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Aviation History
1969
1969 - 0507.PDF
FLIGHT International. 10 March 1969 443 Industry International "Urgent need" for carbon-fibre plant ALARGE-SCALE PLANT for producing carbon fibre should be built with out delay in the United Kingdom. This is the main recommendation of the report published last Thursday by the Select Committee on Science and Tech nology.* The committee emphasised that this is "of the utmost national impor tance," commenting that the firm which established the first really big manufac turing facility might well set the pattern for the industry for some years to come. The committee says it considers there should be greater flexibility for Govern ment establishments to enter into direct commercial relationships with companies in the carbon-fibre field. But "know- how" on composite materials should be made available from Government estab lishments only to those companies actually investing in the manufacture of end products based on carbon fibres, so that commercial restraints, like those acting on Rolls-Royce would also apply. Once a policy decision has been made, the committee says, the decision as to which companies should have access to this know-how should rest not with the National Research and Development Cor poration but with the establishments. It recognises that a commercial risk existed in setting up a large plant before demand for the material was fully developed, but suggests three ways of undertaking this. The three licensees—Courtaulds, Morgan Crucible and Rolls-Royce—could invest jointly in a factory capable of turning * House of Commons Paper 157: HMSO, 17s net. Refueller for Jumbo Jets Esso Stan dard Italiana is to introduce a new refueller unit for the forthcoming gen eration of large-capacity jet transports. This is the SR80, with semi-trailer, which has a capacity of 17,600 Imp gal and delivers fuel at a rate of 836 Imp gal/min at a pressure of 3.5 atmospheres. Two Esso SR80s, it is claimed, will be able to refuel a Boeing 747 with 27,500 Imp gal of fuel in 25min. This rigid glass-fibre ejection-seat survival pack container is being produced by Irvin Air Chute Ltd of Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada for the Cf-Ss being built by Canadair, for the Canadian Armed Forces out 450 tons of carbon fibre per year at least—if necessary with participation by. or support of, appropriate Govern ment agencies. Secondly, NRDC, as basic patent holder, could take the latest design study prepared by Harwell and look for an additional licensee prepared to take such a risk. Thirdly, the UK Atomic Energy Authority could set up its own plant. This would involve legis lation and could not be done quickly, but every effort should be made to ensure that UKAEA had a financial interest in whatever plant was built. Carbon fibre, the SCST recalls, had been known for 90 years but the high strength and stiffness were not achieved until a manufacturing process was dis covered by RAE Farnborough in 1963. Referring to the licensees, it records that Courtaulds were asked by RAE to sup ply organic fibres for the original conversion process and subsequently developed a special acrylic fibre which was the basis of "Grafil," produced at their own plant and marketed in the UK and North America. Courtaulds now had a sales agreement with Hercules Inc of Wilmington, Delaware. Morgan was brought in by Mintech because of its knowledge of high temperature tech nology. It produced "Modmor" and had concluded an agreement with Whit- taker Corp of Los Angeles. Rolls-Royce, the committee says, were in a somewhat different position. They were not concerned with the sale of fibres, but with the use of carbon-fibre- reinforced composites for incorporation SARBE for BOAC 747s Burndept Elec tronics (ER) Ltd (Erith, Kent) has received a £5,000 order for 30 sets of search and rescue beacon equipment (SARBE) from BOAC, for use in the air line's fleet of Boeing 747s. The beacons are already standard equipment for all British and many NATO and Common wealth armed forces, and are being in creasingly specified by civil airline authorities. Cargo Containers for Boeing 747s Pan American World Airways has awarded a $928,000 (£387,000) contract to Brooks and Perkins of Detroit, Mich, for cargo containers for the airline's fleet of Boeing 747s. Each container, constructed of corrugated aluminium and aluminium- skinned balsa material, will provide 169 cu ft of space for cargo and will have a maximum payload of 2,6001b. A 747 can carry 14 of the containers in its aft cargo compartments, as well as another 16 for baggage in the forward lower compartments (these latter will be supplied to Pan American under a previous contract awarded to Goodyear Aerospace of Akron, Ohio). The cargo containers, contoured to fit in the lower in their aero-engine components. Their material "Hyfil" was used in the RB.2I1. The Government programme aimed at immediate support for Rolls-Royce, development of a plastics technology with a view to broadening the field of potential use, and development of new technologies using carbon fibres with other matrices and ceramics. AERE Har well was studying production processes and had shown that production costs could be very significantly reduced. RAE Farnborough was now putting its know ledge and facilities at the disposal of industry to help find engineering appli^ cations for the material; and NRDC, "as exploiters and developers of inventions arising from publicly supported bodies." have to decide on the method of licensing or development which will be most beneficial to the nation. Another company in the carbon fibre field is the Fothergill & Harvey Group of Littleborough. Lanes. Their CFRP was being shown last week at the Nord- Plast Fair in Copenhagen, the first time it had been exhibited outside the UK. the high specific stiffness of CFRP in comparison with metals being demon strated. Incorporating Morganite Modmor fibres, the new material is being supplied in a partially cured unidirectional sheet form in thicknesses of 0.127mm, Q.254mm and 0.762mm. It is based on an epoxy resin system and contains nominally 50 per cent by weight of carbon fibres. An example of its use shown at the fair was a rotor blade (illustrated in Flight for December 26, 1968, page 1076). hull, are slightly smaller than the bag gage containers. Both types measure 60.4inx61.5in at the base and are 64in in height, but (to meet road transport requirements) the length of the cargo container is 88in compared with 92in for the baggage container. PEOPLE AND POSTS Mr D. V. Cotes-Preedy has been made export marketing manager for the Auto motive Products Group of Leamington Spa. Mr Leslie Williams has joined Aviation and Helicopter Sales (UK) Ltd as director of sales for the United Kingdom. Mr F. C. Mace is to manage the Butler, N.J., office of Flexibox (US) Ltd. Mr J. A. Sandle, applications engineer of the new company will be located Houston, Texas. Mr Alan Baker will head the new Micro-Bio Laboratories Ltd (associated with V. A. Howe & Co Ltd) as sales and marketing manager. C
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