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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1253.PDF
30 August 1957 341 ACCESSORY DEVELOPMENTS THIS yearly review of airborne equipment manufactured by associate firms of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, surveys the whole wide field of the British ancillary industry. Whether the design of the equipment is new—and much original thought is revealed year by year—manufactured under licence agreement from abroad, or the development of an established unit or prototype, the quality of the industry's products is of a praiseworthy standard, as foreign importers can testify. And growing competition in each specialized field means a wider and more satisfactory choice for the purchaser. Changes of emphasis within the aircraft industry during the past months have inevitably been reflected in the design offices of the accessory manufacturers. On every hand, firms are widening their scope to include the extremes of miniature com- ponents for guided missiles, and new equipment for civil transports. Encouraging progress in developing equipment to go long periods without overhaul can be reported. Although orders for military types may be on the wane, there is still plenty of room for the best in the year of civil expansion ahead. Airscrew Company and Jicwood, Ltd. A new range of medium pressure centri- fugal blowers, and a new prototype of a miniature three inch diameter, multi-pur- pose axial flow fan which can be used for cooling electronic equipment, have been produced by this Weybridge concern. Among the company's range of blowers are cabin recirculation fans for the Viscount 700 and 800 series aircraft. The units for the latter are six inch diameter two-stage axial flow types—smaller than those for the 700 because of the variation in duty required. In both series a small centrifugal fan is employed for demisting the windscreen. Both fan and unit are made mainly in magnesium alloy castings. A further unit, with a contra-rotating fan ten inches in diameter, is used for heating the Beverley cargo hold, and other units of various sizes are in service on the Victor and Westland Dragonfly. A special 6iin diameter centrifugal fan with pneumatic oil seals is supplied for oil cooling on the Napier Gazelle. A new fixed pitch propeller—a rarity in this review—is being supplied to M.L. Aviation, Ltd., for use on the M.L. Mark 1 inflatable wing aircraft. Automotive Products Co., Ltd. Civil transport operators, in particular, demand equipment with extended periods between overhauls. A range of products developed by this company—whose equipment is specified for the Comet and Caravelle— meets this requirement. Typical examples of the overhaul lives of Lockheed com- ponents chosen for the Comet 4 series are: pumps 5,000 hr; accumulators and selectors, 10,000 hr; hydraulic jacks, 5,000 hr; and powered controls, 2,500 hr. All these components meet both C.A.A. and A.R.B. requirements. The company also supply hydraulic equipment for the Viscount, Vanguard, Beverley, Pioneer and Twin Pioneer, Herald, Accountant, Freighter Coach, and Agricola. This includes Avery hoses, self- sealing couplings and Purolator filters. A new bulk-fuel filter separator extracts from fuel both water and solid particles down to five microns in size; an additional filter for either function is not required. The filter is intended for aircraft refuelling installations and will be produced in a range of sizes giving flow rates of 250 to 750 gal/min. Boulton Paul Aircraft, Ltd. In recent years, an increasing number of manufac- turers have been demonstrating elec- trically-signalled powered flying controls. To Boulton Paul falls the distinction of being the first manufacturer successfully to fly such a system (it was coupled to an aileron jack). A new powered control for a heavy bomber's ailerons incorporates a swashplate hydraulic pump instead of the radial pumps previously standardized, and an economy in overall dimensions and weight has been effected thereby. The company is also developing a design of thin wing—featuring integral construc- tion—and various electronic components. New among the latter are packaged accelerometer equipment and a three- channel automatic strain-gauge bridge. 5. G. Brown master reference gyro. British Oxygen Engineering Co., Ltd. After three years' work in collaboration with the M.o.S., this company has pro- duced a new liquid-nitrogen system for creating an inert atmosphere in aircraft fuel tanks. They have also produced emergency breathing equipment for pas- sengers of civil transports, a provision that so far has found more favour abroad than in this country. The firm are already supplying oxygen demand regulators for the crew positions in the Britannia and will do so for the Comet. Much has recently been heard about aircraft liquid-oxygen breathing systems. For these British Oxygen make a new and improved 3.5-litre converter and a 5-litre Lox converter and container with capacit- ance gauging, pressure raising and economizing circuits, charging connection, vent and build-up and relief-valve assemblies. British Oxygen Gases, Ltd., another company of the group, are responsible for some important new Argonarc welding techniques (see Flight, August 2, p. 172). Lockheed "long-life" hydraulic components. (See "Automotive Products," in col. 1 below.) The British Thomson-Houston Co., Ltd. A new range of silicon rectifiers and reference diodes has been added to the B.T.H. line. They have many air- craft applications because of their ability to operate at very high temperatures. The reference diodes can take up to 250 deg C and the rectifiers to 200 deg C. S. G. Brown, Ltd. Manufactured for use with new instrument presentation systems is the master reference gyro Type A5. This is claimed to be the only one in production (it is being installed in military aircraft) in the world; and it forms an im- portant part of the Kelvin and Hughes flight data system. This firm also manu- facture for the M.o.S. a pneumatic aileron- actuator for a missile application; aircraft torpedo control gyros; airborne radar stabilizer equipment; precision potentio- meters; and fractional h.p. motors. Brown Brothers (Aircraft), Ltd. A new component offered by this long-estab- lished manufacturer of A.G.S., B.S., and S.B.A.C. standard parts and other com- ponents is the Hy-Seal hermetic coupling. This is claimed as the "first and only coupling which permits a shaft to be rotated inside a closed chamber by mechanical drive from the outside while maintaining a positive hermetic seal." In principle, the coupling consists of Brown Brothers Hy-Seal couplings.
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