MOTH AEROPLANES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23761, 14 September 1940, Page 13

MOTH AEROPLANES

LOCAL MANUFACTURE PROGRESS AT RONGOTAI eight machines a month [bt telegraph OWN correspondent] WELLINGTON, Friday 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 the 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 tradesmen at the Rongotai factory. Mass Production Methods The general manager is Mr. H. Buckingham, 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 come from the parent factory, each taking practical charge of a section of factory operations. Concentrating at present on the Tiger Moth, the factory is able on a modest scale to get the advantages of mass production. This single-engined biplane, generally used in connection with the Empire air training scheme in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, is the standard "trainer" of the system, for it is strong and rugged, well able to stand the rough usage, associated with the earliest efforts of our future pilots. Making of the Wings 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 welldesigned 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 connected up by many light ribs of wood, having metal ties. Much skill and experience have gone into the design of this light but strong framework, which will be covered with fabric, and takes the whole "lift" of the aeroplane. Building the ribs of the wing goes on in a quiet section of the factory, where some of the delicate fitting together of small pieces of shaped wood with metal fastenings is done by the deft fingers of women. The ribs are made up on jigs, to ensure exact standardisation of design. Ready for Plying Tests 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 the wing,assembly and taken in hand by half a dozen girls, who face the task of stitching many yards of seams. Wings and tail units emerge from the paint factory into the main assembly hangar, where the metal fuselage carrying the engine awaits the final 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 testing and trialis wheeled out into the open for the flying tests. Between six and eight Tiger Moths are completed at Rongotai every _ month, as every section of the establishment is now running smoothly. The heaviest "crash" repairs can also be undertaken, and engine overhaul is another important phase of the work. TERRITORIAL UNITS BATTERY AT CLAUDELANDS MOUNTED RIFLES IN CAMP ' [from our own correspondent] HAMILTON, Friday Favoured by delightful weather, excellent progress has been made with the training of the 180 members of the 7th Medium Battery, who have been encamped at Claudelands since September 2. The general health of the men is good, and the experience is being much enjoyed. Only one case of measles has developed in the cajnp, and three other men suffering from minor complaints are in hospital. . . Rifle drill, infantry training, medium gun and howitzer drill have occupied the men since .they have been in camp. It was intended that the battery should move on to Waiouru on October 1 but it has since been decided to keep it at Claudelands until the end of October. Week-end leave from noon on Saturday until midnight on Sunday will be granted to the members of A troop, all of whom come from Auckland. The camp will be open to visitors from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. on Sunday, but there will bo few men in camp at the time. . . „ Officers and non-commissioned olhcers of the North Auckland (Motoriscd), Auckland and East Coast, and Waikato Regiments of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles are undergoing training at iNgaruawahia. Other ranks are expected to join the units on October 1. The venue of training after that date has not yet been decided. None of the members of the Mounted Rifles units at Ngaruawahia has been affected with measles. ATHLETE IN CAMP V. P. BOOT AT TE RAPA [from our own correspondent] ' HAMILTON, Friday Empire Games champion and recordholder over the half-mile, V. P. Boot, of Canterbury, is now in camp at le Rapa racecourse. New Zealand's foremost middle-distance runner before war broke out, he is now a second-lieutenant in the headquarters company of the 29th Infantry Battalion. Second-Lieutenant Boot finds the racecouse an excellent training ground, and several other soldiers under canvas 'it Te Rapa have joined him in an occar sional trial run. A camp athletic meeting was held on Wednesday, Boot beinc easily the most prominent performer. Keen competition _ prevailed among the various companies at the meeting.