INFLATABLE GARAGE FOR CARS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29239, 24 June 1960, Page 17

INFLA TABLE GARAGE FOR CARS

Ajf inflatable hut, measuring 12ft by 10ft. which weighs on ly 881 b. complete with floor, was on e of the features at a British jjvlon Industrial Convention in London recently. The hut is made from a tough but lightweight proofed nylon fabric held up by a “skeleton” of inflatable tubes. By using a small electric blower operated by a car battery, one man can put it up in four minutes. Cunningly conceived compensating bags make u p for air losses caused by changes in temperature. At a demonstration for the press, fbe inflation of a small unit was completed in less than two minutes. The inflatable nylon range goes up to about 4000 square feet of floor area. They have already aroused considerable interest with the police, fire services and civil defence authorities in Britain for use as mobile control centres. They can be used for offices, canteens or sleeping accommodation for mobile personnel. They can also be used as temporary warehouses on railway sidings or docks or as temporary bams or milking sheds on farms or for exhibitions, building-site shelters and field workshops. A large-size proofed nylon building constructed on the inflatable tube principle measures 27ft. bins. by 16ft. 6 ins. This weighs 1581 b. (2551 b. with floor) and, like the smaller version, can be put up

by one man in four minutes. A conventional marquee of similar size weighs 16701 b and it takes six men 45 minutes to put it up, The inflatable building is completely unencumbered both inside and out, although there is provision for anchoring ropes in exceptionally high winds.

Still bigger nylon inflatable buildings work on an entirely different principle. They rely

solely on a constant supply of a large volume of low-pressure air pumped 'in by portable blowers. Since the air is directed upwards there is no discernible air movement at ground level. The difference in air pressure between the inside and outside is not noticeable.

The biggest nylon building of this type to be produced in Britain up to now measures 100 ft. by 40ft. by 20ft. It can be inflated in about 15 minutes using two blowers each capable of delivering 3500 cubic feet per minute; Once erected, it can be kept up by one blower at a cost of about a penny an hour. Provided that it is securely pegged down it is completely stable even in high winds.