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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0466.PDF
218 FLIGHT, 19 February 1954 THE INDUSTRY Aircraft Fluids on the Spot A MONG the range of airfield ground equipment manufactured - by Zwicky, Ltd., of Slough, is a trolley designed, in its various forms, to cover such aircraft requirements as oil-system flushing or replenishment, the supply of de-icing fluid, water/methanol or fresh water, and sanitary servicing. Arranged for towing by a tractor, the trolley is mounted on four 16in by 4in heavy-duty pneumatic tyres, and carries a tank and pumping equipment. Generally the tanks are of 100-gallon capacity and, in the case A Zwicky trolley waits upon R.E.A. Viscount "Sir Ernest Shackleton." Ground-starting by Rectifier "COR many years past, small transportable metal-rectifier/trans- -*• former sets fed from A.C. mains have been used to provide D.C. current for the testing of aircraft services during routine maintenance in hangars. Recent developments have now made it possible to employ rectifiers for engine starting also, not only on small aircraft, but for the larger types as well, including turbo- jets and turboprops. A claim made for rectifier starting-equipment is that it can con tinue to fulfil its secondary role of supplying servicing current whilst an aircraft is being refuelled; with a prime-mover type of power unit this practice is not permissible unless the unit is at least 50ft down-wind of the refuelling-point. Starting and servicing requirements of the larger types of air craft, including turbojets such as the Comet, have been carefully studied in the design of the new Westruk Type 960 equipment developed by the Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co., Ltd. (82 York Way, Kings Cross, London, N.l) in collaboration with the M.C.A. One of the desiderata is the limitation of the D.C. open- circuit voltage to about 28.5 while maintaining a D.C. voltage high enough to provide suitable starting power for engines that may initially take a peak current of up to 2,000 amp. The Westruk Type 960, the design of which is completely weatherproof, is arranged for manual operation and mounted on four 8in X 2in rubber-tyred wheels. Overall dimensions are: length, 4ft 10|in, height 3ft 7in, width 2ft 8in. The components include a double-wound, three-phase mains transformer (com plying with B.S.S. 171), an arrangement of three-phase full-wave rectifier elements, and an instrument panel with voltmeter and ammeter and stop-and-start push-buttons. The circuit is arranged to operate in conjunction with a main contactor on the A.C. mains side, control being effected through the third pin of the now-accepted international standard plug and socket, so that it is impossible for the aircraft connection to be broken while under load. Special attention has been given to the question of quick stowage of the D.C. cable after the aircraft engines have been started. If required, provision can be made for a parallel-fed D.C. supply to aircraft which do not utilize the standard plug and socket; in such cases, dummy stowages in the rectifier truck provide an interlocking circuit to ensure that only one D.C. cable can be alive at any one time. A further feature is the provision of an overload-protection device which ensures that the ground power given by the recti fier to the aircraft does not exceed the 500-amp continuous current rating of the rectifier. This feature is particularly neces sary in connection with such aircraft as the Stratocruiser, which can otherwise draw currents much in excess of the rectifier con tinuous rating. The overload relay is arranged to operate if the current taken continuously reaches 550 amp. An over-riding control button ensures that the supply is not interrupted during the starting operations. Similar equipment for larger D.C. power supplies, and also for 112-volt D.C. installations in some of the newer aircraft, are at present being designed. Westruk Type 960 equipment, showing control panel. of the oil-flushing trolley, the compartment at the rear contains two Zwicky totally enclosed reciprocating pumps (4in bore by 3in stroke), one to draw clean flushing fluid from the storage tank, and the other to draw dirty liquid from the aircraft oil system, delivering it to a disposal tank. The pumps are actuated by a Villiers petrol engine through worm gearing and a chain drive. The delivery pump is fitted with an adjustable relief valve. Water/methanol, coolant or de-icing fluid are stored in a brass tank with filling, dipping and draining connections. For these purposes, a Zwicky hand pump (3in bore by 3in stroke) is fitted, with a three-valve manifold taking the suction and delivery pipes from the pump. All fluid is drawn through a gauze-screen filter before passing through the pump and.is afterwards passed through a Kent meter. The 20ft-long fin delivery hose is mouni-ed on a self-winding reel and carries a trigger-operated nozzle. A number of Coolair Minor portable air-cooling plants have been supplied at the special request of the Royal Australian Air Force and are being used to cool the aircraft in which the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are travelling during their visit to the Commonwealth. These valuable items of ground equipment are made by M.L. Aviation Co., Ltd., of White Waltham Aero drome, Berkshire. * * * A grant of £2,000 a year for the next seven years is being made to Birmingham University by the Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., partly for general purposes but mainly to establish a Dunlop Fellowship for research work on the chemistry of high polymers, including natural and synthetic rubbers; provision for technical assistance; and the purchase of apparatus not normally available. * * * Etablissements Cellolac, French associate company of Cellon, Ltd., Kingston-on-Thames, have been granted a premier award for their aircraft finishes, which are based on Cellon formulae. The award was made in connection with the Concours des Pro- duits d'Aviation, which is sponsored by the French Government and divided into a number of sections for various classes of equip ment and materials having aeronautical applications. IN BRIEF
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