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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1438.PDF
An aerial view of Napier s installation and flight-testing de-partment at Luton airport. Engine-test aircraft can be seen on the tarmac. On the extreme left is a Manchester centresection used for engine testing. Napier Flig] ALL the leading engine manufacturershave for some years maintained their- own flight development sections, but it is not general knowledge that the im-portance of these establishments is such that in some cases they now rank almostequal with the airframe and engine manu facturers themselves. A separate design department for Napieiengine installations was first formed at Acton in 1935 ; prior to this the work wasdone by the main D.O. at Acton. In 1938 a flight test section was organized atNortholt, but limited facilities soon led to a search for a new site, and in March, 1940,a transfer was made to the Luton Municipal Airport. For a start the accommodation at Lutonwas modest, consisting of a Bellman hangar and a small hut, but during the six pastyears a complete, self-contained experi- mental branch has been built up, with animposing modern office and drawing office building. When the installation design departmentwas transferred more recently to Luton a nucleus was left at Acton for liaison withthe engine branch. Now design study and project design sections are in a position toadvise manufacturers and to prepare all data with regard to the installation of thecompanies' power units and the perform- ance, range and payload for any projectedaircraft designs. In addition, these sections can tackle, at the Luton establishment,kindred problems which may arise, whether they concern aircraft structures, buildingsor the stressing of drain covers. In passing, a small but important shopdevoted to model-making must be men- tioned. Although on being presented with' a project model one designer remarked drily, "I can read drawings," scale modelswhich, incidentally, are of exceptional quality and accuracy, have proved most valuable. It would be impossible in a few pages todescribe more than a small part of the work undertaken by the Napier establishment, Engine Installation I Luton ; S01 Illustrates UP AND OVER : Jack Olver '
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