GIANT PLANE

Chronicle (Levin), 3 January 1948, Page 4

GIANT PLANE

Britain's Brabazon I Has • Cost NearSy £4,000,000 To Build

A star day m the world df civil aviation wxll be the adveat next year of tBe Aeroplane Ooiftpany's giant new passenger-carrying aircraft, the Brabazon I, known othcially as the Hype 167. Nearly £4,000,000 will have. gone into the aircraft by the time it flies next year and anether £2,000,000 has been used in conslructing its take-off runway. ? . To. hcuse this leviathan the Bristol Company has built a huge assembly hall, which is a triumph of engmeering skill comparable to the aircraft itself. Some tdea ef the lmmensi y of the hall is is indicated by the fact that it could comfortably accommodate the vast length of the liner Queen Mary, or of the Houses of Parliament. , v

The 'Briiish Travel Association publishes the following infor.ma-. tion .about the giant aircraft in its joumal, Coming Events. The prototype Brabazon is powered by eight Bristol sCentaurus radial engines each rated at 2500 B.H.P. for take-off.. With an all-up weight of approximately 12.6 tons, the aircraft will have an initial service ceiling of 25,000 feet— increasing as fuel is consumed— and a maximum level speed of more than 300 m.p.h. and economical cruising speed of 250 m.p.h., at that height. It will have a still-air range of ®000 miles, allowing a wide safPty m'argin for the London-New York route in the most adverse weather I conditi'ons. . The three succeeding production aircraft will be powered by -eight Bristol Proteus propellor ■turbings of considerably higher power and correspon-dingly increased .performance. Pressurised to maintain an >equiv.alent cabin altitude of 8000 feet while ffying at 25,000 feet, humidi-f fied and air conditioned to ensure J comfortable travel un'der all condi- j tions -of ftight, the Brabazon's 143 ; feet-long cabin will provide accom- j modat'ion for 70-100 sleeping pas- j sengers or 120 sittiiig passengers,! plus a crew of thirteen which will! include ifive stewards. Passengerl accommodation will include a din- I ing saloon, lounge, bar and dressing I rooms. There will be a cinema pro- j jector and radio for passenger entertainment and a flight progress j i chart to illustrate the position of ; the aircraft throughout the Atlan- I tic -crossing. i The Brabazon is conceived on a . .gigantic scal-e. Wing span is '230 . feet — almost twice that of Britain''s j largest bomber, the Avro Lincoln, or 30 feet more than the distanee separating the rnain structures of 1

Tower Bridge which spans the river Thames. Height over the ru'dder is I 50 feet; ' maximum diameter of fuselage 16|- feet; gross wing area 5135 square feet; wheel track 64 f 06 1 9 °The undercarriage, hydraulically actuated, is on the tricycle princtple. There are four main wheels.1 De-icing equipment, with special electric heaters, is incorporated" in the outer main planes and tail plane. . Further illustration of the size of this mighty .leviathan of the air is ! provided by the following construc- ' tion statistics: ' Coverage of the fuselage and wings requires 30,000 square feet of : sheet metal; though restricted to a minimum by a new planning process, 12,000 drawings were used during the period of construction; electrical supply uses 35 miles of Wiring ; fuel load wjll be 13, '000 gallons; the complete structure will contain more than one and a-half millions of individually inspected rivets. - " An aircraft on such an unprecedented scale is beyond the normal ■ fesources of any aircraft .assembly 1 plant. Parallel with development of the great airliner therefore, the company has developed special handling facilities at the Filton works. Impressive as the aircraft itself, is the huge assembly hall constructed to house the prototype and to cater for the construction and servicing of the succeeding passenger liners. No orthodox aircraft hangar woul'd suffice. The company has constructed therefore, an assembly hall which is the biggest in the world and which is designed on lines as revolutionary as the aircraft it will house. To* this hall, the Brabazon was recently transferred for final assembly. To effect removal a

special turnraDie naa.ro oe -w-uiiu m the floor of the hangar in which the aircraft was constructed .in the earlier stages. " * Some idea of the vast proportions of the new hall may be Obtained from. these dimensions, Total capacity is 33,000,000 cubio feet; overall width 1,052 feet; overall deoth of the full centre bay is 420 feet and of the two side bays '270 feet; height to the eaves ^ 88 ; feet and to the roo'f apex 117 feet. The hall is "T" shape in design 'with a floor area of 325,000 square- ! feet— nearly eight acres., Frontihg | it is an apron nearly seven acres ili larea. i Most interesting feature of all ! is that the back of the hall consists of a thick glass wall, 1,000 feet Wide and 50 feet high, to provi'de ideal, daylight working conditionS. To such a degree were the plafrning and construction of the hall and aircraft complementary, that the one has been developed With close regard, at every stage to the influence of the other.- The result is "a magnificent engineerihg hachievement integrated with ' elegance of line. ! Soon the great aircraft will -be ' j ready. to take the air. To ac'dos&r 'modate the take-off run requ'ired Ito launch her on The mai'den ! flight, the runway has been.. exitended from 1,500 to 2,750 yatfds land doubled in width from 50 to 100 yards. Most of a village ' was ! demolished in the processs. j Great Britain wishes the Brabi azon cbOn voyage and happy land- ' ings." She is a tribute to British lengineering skill and a guarantbe | that in the -air we may Wiri & presj tige to equal the pre-emineiice I gained for us on the seas by "subh ■ mighty ships as the Queen EliZabeth and the Queen Mary.