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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0308.PDF
304 FLIGHT, 16 March 1956 THE INDUSTRY Dunlop Technical Director Retiring TT is announced that Mr. F. G. W. King, B.Sc., M.I.Mech.E., -•• F.I.R.I., is shortly retiring from the technical directorship of the Dunlop Rubber Company, a post which he has held for 20 years. Mr. King was an R.F.C. and R.A.F. pilot in the First World War and joined Dunlop when he was invalided out after a crash. During later years he has been closely concerned with the company's aero tyre developments and played an important part in the installation of the Merlin-powered plant for high-speed impact tests of tyres. Severe Test for Spraymat TT was recently disclosed that, to check the effects of erosion and -* kinetic heating at supersonic speed, a Napier Spraymat surface heater de-icing system was applied to the conical nose of a rocket fired at Woomera last year. It is stated that the nose section, jettisoned in flight and recovered, showed no signs of abrasion caused by flight conditions, nor had the kinetic heating effect caused any discoloration of the heater's surface. Although the nose cone had been severely crumped on impact with the ground, so that half of its surface became concave instead of convex, there was no sign of cracking of the Spraymat surface. The system is well known in the United States and Canada, where manufacturing licences have been taken out by Power Generators, Inc., of Trenton, N.J., and die Canadian Marconi company of Montreal. Mr. Bruce Hill, technical liaison engineer at the Spraymat factory at Luton, recently began a six-week tour of North America. Besides visiting the licensees he is seeing most of the major aircraft manufacturers, airline operators and Government departments in order to assess future requirements for electrical de-icing on commercial aircraft and high-speed military types. Emergency Electrical Equipment at L.A.P. '"THE electrical equipment of London Airport includes, as would *- be expected, extensive stand-by installations for use in the event of failure of the mains supply. Nife Batteries of Redditch, Worcs, have provided many different batteries and charging equipments for this purpose. Perhaps the most important of these installations is diat in the Central Area control tower. It supplies a skeleton emergency lighting system throughout the tower so that normal working can be continued. Consisting of 195 Nife cells, having a capacity of 55 Ah, the battery will accommodate a 230-volt emergency load of up to 7kW for 30 minutes. The secondary lighting throughout the building is of the non-maintained type, whereby the fittings are illuminated only under emergency conditions. In the same battery room is a self-contained Nife battery and control unit providing a low-voltage supply to the master and slave clocks throughout the central area. Among a series of Nife batteries in the "A" centre of the control-tower building are 35 cells, capacity 45 Ah, for die tower telephone exchange; and two batteries of 38 cells, 250 Ah, to operate relays controlling the airfield lighting circuits. Another comprehensive system is installed in the S.E. Face Building. Here is a battery of 200 Nife cells, of a capacity of 80 Ah. Capable of meeting a 230-volt emergency load of up to 15 kW for a period of 30 minutes, this battery and its control gear are also of the non-maintained type. British Oxygen Technical Service "COR many years past the sales technical service department of *- British Oxygen Gases, Ltd. (subsidiary of the British Oxygen Co., Ltd.) has been in a strong position to provide industry with advice on the equipment and techniques employed in welding, cutting, flame-hardening and allied processes. So heavy has the demand on the department's services grown, particularly during the last few years, that it has been found necessary to accommo- date personnel and equipment in new headquarters specially designed for die purpose. The building, which is at Cricklewood, London, N.W.2, was formally opened last month by Sir Frederick Handley Page. In the main demonstration shop customers are shown typical techniques in application, these including gas welding; Argonarc manual, machine and spot welding; Argonaut manual welding; and cutting by means of 36in and 55in universal machines, by several types of portable equipment, and by the Bison machine, which cuts under the control of a master tracing or pattern. In a separate room are demonstrated various cutting and heating processes, and others are found in the process development shop, Three British Oxygen Gases personalities; Mr. T. E. Potts (chairman), Mr. R. C. Hesketh-Jones (sales director) and Mr. A. W. Stones (manager, sales technical service department). where the application of many kinds of special-purpose equipment is shown. This includes flame-hardening, stress relieving and "concrete lancing"—a method of breaking up concrete by means of a local high-temperature reaction that is sufficient to remove the material in the form of molten silica. Also contained in die new building—which, of course, houses the administrative offices of the sales technical service department —are a photographic department, lecture theatre and, last but not least, a welding training school. The school can accommodate over 50 students, some from customers' works and others from British Oxygen's staff. ,..,.. ;.— .-.-:- Microcell Board Appointment IN conformity widi their policy of expansion in the aircraftindustry, Microcell, Ltd. (incorporating Microcell Aircraft and Microcell Electronics) have appointed Mr. J. J. Molins, B.Sc, F.R.Ae.S., their chief designer, an executive director of the Company. After leaving Queen Mary College, London University, where he obtained a first-class honours degree, he joined General Aircraft in 1939 and was engaged on die design of the Hotspur and Hamil- car gliders until the end of 1942, when he became chief technician at M.L. Aviation Co. Ltd. Microcell are engaged on the development and manufacture of high-strength glass-fibre reinforced plastics, metal engineering, and on the design and manufacture of aircraft furnishings, includ- ing aircraft seats. They have A.I.D., A.R.B. and D.I.Arm. approvals. ••-.-,... IN BRIEF We learn as we go to press that Mr. V. C. Varcoe, O.B.E., has been appointed aviation sales manager, head office, Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd., in succession to Mr. "Joe" Taylor, M.B.E., who retired last month. * * * Mr. J. Jablonsky states that, as from March 1st, Lord Selsdon and himself have resigned their directorships of Hydulignum- Jabroc (Tools), Ltd., and Jabroc, Ltd. * * * Mr. Eric A. Dymond, A.M.I.Mech.E., A.M.I.E.E., A.F.R.Ae.S., has been appointed vice-president and general manager of San- gamo Generator Inc., which is a subsidiary of the parent San- gamo Electric Company. Mr. Dymond was formerly a director of Sangamo Weston, Ltd., in this country. The Portable Electric Tool that the annual conference turers—being held in Great London on June 27th. The conference are Consolidated Bros., Ltd., Kango Electric Tools, Ltd. Manufacturers Association announce of European electric-tool manufac- Britain for the first time—opens in British manufacturers sponsoring the Pneumatic Tool Co., Ltd., Desoutter Hammers, Ltd., and Wolf Electric Kelvin Hughes instruments which only a few days before had been on view at the Glasgow Electronics and Productivity Exhibi- tion were on display at the Leipzig Fair when it opened. The transfer, organized by the firm's publicity department, involved transport of a loaded van from Stansted, Essex, to Paris in the hold of a Bristol Freighter of Air Charter, Ltd., then a 700-mile road journey dirough four countries.
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