MAKING AEROPLANES

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1940, Page 2

MAKING AEROPLANES

PROGRESS AT RONGOTAI Wellington, Sept. 18. The branch factory of the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Rongotai is now in full production and is employing over 100 New Zealanders under the direction of experts from England. The venture was well based initially by an order from Ihe Government for 100 Tiger Moth aeroplanes for training purposes in the Dominion. The first batches of these machines came from England complete, and had only to be assembled. With each succeeding consignment more work has been left to be done here, and the organisation at Rongotai has now reached the stage of building the complete Gipsy Moth, except for the engine and metal fuselage. The wings are fabricated in the factory, the tail unit constructed by the same staff, and some of the metal work, including the cowlings, is being manufactured by New Zealand firms. Hundreds of small metal parts are being sent from England in the rough, leaving a good deal of finishing to be done by fitters and other skilled tradesinen at the Rongotai factory. The general manager is Mr. h. Bucklngham, of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, and his assistant is Mr. p. j. de Havilland, who undertakes the responsible duties of test pilot. Four other specialists have also oome from the parent factory, each taking practica) charge of a section of factory operations. Standard "Trainer." Concentrating at present on the Tiger Moth, the factory is able on a modest scale to get the advanta;;:es of mass production. This • single-engined biplane. generaliy used in connection with the Empire air training scheme in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, Is the standard "trainer" of the system, foi It is strong and rugged, well able to stand the rough usage, associated with the earliest efforts of our future pilots. The" beginnings of the wings are seen In the woodworking shop, where balks of Canadian spruce, beautifully even in grain and free from flaws, pass through the milling machines which hollow out each side of the main frame. There are two to each wing. After this process the frame members resemble a well-designed. steel girder, light, but immensely strong for their weight. In the assembling section two of the spruce girders are spaced the width of the wing, and connccted up by many light ribs of wood, having metal ties. Much skill and experience have gone into the desigvi of this light but strong framework, which will be covered with fabric, and takes the whole "lift" of the aeroplane. After a thorough inspection — expert. examination takes place at every stage of manufacture — the completed wing frame receives a coat of preservative paint and. is transferred to another section of the factory to receive its covering of linen This is made up like an elongated sack, which is slipped over tho wing assembly and taken in hand by half-a-dozen girls. who face the task of stitching many yards of seams. Wings ar-1 tail units emerge from the paint factory into the main assembly hangar, where the metal fuselage carrying the engine awaits the fmal process. This bare centre of the Tiger Moth is soon provided with its sets of wings, tail unit, and many other fittings, and after much tcsting and trial is wheeled out into the oper. for the flying tests. Between six and eight Tiger Mothc are completed at Rongotai every month, as every section of the establishment is now runfting smootlily. The heaviest "crash" repairs can also be undertaken. and engine overhaul is another important phase of the work.