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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0782.PDF
788 FLIGHT, 7 Juns 1957 THE INDUSTRY Gun Reamers MarketedG UN reamers of the type developed by Short Brothers andHarland, Ltd., Belfast, for a new machining technique which the company recently announced, will shortly be available to theengineering industry. This follows an agreement which Shorts have concluded with Serco, Ltd., 387 City Road, London, E.C.I,for the marketing of a new tool to be known as the Short-Serco gun reamer. In announcing the technique, Shorts described its successfulapplication to the production of aircraft undercarriage com- ponents, wing-root fittings and rudder bars. It is a revival of theold-fashioned gun drill, used mainly for drilling gun barrels and other components requiring deep and extremely accurate bores.The Short-Serco gun reamer has a single tungsten carbide- tipped cutting edge, supported radially by two stabilizing wearpads which ensure reaming to consistently accurate dimensions. Diesel-powered Starter Trolleys AIR-COOLED diesels made by Petters, Ltd., of Staines, are• being extensively used in aircraft servicing and starter trolleys manufactured by Red Devon, Ltd., of Totnes. Advantages claimedfor the two types made are low maintenance costs (due in a con- siderable degree to the small Petter engines) and the fact that thepower available is sufficient for starting all types of turbojet and turboprop power units. The first type is the Model 726, a four-wheeled aircraft startertrolley using an AVA 1 single-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine, a D.C. generator and high capacity batteries. A second type, the800 unit—used by B.E.A., the M.T.C.A. and many overseas air- lines—is similar to the 726 with the addition of three-wheeledsteering, which gives greater manoeuvrability. This model uses an AVA 2 engine. Keeping Runways Clean INCREASING attention is being given, both in this country andAmerica, to the problem of keeping runways free of dirt and stray oddments which may cause serious damage if sucked intothe intakes of jet aircraft. It will be recalled that Zwicky, Ltd., of Slough, Bucks, demon-strated their prototype sweeper-collector on the runways of Farn- borough last September. The machine is now in production, andis being made and sold exclusively for airport and airfield use. Since an orthodox chassis was found to be unsuitable, develop-ment has centred on a special chassis with drive from the front axle, leaving maximum accommodation for the sweeper and hopper. AFerguson engine with heavy-duty Ford gearbox made specially for the sweeper gives a running speed of 20 m.p.h.; 72,000 sq ydof runway can be swept in an hour. A separate Ferguson power unit is devoted solely to the operation of the sweeper/collectorunit, which includes a water-sprinkling pump. Runway refuse of almost any type, including surface water, sand and fine dust, iscollected partly by inertia and partly by suction. Capacity of die refuse container is 3| cu yd. Bom the main brush and the collect-ing brush are 10ft in width, and brush pressure and speed are controlled from the driver's seat. Flight Simulators on the Road LAST week, in an article entitled "Highway to the Air," wedescribed the work of Dallas (Kingston), Ltd., in road-haulage of aircraft fuselages over long distances. Brief mention was alsomade of the transport of flight simulators, and it is now possible to record further details of this aspect of the company's work. By its nature, electronic equipment of this kind calls for par-ticular care in carriage and handling; a single installation, too, may require the use of a number of lorries.A Britannia simulator for B.O.A.C., produced by Redifon, Ltd., at their Crawley, Sussex, works, was transported by Dallas fromthere to London Airport, where a formidable unloading job had to be tackled. The equipment was scheduled for installation onthe fourth floor of the Corporation's headquarters building. As the internal lifts were too small for the major units, exteriorscaffolding had to be erected to support a platform, to which the loads were lifted from the vehicles by a crane with an 80-ft jib.They were then moved into the building by Dallas's men in readi- ness for installation by the Redifon engineers. Transport of a Gannet simulator to R.N. Station Eglinton,Northern Ireland (this particular equipment was illustrated in Flight for March 22) involved a journey from Crawley to Preston,Lanes, where the trailer was unhitched and shipped to Larne. There it was coupled to another tractor—English vehicles of thiskind are excluded from Northern Ireland—and taken to Eglinton, (Top) The new type of gun reamer developed by Shorts (see Col. 1) reaming holes of V/2'm dia. in S65 (55-ton,) steel at 600 r.p.m. and 0.008in/rev. feed. The long spiral of swarf indicates a successful reaming operation. (Lower picture) Forged component for an aircraft undercarriage, with holes reamed by the new Short method. Previously such holes had been bored—uneconomically—on a lathe faceplate. where specially trained Dallas employees, who had accompanied it throughout, unloaded the equipment and placed it in position.Other Redifon simulators, for Valiant aircraft, have been trans- ported considerable distances for installation at R.A.F. stations.The units were completely encased in polythene, and further protected from the weather by tarpaulins. "In each case," say Dallas, "we were congratulated on ourmethods and organization." Portable Battery Lighting Set A LIGHTING set with breast battery, certified by the Ministry•**• of Labour and National Service as intrinsically safe for use in inflammable atmospheres, is now available from the GeneralElectric Co., Ltd., Magnet House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2. It was developed in collaboration with a large petroleum companyand designed primarily for use where operations with fire explosion hazard, such as aircraft refuelling and maintenance, have to becarried out at night. The equipment consists of a miner's-type lamp connected bya flexible cable to a separate battery container (waterproof, fire- resistant and impervious to oil or petrol), a webbing body harness,and a heavy-gauge elastic harness which will fit over any normal headgear or can be worn in any position on the body.The lighting set is powered by three standard 1.5-volt cells; the total weight (including batteries) is just under 3£ 1b; and the listprice, complete with batteries, is £8 10s. Mr. F. B. Hyde, who in his new post as co-director of the aviation divi- sion of Birfield Industries, Ltd., selling organization of the Birfield group of companies, will be jointly responsible with Mr. Eric Walker for sale co-ordination of all avia- tion activities within the group. His office is at the Birfield H.Q., at Stratford House, London, W.I.
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