FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1143.PDF
16 August 1957 231 Training the Naval Air Engineer ON the brow of a tree-dad hill overlooking Plymouth Sounda handsome four-storied building is taking shape. It is thenew accommodation block of the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon. Behind lie the completed workshops, instruc- tional buildings and hangars which form the core of the Navy's technical university of the future. The College is commanded by Capt. Sir John Walsham, O.B.E., R.N. After their initial Dartmouth entry course and sea training the Navy's budding engineer officers come to Manadon to undergo their professional training. Of these, some 20 per cent will train to become Air Engineer Officers in the Fleet Air Arm. Under the new three-phased Dartmouth training scheme cadet entrants go to sea as acting sub-lieutenants on successful com- pletion of their entry courses. Allocation to the various specialist branches (Seaman, Engineer, and Supply and Secretariat) takes place at the commencement of Phase 3. During their initial sea commission all engineering specialists must obtain a certificate of competence in upper-deck work and, on the engineering side, qualify for their auxiliary watchkeeping, boiler-room and unit certificates and for an engine-room watch- keeping certificate for one class of ship. From sea they join the R.N. Engineering College for the two-year basic engineering course. At Manadon they are trained up to professional standard as mechanical engineers. Subjects taught include mathematics and the sciences (including physics, chemistry and metallurgy, mechanics and thermodynamics); electronics and electrical The R N COIIPPP and it* WorkL,Oliege ana US WOTK engineering; and practical engineering and engineering econo- mics, which includes training in mechanical drawing, machine design, the use of hand and machine tools and the basic methods of production engineering. The officer side includes divisional work, power-of-command training and general education. Pro- gress examinations are held periodically, and a final examination, set and marked by examiners drawn mainly from the universities, is held at the end of the last term. Successful graduation confers exemption from Sections A, B and C of the examinations of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and qualifies the candidate for graduate membership of this body. On conclusion of this period of training the young engineers join their colleagues in the other branches, at the R.N. College, Greenwich, for a junior officers' war course. Afterwards they return to Manadon to undergo sub-specialist training as either marine, aeronautical or ordnance engineers. The duration of the air-engineer course is one year (three terms of 14 weeks), undergone mainly in H.M.S. Thunderer, which is the ship name for the Engineering College. The training provides a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of aeronautical engineering, enabling the qualified Air Engineer both to obtain the maximum performance from the equipment he handles and, according to ability and opportunity, to contribute to the design and development of naval aircraft and equipment. Extending and applying that given in the basic course, the instruction,includes theoretical work on the principles of aero- By A. CECIL HAMPSHIRE (Left) Instructional aircraft—including Sea Hawk, Sea Venom, Gannet, Firefly and Sea Fury—in the airframe hangar at Manadon. (Above) Wind tunnel in the aerodynamics laboratory. dynamics and aerostructures, aero-engine and airframe design considerations; automatic control and electronics, and the applied academic subjects. Practical maintenance work and schedules are performed on airframes and engines, and air administration is taught both as a separate subject and, whenever possible, as part of practical aero-engineering work. Demonstration and practical laboratory work is done in wind-tunnel and test rigs in connection with aerodynamics and aerostructures. The training syllabus also includes flight deck machinery, catapults, arrester gear and ships' fuelling systems. Training in divisional work and leadership is continued, and lectures on these subjects are given, together with talks on current affairs and the humanities. Sport and recreation are by no means neglected. Manadon boasts rugby, soccer and hockey grounds, tennis courts and a cricket pitch, squash courts and a fine gym- nasium. The college has its own boathouse on the Hamoaze, and three yachts, two whalers, and ten dinghies are available for sailing. Built on the site of a centuries-old, 100-acre estate, the new engineering college at Manadon was planned as far back as 1938, when it was evident that the expansion necessitated by the increas- ing scope and complexity of naval engineering, and the growth of the aeronautical and gunnery aspects, was impossible at the old Engineering College at Keyham, which had been functioning since 1880. World War II held up building work, but Manadon is expected to be complete by 1960, and the entire training of naval engineers will be concentrated there with resultant economy. Instructional facilities for air-engineer training include an engine-repair shop, with a "museum" for design appreciation. Among the engines displayed are Nene, Ghost, Derwent, Avon, Clyde, Centaurus and Theseus. There is a Jumo from a war- time Junkers, and a V.2 rocket motor. The engine test-house at present contains a Griffon, soon to be replaced by a Mamba turboprop. Here the students are taught engine handling; faults are simulated and rectified; and speed, boost control and fuel and h.p. are measured. A turbojet test- house is under construction, in which a Nene will be •istalled. The aerodynamics and air-structure department is accommo- The planned new accommodation block.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
