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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0124.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY 2OTH, 1949 (Move) Fields' airscrew section, a ry p ment, is developing very satisfactorily. (Top right) Engine and flight instruments are serviced and checked here. (Right) Re-assembly of Pratt and Whitney engines for Dakotas following major overhaul. All three of these departments are at Croydan. Background to Operation is true of Bovingdon, which also offers a 24-hour service for minor repairs in addition to its main tasks. Special con- versions of aircraft for passenger, freight, survey or ambulance duties are accepted at Tollerton. The weekly capacity of the engine division at Croydon is approximately nine large engines of the Pratt and Whitney 1830 class, and five light engines. Engine changes from the two-speed Pratt and Whitney 90CS to the single-speed 92s, which are now being used, represents an important part of the work. Only those companies operating Dakotas over high mountain ranges such as those encountered on the Hump route are now retaining the 90C power unit. A comparatively new section is that dealing with airscrew maintenance. After only two years in which to build up, this department is very busy with a variety of airscrew types up to and including the larger Hamilton Hydromatics. A.R.B. approval has been sought, and it is understood is likely to be granted in the near future. Although, naturally, Fields of Croydon prefer to take on the overhaul of engines of current and familiar type, such as the Gipsies, Cirrus, Lycomings and Continentals in the small classes, and Cheetahs and Pratt and Whitney Wasps in the larger, other work is accepted by special arrangement, as, for example, Bristol Perseus radials, one of which was recently turned out with the help of the Bristol Aeroplane Co. This -"' unit will be used as a standard for some others to follow. On completion, small engines are tested on a bed at Croydon, airport, and large units in a Ministry of Supply test housed at nearby Carshalton. No liquid-cooled engines are serviced. Engine and airframe overhaul has much in common eco- nomically with original production of major aircraft com- ponents. If a department could be planned and tooled for- the servicing of a single engine type, for instance, it could operate more efficiently than if a variety of units were to be; handled. Again, there is a limit to the quantity of spares that any one concern can hold in its stores. Fields believe that Dakotas with their Wasp engines are likely to remain the bread-and-butter type for a few years to come, with other : aircraft using one of the Gipsy range ot Cheetah power units adding to the volume of work. The company is, nevertheless, looking ahead, and the general tendency is towards expansion of all sections to handle newer aircraft. Doves, Vikings, ;'.. Haltons, Wayfarers and a few Skymasters are already being, - or are about to be, handled. To complete this brief survey of the activities of Fields Aircraft Services, the sale of civil aircraft must be mentioned. Mr. J. Lester Pendleton joined the company quite recently to manage that department. Due to the association with Percival Aircraft, another member of the Hunting group of companies, the agency far all marks of Proctor, new or con- verted, is particularly to be stressed in this connection. Sales also extend to the supply, frequently from stock, of several types of new and reconditioned power units. Tollerton, Nottingham, where Fields undertake C. of A. overhauls of medium and large civil aircraft. TRICYCLE TRAINERI N some respects comparable with our Boul ton-Paul Balliol and Avro Athena military trainers, though of appreciably lower power, the North American T-28, standardized by the U.S.A.F., is described as a "primary-basic" trainer. A quantity of 268 has been ordered " off the drawing board " and will soon go into production at Downey, California. The engine of the T-28 is a Wright R-1300 radial, with-a take-off rating of 800 h.p.; top speed is 292 m.p.h. and the service ceiling 31,650ft—a vast improvement on the AT-6 Texan which had a speed of only 205 m.p.h. and a service ceiling of 22,000ft. At its normal gross weight of 5,862 1b, the T-28 will be about 600 lb heavier than the AT-6. The type is further notable in being the first American military trainer of its type to have a tricycle undercarriage. The nosewheel is steerable by either pilot, and carries a movable taxying light. An added safety feature is the 12J deg angle of view over the nose—ij deg more than the specified minimum. B 24
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