from its basic applications to the.R.A.F. it has provided aircraft-engine training for a large variety of allied requirements. For example, at the begin-ning of the war, Rolls-Royce stopped entirely the produc- tion of motor car engines and chassis, thereby releasing alarge number of valuable men with exceptional experience of internal combustion engines, but unfamiliar with aircraft-engine applications and peculiarities. It was essential for them to become familiar with the aircraft engine, and almost overnight, upon the instructionsof the works director, Mr. E. W. Hives, an additional school came into operation for this purpose. Men fromthis school are now holding key positions in the aircraft section on the technical staff, and as service representativesat R.A.F. stations, airframe contractors, and repair depots. Mr. C. L, Hinings, supt. of the R.-R. school. A certaininformality and friendly approach, he claims, provides the best background for the intensive work necessary in theseshort-duration courses.
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