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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1385.PDF
16 September 1955 exhibited this year. A demonstration rigof the Redwing-Nunn fluid servo was also on view; the same principle is employedin the company's automatic ejection-seat pilot-release gear. Joseph Sankey. A selection of com-ponents cast by the American "Mercast" frozen-mercury process of precision in-vestment casting, which in this country is operated by Sankey-Telcon, Ltd., wasexhibited. The main fields of applica- tion for this process are stated to be inaero engines, radar wave-guides and guided weapons. Also shown were flametube, centre section and exhaust cone for the Armstrong Siddeley Viper; and com-bustion chambers, discharge nozzle and centre casings for the de Havilland Ghost. Smith's Stampings. Exhibits in-cluded three drop-forged compressor wheels in S.62; a drop-forged guide-vaneand spacer, also in S.62; and a landing gear cylinder in 4S.11. Sterling Metals. An extremely widerange of castings in elektron, ZT-1, Z5Z, and RZ-5 was shown, including an RZ-5windscreen frame for the Fairey Gyrodyne. Photographically, nosewheeland main legs of the Vulcan and Shackle- ton were included. Turner Bros. Main developmentover the last 12 months by Turner Bros. Asbestos Co., Ltd., has been the provisionof the vinyl trichlorosilane finishing pro- cess on Duraglas glass textiles. A numberof Durestos and Duraglas products were shown. Henry Wiggin. An application ofNimoply 75 (a thin interleaf of copper rolled between sheets of Nimonic 75nickel-chromium alloy) was shown on the Henry Wiggin stand, in the combustionchamber of a Lucas combustion heater. The purpose of the composite sheet is tocombine the high thermal conductivity of copper with the resistance to heat,oxidation and thermal shock possessed by Nimonic 75. Also exhibited was anexample of a Thermoflex high-tempera- ture blanket for jetpipe insulation. 499 MISCELLANEOUS Armstrong Whitworth. Part of theHawker Siddeley Group's display com- prised a 1/15 scale model of the Mach 3wind tunnel recently brought into opera- tion at Armstrong Whitworth's guided-weapon plant at Whitley, near Coventry; and also the model—presumably of oneof the company's missile designs—which was on view in the tunnel itself at thetime of its official opening by Lord Brabazon. British Messier. Almost equal in sizeto the Bristol 191 undercarriage leg (p. 495) is the nose-flap actuating unit—which,although not officially described as such, is clearly for the Victor. Large noseflaps require so much instantaneous horse- power that a separate accumulator isnecessary. It was, therefore, logical to make up a self-contained unit incorporat-ing a large jack, accumulator and control gear, which can fit into the leading edgeof the fixed part of the wing. Operating pressure is 4,000 Ib/sq in, and a pressureswitch is energized when the flaps are lowered to prevent the latter from beingraised until accumulator pressure has built up to its full value. The latter takes onlya few seconds. Another new product is the Type 4839 Martin-Baker automatic ejector seat Mk 4. hydraulic pump, a three-cylinder swash-plate unit embodying the unusual feature of a centrifugal booster stage. A par-ticular characteristic of this pump is its high operating speed of up to 10,000r.p.m., which permits direct coupling to an air-turbine, electric motor or other sourceof high-speed shaft-power. At full speed the delivery is 15 cu in /sec at 4,000lb/sq in, and the weight of some 5i lb results in the excellent power/weightratio of about 2 hydraulic h.p. per pound of weight. The elimination of a gearboxsaves about 20 lb on a typical four- engined medium bomber. John Curran. Responsible for amajor part in the development of the mirror deck-landing aid for the RoyalNavy (to M.o.S. requirements), John Curran, Ltd., showed a model of aground-based, mobile version of the aid. This simplified installation (no stabiliza-tion is necessary) is used for training Naval pilots in mirror-sight techniquesbefore they go on to use the actual equip- ment on board aircraft carriers. Graseby. Exhibiting at the S.B.A.C.show for the first time, Graseby Instru- ments, Ltd., showed a wide range ofguided-weapon components, associated in particular with control and telemetryfunctions; and also test equipment. Arousing particular interest were theType GW3 centrifuge (described in Flight of August 19th); a rate gyrocalibration table; miniature rate gyros and accelerometers, and pressure transducers. Graviner. An interesting new exhibitby Graviner this year was the company's explosion suppression system, developedover the past five years from an original R.A.E. technique. The installation com-prises a sensing device in the form of a photo-electric cell, a fast-acting dispersalunit containing a suppressant agent, and a power pack. In operation, the photo-cell senses the flame front of any incipient explosion; the circuit closes and anelectrically fired detonator within the suppressor unit ruptures the container;and this causes instantaneous dispersal of suppressant agent in mist form. The mistquenches the burning gases, an inert atmosphere is formed, and further com-bustion is prevented. Other Graviner developments on viewincluded miniaturized Firewire relay boxes, Firewire point-type detectors, and an "omni-attitude" methyl bromide ex-tinguisher bottle. Walter Kidde. New on the stand ofthe Walter Kidde Co., Ltd., this year was a lightweight oxygen installation forElliotts of Newbury, designed to be fitted in Olympia sailplanes. This equipmentincorporates three bottles, has a two-stage regulator valve, and weighs approximately9 lb. A selection of glass-fibre pressure containers, and other lightweight oxygenequipment, were also included. Tiltman Langley. Although not anofficial company project, an attractive- looking light aircraft, the Titmouse, is atpresent being designed by a group of design-office enthusiasts at Redhill in theirown time. An ashtray-mounted model was quietly in evidence on the company'sstand at Farnborough. Plessey. An actual example of an ex-ceptionally neat ram air-turbine (wholly developed by Plessey) is being shown forthe first time. Intended to provide emer- gency power for hydraulic powered-con-trol systems, the design point of this tur- bine is 150 kt; a turbine capable of takingan aircraft right down to the runway would become impossibly large unless thestalling speed was very high. The major portions of this unit are cast in magnesiumalloy and the blading has so far been made by the lost-wax process, althoughproduction blades will be close-tolerance forgings. The hydraulic pump is con-tained inside the central boss and the unit is small enough to be extended from afighter without requiring any fairing when housed. A small gear pump will providefluid de-icing. At 150 knots indicated the output is two hydraulic h.p., and at 320knots the pump output is 4 gal/min at 3,000 lb/sq in. The unit weighs 10 lb. Rotax. An early production type ofair-turbine drive is the E.X.P. 8009, which delivers 3 h.p. at 4,000 r.p.m. at adelivery pressure typical of large turbo- jets at high altitude. In one applicationthis unit drives a Walter Kidde com- pressor. A related product is anadvanced form of air-regulated valve installed between the compressor bleedand the air-turbine to maintain constant pressure at the latter. Rotax exhibit aconsiderable variety of equipment asso- ciated with the distribution systemsrequired for bleed-air accessories.
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