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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0444.PDF
FLIGHT, 5 April 1957 BUILDING THE E.P.9 (continued from page 443) them by their pre-drilled rivet holes, the pre-drilled leading-edgetube actually positioning the ribs. Items such as the tank-bay auxiliary spar and the flap-operating box unit are prepared assub-assembliees. The essence of the wing manufacture is that it is simplythe riveting together of pre-drilled units; there is practically no hand work. The vertical jig gives completely free access fromboth sides and at quite an early stage the spar-supporting brackets can be taken away so that the wing framework is held only atthe ends. The "plumbing" for the flying controls is added in this jig before skinning. Except for the finishing of the trailing-edge shroud, skinningis carried out completely in the assembly jig. Because the wrap- around leading-edge skin is the more important aerodynamically,it is offered up first. The skin is cut to size, with a trim allow- ance, and is drilled back (full size) from the spar and rib flanges.The skin is next removed for deburring, the template routing of inspection holes and the riveting-on of stiffening flanges,trimming to size and, in the case of the leading-edge D-skins, chamfering of the lap joint. The skin panels are then replacedand riveted. The finish of the skinning is remarkably good— and one must remember that it is 24 s.w.g., save for the tank-bay,which is 22 s.w.g. Upon removal from the jig, each mainplane is put, trailing-edgeup, into a Dexion finishing fixture. Here the shrouds for the flap and ailerons are attached, the fuel tank is inserted and the root-endcover bolted in place. The completed wing is treated with a chromate anti-corrosion finish before painting to the requirementsof the customer. Smaller Components. The foregoing description has beenwritten with the intention not only of describing the fuselage and mainplanes and their manufacture, but also to try to convey animpression of the general approach to the job—simplicity being the keynote all along the line. The undercarriage vee, for example, is welded from twostream-lined tubes of T.45 tube, with a simple cross-bracing tube at the "base" of the vee. Sheet-steel fittings are welded forthe fuselage attachments and the step. At the axle the tubing is stiffened by a welded wrapping plate, while the axle has a longspigot going well into the vee. The tailplane and fin are conventional of their kind, scaled-down versions of the wing. The flaps and flying control surfaces are equally simple and conventional. They are all built on theD-nose principle, with a flanged sheet spar and ribs. The light- alloy skin is Pop riveted. Final Assembly. The aeroplanes are moved from the end ofthe fuselage line into the next bay for final assembly. Wings are offered up with the dead length lift-struts, i.e.,there are four bolts to make—main spar, rear spar-tube and each end of the strut. The ailerons and flaps are added and the controlruns coupled up. Full rigging checks are then made on the airframe and the flying controls. For the rest, it is simply amatter of detail work to complete the aeroplane. Edgar Percival Aircraft, as such, is a new company; but it hasmany years of experience behind it. The premises are not large, but the whole design of the aeroplane and the planning for pro-duction are so thoughtful that one has complete confidence in the claim that present capacity is ten aircraft a month. Also, it isquite obvious that, both by sub-contracting and by expansion, this output could be quickly raised to meet any likely demand.J.H.S. CONTRIBUTORS TO THE E.P.9 In addition to various suppliers mentioned in the foregoing article, the following is a list—provided by the manufacturers of the aircraft—of firms supplying a variety of materials, components and services: — Accles and Pollock, Ltd., steel tube; Aircraft Materials, Ltd., A.G.S.parts, steel sheet, tube, etc.; AC-Delco (Division of General Motors, Ltd.), fuel gauges; Acorn Spring Works, Ltd., springs; Aero Research,Ltd., glue; Amal, Ltd., flame trap; Antifyre, Ltd., fire extinguisher; Anglo-American Vulcanized Fibre Co., Ltd., fibre; Avica Equipment,Ltd., flexible hose; Aviation Developments, Ltd., Pip pins; B.B. Chemical Co., Ltd., Bostik products; Bell's Asbestos and Engineering,Ltd., asbestos tape; Benton and Stone, Ltd., fuel filter; Betta Manu- facturing, aircraft labels; James Booth and Co., Ltd., light alloy sheet;Bowden (Engineers), Ltd., cables; British Aluminium Co., Ltd., light alloy sheet; British Oxygen Co., Ltd., acetylene gas; Brown Brothers(Aircraft), Ltd., A.G.S. parts; Bruntons (Musselburgh), Ltd., cables; C.A.V., Ltd., stall-warning horn; C.W.C. Equipment, Ltd., switches;Cork Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Langite jointing; P.B. Cow and Co., Ltd., rubber grommets; Curd Components, Ltd., A.G.S. parts. Davis and Timmins (Aircraft), Ltd., A.G.S. parts and electricalequipment; de HaviUand Aircraft Co., Ltd., A.G.S. parts and raw materials; Docker Brothers, cellulose, dope, etc.; Dover, Ltd.,Doverising; Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., flexible hose, adaptor, com- pression rubber; Dzus Fastener (Europe), Ltd., Dzus