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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0852.PDF
852 FLIGHT, 29 June 1956 THE INDUSTRY Hundredth Sycamore Delivered T'HE Weston-super-Mare factory of Bristol Aircraft, Ltd., has •*- just delivered—to the Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit at Middle Wallop—the 100th Sycamore helicopter to be built. It is the fifth machine made at Weston. The concentration of all Bristol helicopter activities at the sea- side factory will make it one of the largest centres for helicopter production, research and flight testing in the United Kingdom. The move has been made in order to provide additional floor space for Britannia production at the Filton works and to permit expan- sion of the helicopter programme. Transfer of work was begun last autumn when certain key personnel from the helicopter department at Filton joined the production and planning department at Weston. In addition to Sycamore production, work is already in progress on twin-engined tandem-rotor helicopters, one version of which is on order for the R.A.F. Additional floor space will shortly become available for helicopter production. Ministry of Supply armament contract work at present handled at Weston is scheduled to end in the near future, and certain Britannia sub-assembly work is to be transferred to Filton and Belfast. Production space which will become available in the main sub- assembly shop will be taken up by metal rotor-blade manufac- ture, and a treatment shop is being built to provide facilities for advanced methods of aircraft skin and metal blade treatment. The helicopter design office will also be centred at Weston and the mechanical assembly department will be transferred there. New flight-shed extensions, to be used for detail and final paint- ing of aircraft, are now nearing completion. The company has installed the latest type of paint booth, in which warm air is circu- lated to provide the "flash-off" for the paint and is water-washed to extract superfluous paint before re-circulation. Test rig gantries are being transferred from Filton and a new helicopter test tower is being built. Flight development work on Type 173 experimental aircraft, which are devoted to intensive research into the twin-engined tandem rotor configuration, will be carried out at Weston. For this purpose, and also to handle pro- duction flight testing, Mr. C. T. D. Hosegood (chief helicopter test pilot) and other members of the Bristol helicopter flight test team will be stationed at Oldmixon. The Weston works, built in the early days of the Second World War, already has an outstanding record of Bristol aircraft produc- tion. In all 3,300 Beaufighters were built there; when production was at its peak, they were produced at the rate of 25 a week. Pullin-Kearfott Agreement 'T'HE precision instrument manufacturers, R. B. Pullin and Co., •"• Ltd., have concluded an agreement with Kearfott company of the U.S.A. for the manufacture in this country of a range of Kear- fott products, including synchros, servomoters and other precision mechanical, electrical and electronic components. Manufacture will take place in the new buildings erected at Pullin's Phoenix Works on the Great West Road, Brentford, Middx. Kearfott are a subsidiary of the General Precision Equipment Corporation group. From Donvin Instruments, Ltd., now a member of the Pullin group of companies, comes news of a "crash" repair scheme for most types of switchboard and portable electrical instruments and test sets. Such repairs can be undertaken within 48 hours of receipt subject to examination and the availability of spare parts. Donvin Instruments, Ltd., operate from Electrin Works, Winchester Street, Acton, London, W.3. Sycamores on the line at Weston (see first item above). George Lowdell Rejoins Vickers "CROM Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), Ltd., comes the ••• announcement that Mr. G. E. Lowdell, their former chief production test pilot, has rejoined them as a member of the after- sales service organization. Mr. Lowdell first joined Vickers in October 1941 as a test pilot and after a short time at Weybridge and Eastleigh went to Castle Bromwich for two years, test- flying production Spitfires and repaired Wellingtons. In 1943 he transferred to Blackpool as test pilot in charge, handling Well- ingtons. Two years later he returned to Weybridge as chief production test pilot, retiring from flying in 1953. Mr. Low- dell did considerable develop- ment flying on early Vikings, flew the Nene-engined Viking and Tay-Viscount and demonstrated Valettas, Varsities and Viscounts Mr Lowdell at Farnborough displays. In his new appointment he will be mainly responsible for relations with pilots of customer airlines, with senior engineers visiting the Weybridge Aircraft Service School and with resident technical representatives. Moulton Development Project ANEW company, Moulton Developments, Ltd., consulting anddevelopment engineers, is being formed by Mr. Alex Moulton, M.A.(Cantab.), M.I.Loco.E., A.I.R.I., technical director of Geo. Spencer, Moulton and Co., Ltd., "in order to develop important new engineering projects in the transport field." The new company will operate in premises on Mr. Moulton's property at The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts, and will be independent of Spencer Moulton. Though Mr. Moulton will be relinquishing his director- ship of that company, Moulton Developments will act as con- sultants to it in a number of spheres. Mr. Philip Turner, M.A.(Cantab.), B.Sc.(London), A.I.R.I., who has for some years been associated with the new products development of Spencer Moulton, will be chief engineer of the new company. IN BRIEF Egyptian Aviation and Travel Services, a Cairo-based organiza- tion, have bought 24 David Brown aircraft-towing tractors—the largest order for such machines so far received from Egypt. The order comprises sixteen 30 IC petrol engine machines and eight 30 ID diesel tractors fitted with turbo transmission. * * * Much development work is going on at Dunlop's aviation division in connection with guided missiles, Lord Baillieu,the chair- man, told the annual general meeting recently. "Specialequipment," he said, was already being produced for several of the leading manufacturers. * * * Among catalogues and service manuals recently issued by King Aircraft Corporation, of Hillington, Glasgow, S.W.2, are those describing pipe clamps, flush-fitting panel latches, couplings for flexible fireproof pipe, filler caps, arctic-type cowling fasteners, oil niters, fuel filters and an electrically operated inertia lock. * * * A new type of self-contained, portable, foam fire-fighting appliance has been announced by the Pyrene Co., Ltd., Great West Road, Brentford, Middx. The new appliance, Model A.F.30C, is a trolley-mounted unit of 30 gallons capacity which produces more than 400 gallons of mechanical foam under CO2 pressure. * * * The appointment of Mr. M. W. Boyce as managing director of Black and Decker (Australasia) Pty., Ltd., a subsidiary of the parent company at Towson, U.S.A., has been announced by Black and Decker, Ltd., manufacturers of portable electric tools. Mr. Boyce has for several years been marketing manager of the latter company at Harmondsworth, Middx., where he will be succeeded by Mr. J. P. Jamieson. * * * Mr. J. C. Atkinson, who had been since 1925 a director of the Radio Corporation of America, British Division, recently resigned and joined the Board of Thermionic Products, Ltd., and their asso- ciated companies. Thermionic Products have for a long time been designers and manufacturers of airport recording equipment, magnetic dictating and recording equipment, and specialized electronic equipment.
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