The V2 Rocket stored at the RAAF Museum Point Cook years ago (now with the AWM) appeared to be made from steel sheeting? rather than aluminium, could this have possibily been the rear fin from a V2 in the crater?

regards

Mark Pilkington

Alex

“simply ask and you will receive….”

It seems your prayers are already answered?

Monday, April 17, 2006
Bristol Freighter set for homecoming
In September 2004, this website reported on the last ever flight of a Bristol Freighter, when C-GYQS was delivered from Terrace, British Columbia, to Wetaskiwin, BC. It had been donated by Hawkair to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum, and its flight marked not only the last flight of a Freighter, but the last of any surviving UK-built Bristol aircraft. It now appears that this may not be its final flight, as it has been secured by Graham Kilsby, who wants to fly it from the West of Canada back to its birthplace in Bristol.

The aircraft was put up for auction, as Hawkair has gone into administration, and the freighter is still deemed as an asset. Preparations are now being made to bring the aircraft back to life, and prepare it for a 50-hour flight across the Atlantic. In order to achieve this, a fund has been set up to raise the £75,000 costs involved. There are no Freighters in Europe, and infact it is probably the only commercially successful British aircraft where there is no example preserved in the UK or Europe. Anyone wishing to donate to the fund should call +44 (0)117 962 1105 in the UK. Progress on this project will appear on this website when available.

posted by Andrew at 12:40 PM

As reported on the Bristol Aircraft World Survey site

Bristol Aircraft Survey News

regards

Mark Pilkington

for those interested?

There are 5 complete Ceres remaining, with the 2 statics existing at MOTAT in NZ and the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin http://aarg.com.au/Ceres.htm there are actually three on the Australian Civil Register Doug Hamilton’s VH-SSY the former Airworld Aircraft as seen at Temora above, VH-SSW is also apparantly airworthy with Cliff Keaney in Blaney NSW, while VH-NWB is complete and under long term/full restoration to airworthy in Townsville Qld.

A 6th Ceres ex-NZ was sold by Mike Nichols into Australia in the late 1990’s and is being used as the basis of spares for a Wirraway project however it is more a parts donation than a conversion as only the rear fuselage, tail group, engine QEC and wing outer panels can contribute to a Wirraway, the centresection and forward fuselage is basically worthless in terms of re-use in a Wirraway project.

A cockpit display also exists at Moorabbin, while a centre fuselage/cockpit is privately owned and stored in Victoria and is expected to end up in a static display museum in Queensland.

The Ceres centre fuselage/cockpit stored privately in Victoria has been identified as CA28-18 VH-CEX/VH-SSV, this aircraft was rebuilt by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation on the production line, from the crashed VH-CEA/VH-CEX Ceres “prototype” CA28-1.

it’s surprising what is lurking in peoples own backyards!

regards

Mark Pilkington

David/JDK

There are 5 complete Ceres remaining, with the 2 statics existing at MOTAT in NZ and the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin http://aarg.com.au/Ceres.htm there are actually three on the Australian Civil Register Doug Hamilton’s VH-SSY the former Airworld Aircraft as seen at Temora above, VH-SSW is also apparantly airworthy with Cliff Keaney in Blaney NSW, while VH-NWB is complete and under long term/full restoration to airworthy in Townsville Qld.

A 6th Ceres ex-NZ was sold by Mike Nichols into Australia in the late 1990’s and is being used as the basis of spares for a Wirraway project however it is more a parts donation than a conversion as only the rear fuselage, tail group, engine QEC and wing outer panels can contribute to a Wirraway, the centresection and forward fuselage is basically worthless in terms of re-use in a Wirraway project.

A cockpit display also exists at Moorabbin, while a centre fuselage/cockpit is privately owned and stored in Victoria and is expected to end up in a static display museum in Queensland.

There are various other parts such as tailplanes, wing outers and wing centre sections in the hands of wirraway rebuilders for conversion or parts donation, so the long term outcome is likley to remain as the existing 5 aircraft.

(I am not sure the rescue chopper in Gelnn’s pics is owned or operated by the RAAF or part of the RAAF Museum flight? I am not sure why it carries the “RAAF” signage??)

regards

Mark Pilkington

Guzineil,

Actually “Janie” is one of the four Lancasters I referred to as having been in Australia, and one of the three still surviving, (so the wheel isn’ from her) the other two are still in Australia, “G for George” and “Janies” sister the former French mark VII at the Bullcreek Museum in WA NX622 “D for Dog” and are largely intact as well.