fasteners;Faulkners, Ltd., forging for axle; Ferodo, Ltd., friction materials; Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Co. (Great Britain), Ltd., wheels, brakes,master cylinders; Greenpar Engineering, Ltd., machining, heat treat- ment, and sub-contract work; David Griffin, Ltd., electrical parts;Havant Sheet Metal Co., Ltd., sub-contract work; Thos. P. Headland, Ltd., A.G.S. parts and raw material; Hellennann, Ltd., cable, studsand strapping; Henshall and Sons, Ltd., sub-contract work; High Duty Alloys, Ltd., alloy sheet, tube and forgings; Hurst, Crisp and Co.,sub-contract work; E. and E. Kaye, Ltd., light alloy tube and bar; Kelvin and Hughes, Ltd., instruments and compass; Kigass, Ltd.,Kigass priming pump; H. Ling, electrical parts and instruments; Lodge Plugs, Ltd., sparking plugs; M.B. Metals, Ltd., ignition switches;Manganese Bronze and Brass Co., Ltd., Oilite bearings; Miller Aviation, Ltd., A.G.S. parts; Mills Equipment Co., Ltd., safety belts and harness;Nettlefold and Moser, Ltd., A.G.S. parts and raw materials; Northern Aluminium Co., Ltd., light alloy sheet, bar and extrusions; ParmanAircraft Supplies, Ltd., electrical items and instruments; J. Penny and Sons, steel sheet and bar; Plessey Co., Ltd., electrical wiring; DavidPowis and Sons, Ltd., rivets. Ransome and Maries Bearing Co., Ltd., bearings; Leo Rapp, Ltd., steelbar, light alloy sheet, bar and tube; F. S. Ratcliffe (Rochdale), Ltd., springs; Renold Chains, Ltd., sprockets and chains; Reynolds TubeCo., Ltd., steel tubing; Rubery Owen and Co., Ltd., A.G.S. parts; L. A. Rumbold and Co., Ltd., seats; Sangamo Weston, Ltd., instru-ments; Self-Priming Pump and Engineering Co., Ltd., wobble pump; Shell-Mex and B.P., Ltd., oil and grease; Skefko Ball Bearing Co., Ltd.,pulleys, ball races, bearings; Simmonds Aerocessories, Ltd., nuts; Smiths Aircraft Instruments, Ltd., flight, navigation and engine instru-ments; Southbourne Sheet Metal Co., sub-contract work; George Spencer Moulton and Co., Ltd., rubber hose; Stewart AeronauticalSupply Co., Ltd., A.G.S. parts, instruments; J. Stone and Co., Ltd., alloy castings; Suntex Safety Glass Industries, Ltd., Perspex mouldings,windscreens, etc.; T.I. Aluminium, Ltd., light alloy sheet; Tecalemit, Ltd., lubricating nipples and gun; Herbert Terry and Sons, Ltd.,springs; Thermotank, Ltd., punkah louvres; Geo. Tucker Eyelet Co., Ltd., Pop rivets; Tufnol, Ltd., Tufnol materials; Tungum Co., Ltd.,Tungum tube; Varley Dry Accumulators, Ltd., batteries; Vickers- Armstrongs, Ltd., fuel cock; Vokes, Ltd., air filters; James Walker andCo., Ltd., Nebar jointing; Western Manufacturing (Reading), Ltd., sub-contract work (rubber pressings); Whitehouse Industries, Ltd.,nuts; W. Wilson and Sons (London), Ltd., light alloy sheet. U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT: A NEWS ROUND-UP FIGHTERS for the U.S.A.F. capable of exceeding Mach 2are dubbed "Super Century" machines to distinguish them from the first-generation Century fighters (F-100 et seq). Twoof the most important of the immediate programme concern the Republic F-105B and the North American F-107A, both single-seaters powered by a single Pratt and Whitney J75 (24,000 lb thrust with afterburner). It is probable that the F-105 Thunder-chief will be ordered in quantity, in preference to the F-107, to keep Republic busy; the North American aircraft carries a heavierload (about 10,000 lb, compared with about 8,000 lb) but is fractionally slower. North American are, however, likely to win the U.S.A.F. com-petition for a "medium-range" intercepter. This is to be a multi- jet machine weighing about 60,000 lb, smaller than the L.R.I.(long-range intercepter) project cancelled last year. The com- pany are also promoting a civil (executive) variant of their "com-bat-readiness" trainer/transport. New data on this machine— a six-seater powered by twin General Electric J85 turbojets—arethat it will be 43ft long, will have a swept wing of 42ft span, will weigh 14,000 lb and will cruise at about 500 m.p.h. at 45,000ft. The prototype of this aircraft is scheduled to fly early next year. A decision is reported to have been taken on the high-perform-ance observation aircraft contest for the Navy, Army and Marine Corps. Weighing some 9,000 lb and having a speed range offrom 25 to 300 m.p.h., the winning design is either by Grumman or—again—North American. Powerplants are two G.E. T58seach of 1,000 s.h.p. Yet another North American project is the supersonic A3Jattack aircraft for the Navy. Powered by two General Electric J79s with afterburners, the A3J will be a two-seater weighingabout 80,000 lb (the ultimate for a high-performance carrier-based machine). In addition the Navy have just issued a specification fora smaller carrier-based attack aircraft, matched with the Corvus (Crow) air-to-surface weapon under development by Temco. Lockheed are reported to have developed an advanced, high-altitude early-warning machine, using four Allison T56 engines on an L.1649-type wing. It is expected to go into production for theU.S. Navy. The Navy have also asked for bids for a jet VTO machine; Bell and Ryan have put forward suggestions which mayresemble the same firms' X-14 and X-13 (U.S.A.F.). -
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