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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0737.PDF
APRIL IITH, I946 THE INDUSTRY FLIGHT 377- Marflex Fuel Tanks British Wartime Development Applied to Civil Aircraft \( \ - JUST as people are commonly guiltyof using such proprietary names asThermos, Primus and Cellophane, when referring to each and every vacuum flask,pressure-fed spirit stove, and transparent wrapping paper respectively, so there hassprung up a tendency to call every flex- ible fuel tank a Mareng tank for muchthe same reason—that the Glenn Martin flexible fuel tank of this name was thefirst of its kind. In point of fact, flexible fuel tanks,fitted to British aircraft since 1941. are the fruits of research and development insetf-sealing tanks begun by I.C.I, in 19^9, when this British organization wasasked bv M.A.P. to look iuto the prob- lem of bullet-proofing the normal metalfuel tank on operational aircraft. And it was while this problem was beingtackled that LCI. were informed of the Mareng cell developed by the GlennMartin concern in America, and acquired the sole manufacturing rights of this in-vention for Great Britain and other countries. Thus, in 1940, the I.C.I. Marston Ex-celsior factory at Wolverhampton began experiments with flexible fuel tanksmade of Neoprene-coated iabric tailored •on wooden jigs, and the following yearbegan production of the "Martlex " fuel ceil., ~: :..-- The first aircraft to be equipped withMarflex tanks were the Mark VII anil VIII Spitfires, and although a number ofaircraft manufacturers, reared on- metal tanks as it were, did not at first look onthe innovation with very great enthusi- asm (possibly because they feared itmight affect the design of aircraft struc- IT COULD TAKE IT : A Mar-flex fuel cell for a Miles Master was dropped (full) from a heightof 30ft. on to sandbags. It with- stood the impact which bent thetubular steel mounting as shown. ture) the excellent results obtainedby the first operational types to use the new type of fuel tank couldnot be disputed. Before very long Marflex fuel cells were being speci-fied for more and more front line aircraft. It is not possible, here, to tracethe various stages of develop- ment in detail, but improve-ments were of course going on all the time and various problemswhich arose as the result of operational experience were tackled and overcome bythe appropriate technical departments of I.C.I. To-day, the tank material usedfor all types of Marflex fuel cells con- sists of a sandwich having an intermassand facing of Formvar-Glyceryl-Adipate synthetic resin calendered on to two-plycotton fabric. The resin is impermeable to petrol and remains flexible over acomparatively wide temperature range. Bullet-proofing against small, arms am-munition consists of two layers of woven felt with a layer of 3% mm cellular rub-ber sandwiched between, and there is an outer covering of glass cloth giving anti-smoulder properties as an additional safeguard against fire. Cold-curing ad-hesives are used to stick all these layers together. Total thickness of the tankwall is Jin and the weight ij Ib/sq ft. Nowadays, of course, the accent is onthe application ot the flexible fuel cell to civil aircraft, and, as an example, theMarflex crashproof tanks for such types as the Tudor II and Bristol 167 (Bra-bazon I) weigh only ij oz/sq ft, since there is no need tor the bullet-proof interlayers of sponge rubber. An even lighter tank with a £in wall is now avail-able for light aircraft. These civil Marilex cells, incidentally, effect a useful savingin weight over a metal tank besides their obvious appeal from the safety aspect.The " Brabazon " installation consists of 13 cells for each wing giving a totalcapacity of 14,000 gal, while the Tudor is fitted with four cells in each wing andhas H total capacity of J,.)9o gal. NEW B.T.H. DIRECTORS MR. H. JACK, chief electrical engin-eer, Mr. A. A. Pollock, chief me- chanical engineer, and Mr. L. J. Davies,head of the research laboratory, have been elected directors of the BritishThomson-Houston Co., Ltd. Mr. Martin Sharp, the energetic P.R.O. of de Havilland's who expects to visit America shortly. MILES EXPORTS TV/TILES AIRCRAFT, LTD., have re-4-Vx cently delivered twelve Magister trainers to the Eire Army Air Corps, andan order for ten machines of the same type has been received from Portugal. Both of these countries use MilesMasters for advanced training, and Mar- tinets for target-towing practice. BACK TO CIERVAS AFTER commanding the only rotating-wing flight of the R.A.F. during the greater part of the war, Sqn. Ldr. H, A.Marsh has now been demobilized and has returned to his old firm, the CiervaAutogiro Co., Ltd., at the Airport, Southampton, as manager and test pilot.His work on the development-testing of the jump-start Autogiro, among otherthings, will still be remembered. BENDIX-GIRLING MERGER THE well-known brake manufacturingfirms of Bendix and Girling have now amalgamated and are operating as Girling, Ltd. The manufacture of Bendix aircraftbraking equipment is, of course, being continued by the new company and isbeing carried out at their new fac- tory at Cwmbran, nr. Newport, SouthWales. A number of contracts for post- war aircraft have already been com-menced. The administrative headquarters ofGirling, Ltd., are now centred at the former Bendix factory. Kings Road,Tyseley, Birmingham, 11. NEW RESEARCH HEAD MR. E. A. G. LIDDIARD, M.A., hasresigned his position of Research Manager of the British Non-FerrousResearch Association to take up his appointment as Director of the FulmerResearch Institute, founded by Col. \V. C. Devereux, F.R.Ae.S. "FREIGHTER" AIR SYSTEM HEYWOOD "Hymatic" CompressedAir Equipment has been adopted as standard for brake operation on theBristol "Freighter." Extensive, experience gained during thewar has resulted in improved versions of the compressor being available for civilaircraft. The Hymatic system as fitted on theBristol "Freighter" includes the com- pressor, an oil and water separator andautomatic regulator operating from each gear box to a single reservoir, at a work-ing pressure of 450 lb/sq in and pro- vides the pneumatic supply for braking.
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