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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1692.PDF
a FLIGHT AVRO YORK something might be done officially about the labour posi tion—it having become Avro's policy to design aircraft from the very start with every regard for production methods and limitations (which explains the fact that the time required to build a Lancaster is very much less than that required for any other aircraft of similar size and type). Starting from the nose of the York and working aft one is immediately struck by a most ingenious feature. This is the extreme nose fairing which is hinged at the top to open and thus to give access to the rear of the pilots' instrument panel. All wiring for the panel is made up in looms, or indi vidual sets, so that time need not be wasted in searching for a defect, the faulty length being extracted and a new length put in place. Plumbing which serves non-electric instruments is carried up at the side of the access panel, and all unions are staggered to facilitate spannering. A seat is provided for personnel working on or inspecting the services, and this is an excellent feature as the nose is about seven feet from the ground and access would nor mally be, without the provision of the seat, scarcely con ducive to thorough work. Two overhead lights are also incorporated and these are well placed to illuminate the whole of the nose interior. Control Quarters The pilots' rudder pedals are individually suspended from double torque tubes, both right pedals being on one tube, and both left pedals on the other, whilst easy access to the bearings carrying the tubes is provided by external blisters which cover the bearing assemblies on each side of the nose. Rudder pedals are adjustable for length of leg, the range of adjustment being about four inches. Layout of the crew quarters is pretty good (one can hardly refer to an " apartment" like this as a cockpit) but it is difficult to see a really good reason why the wireless operator should sit about four feet below the level of the navigator and pilots—it would seem that the crew could all have been accommodated on much of a level without too much design inconvenience—however, the point is not of great importance. The instrument panel is well devised, and each of the pilots has his own blind-flying panel. Engine and ancillary instruments are grouped centrally between the flying instru ments, and the duties of a flight engineer are carried out by the second pilot. Trim controls are mounted together in a box on the right side of the chief pilot's seat, where _i they are accessible to both men, and, an important point this, the trim control wheels are each positioned in a similar plane to the action they control, viz., the elevator trim wheel rotates on a'thwartships axis, the aileron trim wheel on a longitudinal fore and aft axis, and the rudder trim on a vertical axis. Sun Blinds and Blackout Throttles, airscrew pitch controls, boost cut-out, car burettor hot and cold air, undercarriage and flap controls are all mounted in the roof between the pilots, where they are readily accessible to each and do not obstruct the reading of instruments. The field of view from the pilots' seats is truly excel lent ; there is the minimum of obstruction and no blind spots iri vital sectors. Twin nozzles protrude through the top of the nose cowling and direct a spray of ethylene glycol on to the front screens to prevent ice formation. The glycol is fed from a tank forward of the instrument panel, by a hand pump operated by the second pilot. A refinement which pilots should appreciate is the provision!^ of thin fabric sun-blinds overhead, which can be pulled forward and attached at the top of the front screen ; black out curtains are also fitted behind the "drivers' " seats and, of course, to the radio operator's and navigator's window, side blister and astro-dome. The navigator is well provided for; his plotting table has a drawer beneath for charts, and is fitted with built- in parallel-action plotting arms. Facing him across the chart table is his instrument panel, beneath which are map trays, and on the side of which is an equipoise-type adjustable light. Above the navigator's head is his astro dome which is held down by four lever-clamps and can act as an escape hatch for the crew if required. Forward of this and over the chart table is the astrograph (a full description of this device appeared in Flight of September 30th, 1943), an<3 on his right is the drift meter. Be hind this is stowed the Very pistol (which is fired by the navigator through a little bung-hole in the roof), the cartridges for which are stowed in a box mounted on the fuselage wall, and forward of the drift meter is the stowage for the Aldis lamp. The kite pack for the dinghy wireless aerial is
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