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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0458.PDF
454 FLIGHT A model of the B.E.A. Elizabethan maintenance-dock now being in stalled for British European Airways at London Airport. The aircraft is towed into the dock tail-first, and the small nose-platform is then moved into place along rails. Con struction is mainly of channel- section steel, with wooden decking. MAINTENANCE DOCKS Facilitating Airliner Overhauls; B.E.A.'s Elizabethan and Discovery Installations WITH the enormous increase in commercial aviation activity in the post-war years, the problem of the efficient servicing of aircraft has become one of major importance to airline operators. Developments in main tenance planning have revolutionized servicing technique, and have consequently effected a considerable reduction both in the cost of maintenance and in the number of flying hours lost by aircraft during inspection and overhaul. One problem ever present with the maintenance engineer is that of obtaining access to various parts of an aircraft. In an effort to reach a solution, more and more elaborate platforms and stagings have been devised until now, with the introduction of complete maintenance docks built specially for one particular type of aircraft, the time spent by engineers in moving stagings and other equipment has been reduced almost to zero. The first steps in producing a complete maintenance dock in this country were taken in 1947, when British European Airways Corporation appointed the firm of Wilson and Rodger as con sultants for maintenance docks, and initiated the design of the first complete dock. This was to be for the Corporation's Dakotas. It was felt that, as the Dakota was to be replaced by more modern aircraft in the course of the next few years, a permanent dock would not be justified, but that one which would serve as a prototype for subsequent permanent docks should be designed so that as much material as possible would be recoverable. The Dakota check 4 dock was erected in the B.E.A. hangars at Renfrew in the autumn of 1949. It was, in effect, a double dock, handling two aircraft nose-to-nose simultaneously, was con structed of scaffold tube connected by Kee-Klamps and standard scaffold connections, and carried a timber deck. Various sliding or folding stairways and plinths were provided to give access to all vital parts of the aircraft. The double-sided nose platform was fixed in position and served the noses, the leading edges of the wings and the engines of the two aircraft, whilst platforms for access to the trailing edges of the wings, the sides of the fuselages, the tailplanes and the fins and rudders were mounted on castors. The aircraft was positioned by tractor close to the nose platform and the mobile platforms were then pushed into place, thus affording easy access and comfortable working conditions at all points of the Dakota. An investigation has now shown that the cost of carrying out a No. 4 check has been very considerably reduced and the time of turn-round has been much improved. Not only have maintenance staff been freed to perform other duties, but now the aircraft are back in service with far less delay. These considerable economies encouraged the British European Airways Corporation to initiate projects for full-scale permanent docks for No. 4 checks on their Elizabethan- class and Discovery-class aircraft. The illustrations show the Elizabethan dock which, at the time of writing, is being fabricated by the Heston Aircraft Company and installed by them in the new B.E.A. hangars at London Airport. The Discovery dock, which it is also intended to install at London Airport, is still in the design stage. Both are full-scale docks em bracing the whole aircraft, and are of a semi permanent form of construction. As it was expected that both docks may well be in service for ten years or more, during which time it is improbable that the necessity to effect major modifications will arise, it was not considered desirable to adopt one of the forms of construc tion which might provide ease of alteration at an increased cost. The Elizabethan dock is mainly constructed of rolled-steel channel beams which are sup ported by tubular columns and which carry a hardwood deck. The aircraft will enter tbi dock tail-first, thereby permitting the positive fixing of the entire dock structure with the excep tion of the small ift 6in high nose-platform (A) The dock without its occupant: the annotate ' refers to the description given in the text.
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