FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0073.PDF
16 January 195 3 71 removal and replacement of components during maintenance, and modifications have been introduced on the line to overcome difficulties found. Particular attention has been paid to the design and location of access panels, position and type of external connections for servicing, and the reduction to the minimum of fittings requiring special tools. The degree of interchangeability is always a difficult question. Many maintenance men are aware of the various and often conflicting requirements which need to be met in this sort of design; they expect to meet physical difficulties in carrying out maintenance, particularly major maintenance and repair, and they delight in finding ways and means of overcoming them. Others incline to the \ iew that every part should be easy of access, simple to remove and completely interchangeable. The Viscount, in common with other civil aircraft, lies between the two. With the relatively small production numbers—compared, for example, with automobile production—there is a definite limit to the interchangeability which can be achieved at a reasonable price. Considerable effort has gone into obtaining long life and reliability. Extensive bench-testing carried out by Vickers on items such as the flap-retraction gear should result in freedom from trouble for long periods. out by the B.E.A. development engineers to be tried out in practice before actual operations begin. Development in Service.—The 250 hours proving-flying on the Viscount 700 prototype has been notable for the few defects and troubles experienced, particularly those irritating minor defects associated with vibration, of the kind often experienced on piston- engined aircraft. Of course, troubles have been encountered, and modifications introduced to overcome them. The delivery of the first aircraft can be considered as only the end of one phase and the beginning of the second, that of development of the aircraft in service. However good the aircraft proves to be, defects and troubles will arise. This occurs with any new equipment subject to heavy usage, and is particularly the case with new civil aircraft where there is a strict financial limit to the amount of com ponent-testing and proving-flying which can be done beforehand. Modifications will have to be incorporated into the aircraft and its component parts during the routine maintenance cycle. It will be the job of the airline development engineers to investigate the root cause of such troubles and ensure that action is taken to eliminate as many of them as possible. Thus, the present liaison with Vickers will continue long into the service life of the aircraft. Interchange of experience between the different operators of the The functional tidiness of the Viscount control-cabin is apparent in the view above; the co-pilot's seat slides back to give him access to the navigational table. The radio operator "has been well catered for in the design and layout of his table and console" (right). Likewise the steward, whose forward pantry is shown in the lower right photograph. For the maintenance man the Viscount promises to be as good in most respects as other aircraft and very much better in others. Development-flying Experience.—Despite all this effort put into design and work on the ground, there is no real substitute for flying experience in finding out how the job is turning out and what requires modifying. In this sphere the liaison between manufacturer and operator has been most fruitful. Whilst the B.E.A. development engineers have taken part in, or been in touch with, all the test and development flying since the 630 prototype first took the air, there are three particular ways in which the Corporation has been able to gain invaluable experience. These are : the flying of the Dart-engined Dakotas (in which Viscount- type power-plants were fitted and the aircraft used in regular European freight services); the operation of the Viscount 630 prototype on the London-Paris route in regular passenger service in 1950; and the 250 hours proving-flying on the 700 series prototype, just recently concluded. Under the supervision of the B.E.A. development staff, this flying has been done by the newly formed B.E.A. Viscount Flight under Flight Captain A. S. Johnson. The maintenance of the Dakotas was done in the normal way by the airline, whilst the maintenance of the Viscount was done by Vickers and Rolls-Royce engineers. Apart from developing the engine and finding out what defects might occur on the aircraft, this flying has been quite invaluable in enabling the theory of turboprop operation worked
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