(“Q for Queenie” brought out for war bonds and scrapped late in the war is the only local source of wheels),

We “downunder” would be more than happy to provide a safe home for any of the Lancs in the UK, (and have been trying to do so for the mortal remains of ex-sandtoft KB976/944) but I would agree the rest in “blighty” are well cared for and ensured a long life where they are.

regards

Mark P

John,

Im sorry if my comment was in any way taken as “being superior” it wasnt intended to cause any offence?

reference to your comment was only intended to be a “humourous”? way to introduce the fact that it may well not be a Lancaster wheel in any case and so that the concern raised in the thread of “missing” out on a rare item, or being concerned about its price might change if it was indeed found to be a Lincoln wheel rather than a Lancaster Wheel, (as the Lincoln as a “type” is valued less than the Lancaster.)

It could well be a rare souvenir Lancaster wheel brought back from Bomber Command service by on of the many Australian’s who served, but there is a lot of Lincoln parts remaining in Australia from the local production.

regards

Mark Pilkington

Pilkingtons & Triplex

Given my surname and interest in aviation I have been aware of Pilkington’s recent production of high strength windscreens for jet airliners B747 etc

(they once had a trade display at the Avalon Airshow where I made off with laypel badges and corporate pens 😉 and got the good oil on the “family” company)

Pilkingtons main business has been in glass in its various forms including safety or plate glass and Pilkingtons main claim to fame is development of float glass they exited aviation in 2003 with the sale of Pilkington Aerospace, and I am not aware of them playing a major development role in Plexiglass or perspex?

I am aware of Pilkington’s involvement with the Triplex company that produced laminated glass and later safety glass both used for automotive and later aircraft windscreens (the Mosquito FBVI flat screen is a laminated screen). TheTriplex plant also produced perspex items during the war but I am unsure that Pilkington’s or Triplex could claim development of that technology, it was probably more that existing glass manufacture plants could be used to produce clear plastic materials to a finished form.

Plastics, Perspex and Plexiglass are late 1930’s developments which boomed in use through WW2 Military manufacture, and so the strategy to use existing glass manufacturers to achieve rapid production would parallel the use of automotive factories to produce tanks or aircraft.

Triplex started as an independent company in the 1920’s but was slowly “acquired” by Pilkingtons (which started in the 1820’s) over a period of time until it become a subsiduary.

Triplex

” During the1939-45 war Triplex Safety Glass made plastics both at Willesden andKing’s Norton. Plastics manufacture continued at Willesden until 1962

During the 1939-45 war the Triplex (Northern) factory was usedfor munitions production. The Triplex Safety Glass factories continuedto make safety glass, mostly laminated for military vehicles and aircraftbut their main products in these years were Perspex domes for aircraft

Triplex now has four factories, at Willesden, King’s Norton, Ecclestonand Larkhall*. Toughened glass is made at all four factories, laminatedglass only at King’s Norton, apart from a small production of goggle lensesat Willesden. King’s Norton and Eccleston each account for about two-fifths of the company’s factory employees and Willesden for most of the rest;Larkhall is very small..”

G-ORDY, it is possible the “Tring” factory you mention is one of the “Triplex” factories above?

regards

Mark Pilkington
(and no I dont get any dividends!)

below is some google links of the development of aircraft plastics etc which we today take for granted.

http://www.rplastics.com/plexhistory.html

Brief History of Plastics – specifically Plexiglas acrylic sheet
Before going on to the next topic, we would like to briefly illuminate on the history of plastics and their introduction into the industrial and consumer society. As we mentioned, the definition of the word plastic is to form or model something. In this light you can understand that wood, clay, glass and vegetable fibers were the plastics of early man who shaped and baked these materials to his own needs. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution came man’s exploitation of natural resources and scientists in western civilization began to experiment with these resources and organic chemicals.
The first important date in our history books shows us that a compound called urea was discovered and isolated in the urine of mammals and other higher forms of animal life. This event took place in the year 1773, but it was not until 1828 that urea was synthetically produced and the foundation for phenol-formaldehyde plastics was laid. In 1843 an acrylic acid preparation was reported and in 1901 Dr. Otto Rohm published the results of his researches with acrylic resinoids. By 1909 the first patent for phenol- formaldehyde plastics was secured by Dr. Leo Baekeland. he found that phenol and formaldehyde when combined formed a resinous substance, a phenolic plastic which he called “Bakelite”. It was a plastic — it could be softened with heat and then molded into shape and set into final form by continued heating under pressure while in the mold. Baekeland’s discovery triggered the creative imagination of organic chemists and research began the world over more intensely than ever before.

