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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0145.PDF
•'•*,. • FLIGHT, 4 February 1955 Illustrated with "Flight" copyright drawings Beverley Build-up PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS AT BROUGH THAT time-worn but useful phrase "well under way" cantruthfully be applied to the main production line atBrough, Yorkshire, where Blackburn and General Air- craft, Ltd., are building Beverleys for the R.A.F. The first production Beverley was all but ready to fly by mid-January, and the second and third aircraft were approaching the day of graduation from assembly line to flight-shed. When we visited Brough recently the first machine off the line was being towed out for initial engine-running, and only the late delivery of certain essential components from another firm seemed likely to delay the first flight. This minor setback was keenly felt at Brough, for in every other respect the progress of the aircraft had been precisely on schedule— a fact which, we thought, justified special mention in our dispatches from Brough, for the 135,000 lb Beverley is one of the two largest types being produced in Britain (the Britannia is longer and heavier, but has a shorter span). The production version of the Beverley C.Mk 1 (the first example of which bears the serial XB259) differs in very few ways from the Beverley prototype, which first flew on June 17th, 1953. "No. 1"—as the Beverley's Hercules-powered predecessor is known locally—was first airborne in 1950.Externally, the only new feature by which the production Beverley may readily be identified is the tapered "bell-bottomed" fairing for the main undercarriage legs. The beam supporting the main bogies is now a forging of simpli-fied form for ease of production, and the wheels themselves are of new design (the Beverley prototype is fitted withstandard Canberra wheels). Alternative types of wheel, inci- dentally, will be available for squadron Beverleys: thoseoperating from runways will have tyre pressures of 80 lb/sq in; for grass-field operation a 50 lb/sq in wheel will be fitted,using the same axle and Maxaret brake unit. The cavernous freight-hold displays further evidence ofdetailed redesign. Modification of a fuselage frame in the forward pan of the fuselage has removed a slight width-restriction, providing a virtually unobstructed cross-section of 10ft by 10ft throughout the 40ft length of the hold. A newform of construction has been employed for the transverse frames supporting the floor, saving approximately 200 lb.The floor panels are quickly replaceable (the Beverley is a heavy-duty aircraft, so occasional interior damage must be Beverley production is a large-scale affair—as indicated by F. Munger's heading sketch. Suggestive of a heavy-engineering Works rather than an aircraft factory, the drawing depicts drilling work on the massive centre-section main spar. Below are seen four production Beverleys at varying stages of final assembly.
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