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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 2167.PDF
Houchin GPU in attendance on a VCIO. BOAC have ordered a number of self-propelled units Murex Type 20900 GPU AIRPORT EQUIPMENT ... prototype is due for delivery to London Airport at the end of the year. Among recent additions to the range of GPUs manufactured by Murex Welding Pro cesses Ltd is the Type 20900. For a.c. systems it provides 60kVA, continuous 200V, 400c/s; in d.c, maximum outputs of 2,000A at 28V and 900A at 112V are available. On the servic ing side, continuous d.c. currents of 1.000A at 28V and 300A at 112V are given. Rotax lightweight d.c. power pack Portable generating set by White & Riches Ltd 968 FLIGHT International, 12 December 1963 Designed with such aircraft as the VCIO in mind, the self-propelled Airmaster 490D made by Hampson Industries Ltd is a versatile air supply unit which can be used for such duties as engine starting, ground running of freon vapour-cycle cooling units, fuselage interior heating, pressurization tests, and general pneumatic tests. Powerplant is a Rolls-Royce six-cylinder turbocharged diesel. BOAC have recently introduced Airmasters into service at London Airport. Hampson also offer their range of Powermaster electrical servicing trollies. Though best known, perhaps, for their test- benches for indoor installation, Aircraft Ground Equipment Ltd also offer units for apron use, including a power distribution trolley. Aviation Traders (Engineering) Ltd have lately added GPUs to their line of airport ground equipment. Internationally used, the Hobart Bros (USA) range of [GPUs is dis tributed in this country by Aviquipo of Britain Ltd. Among the more unorthodox types of GPU are the "Air Partner" marketed by Atlas Copco (Great Britain) Ltd, which utilizes the Lysholm type of rotary-screw compressor; and the steam-generating (flash boiler) power- source for turbo-starters, developed by AEI (Rugby) Ltd, which latter company also supplies a range of more orthodox motor generating sets. Another out-of-the-ordinary type of starting equipment is the Jetstart, by I. V. Pressure Controllers Ltd, which utilizes a battery of air bottles with special control equipment. Products of Rotax Test Equipment Division include a lightweight d.c. power pack. Weigh ing less than 3001b dry, it is powered by a small Mars gas turbine and provides 9kW at 28V d.c. It should prove useful in support of short-haul aircraft, particularly at isolated airfields without the usual facilities. Hand- started, the unit is self-contained, simple to operate and capable of running on fuels ranging from diesel oil to aviation spirit. Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd offer a starter and test trolley powered by the Artouste gas turbine, and the compact power units made by Rover Gas Turbines Ltd also find a use in this field. Another compact generating set— though outside the sphere of aircraft-servicing, for its output is 4.5kVA at 240V, 50/60c/s—is a portable unit made by White and Riches Ltd and powered by a small petrol engine. In certain circumstances the use of mains current as a source of aircraft ground power is convenient and economical. Westinghouse Brake & Signal Co Ltd manufacture a rectifier unit, quoting as special advantages the facts that (a) the d.c. output voltage is regulated to within ± 1 per cent irrespective of load changes over the normal range and wide simultaneous mains voltage and frequency variations, and (b) after engine-starting loads the rapid speed of response permits recovery to normal regulated voltage within a few cycles. Other manufacturers of rectifier and trans former equipment include the Transformer & Electrical Co Ltd, who make a 500A, 32V aircraft starter; Partridge, Wilson & Co Ltd, well known as the makers of the "Davenset" equipment; the General Electric Co Ltd; and AEI Lamp and Lighting Co Ltd. A recent BOAC decision to order a TRACE (tape-controlled recording automatic checkout equipment) from Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Ltd is stated to be the first order by any airline for completely integrated automatic test equipment. The corporation will use their TRACE for fault diagnosis of components in VC10 and Boeing 707 flight-control systems. The equipment operates by injecting a series of programmed electrical stimuli that generate a predetermined response from the various circuits and sub-systems under test. These responses are compared by TRACE with the Westinghouse Westruk rectifier-type GPU used by BEA with Vanguards Hawker Siddeley Dynamics' TRACE automatic checkout unit correct answer that it has been instructed to expect. Any deviation beyond a known allowable tolerance is indicated by a visual display, and test results are available in printed form for permanent record. Normalair Ltd produce a trolley for testing pneumatically operated aircraft environmental control equipment and other instruments. It can be used for pressurization-system ground testing without the necessity for pressurizing the aircraft cabin or running the engines. Other applications include static or dynamic pressure testing of pneumatic or barometric equipment and leak testing of pressurization of air- conditioning systems and components. Among the hose products which are a speciality of Bell's Asbestos & Engineering Ltd is a quick-release air starter coupling for all aircraft having connections to spec. SDM(A) I.S. 322. It incorporates a safety device in the form of a butterfly valve wh-ch closes should the hose be disconnected while still under pressure, thus preventing the danger of flailing. Normalair MB w '% HE , • _' pre^surization " <s .. . test trolley ••••• :'^HP --^H Bipfl HPliV:il
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