Yes, in 1914, the founding company that became Ridout Plastics began selling those small numbers and letters made from cellulose plastic.

Acrylic resins were first prepared in this country in 1931 for industrial coatings and laminated glass binders. The better known derivative of methacrylic acid, polymethyl methacrylate, was not introduced until 1936 as a transparent sheet and in 1937 as a molding powder. Thus the beginning of the acrylic era and Plexiglas. Acrylic sheet played an important role in World War II as bullet resistant glazing in our warplanes. It was found to be light and very strong and could be easily formed to fit into the structural designs of the aircraft. To this day, the Plexiglas windows in those planes are still clear and free from yellowing; weatherability of Plexiglas is one of its most well known traits, something no other plastic glazing can match. Plexiglas soon found its way into homes and factories for safety glazing, electrical and chemical applications, skylights and windscreens and hundreds of other beneficial applications.

http://www.bookrags.com/sciences/sciencehistory/acrylic-plastic-woi.html

Acrylic Plastic

Acrylic resins are any thermoplastic polymer or copolymer of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, or acrylonitrile.

In 1843 Ferdinand Redtenbacher (1809-1895) oxidized acrolein with aqueous silver oxide and isolated acrylic acid. Friedrich Beilstein (1838-1883) produced acrylic acid by distilling hydroacrylic acids in 1862. Research in the field continued with the efforts of Edward Frankland (1825-1899), Duppon, Schneider, Richard Erlenmeyer (1825-1909), Engelhorn, Carpary and Tollens and accelerated after French chemist Charles Moureu (1803-1929) discovered acrylonitrile in 1893. He demonstrated that it was a nitrile of acrylic acid.

During World War I acrylonitrile was put to work in the manufacture of a synthetic rubber. With the restoration of trade after the war, the supply of natural rubber increased and made the synthetic less profitable, so companies began researching other uses for acrylonitrile. The synthetic fiber industry was one of the first options investigated. Early developments in acrylonitrile fibers were hampered until appropriate solvents were discovered that allowed the fibers to be formed by wet or dry spinning. The relatively high melting temperatures made melt extrusion impractical. Finding a suitable dyeing method also delayed the debut of the fibers. In 1942, Du Pont introduced polyacrylonitrile fibers under the name Orlon, and large-scale Orlon production was underway by the early 1950s. The first use of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer in the manufacture of luggage occurred in 1948. In 1966, ABS was used for the first time on the exterior surfaces of helicopters.

Meanwhile, Otto Rohm had been studying methyl acrylate compounds, trying to create an elastomer. His research eventually led to patents on several synthetic drying oils. He spent the next 15 years searching for a substitute for methyl acrylate. Eventually he and Otto Haas discovered a new leather tanning process and founded the Rohm and Haas Company. In 1927 they attempted to prepare sheets of polymethyl acrylate by pressing the polymer between two sheets of glass. The new safety glass proved superior to the older variety, which used cellulose nitrate in the middle layer. In 1935, Rohm & Haas marketed another acrylic, polymethyl methacrylate (which had been discovered 60 years earlier), as Plexiglass. Plexiglass proved transparent, strong, and tough enough to be used in the cockpits of military aircraft. In 1940, Plexiglass was employed in the bomber noses of war planes, and three years later acrylic aircraft canapies were being produced. By 1946, acrylics had been introduced for dentures and for automobile tailight lenses. In 1974, acrylic sheets stiffened with reinforced plastic were used for the first time in all exterior body panels of an automobile. Today Plexiglas is manufactured in forms ranging from clear to opaque; it is nearly unbreakable and is used in place of glass in airplanes, automobiles, light fixtures, signs, and household appliances.

In 1937, Du Pont introduced its own polymethyl methacrylate product under the name Lucite, and in 1956 introduced Lucite acrylic lacquers. Like Plexiglass, Lucite may be machined in a variety of ways. Varieties range from transparent to opaque to colored. Clear Lucite has been used in place of glass in laboratory instruments, and cameras. Formed into a rod, Lucite can direct light; because of this it is used in medical applications. Lucite paints drip less than other paints, dry quickly, and rarely blister, even when used outdoors over bare wood. Lucite paints and coatings are used in a variety of industrial applications, as automotive and fabric finishes, and in lacquers and inks.

http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3805

Over the millennia human beings have tinkered with substances to devise new and useful materials not ordinarily found in nature. But little prepared the world for the explosion in materials research that marked the 20th century. From automobiles to aircraft, sporting goods to skyscrapers, clothing (both everyday and super-protective) to computers and a host of electronic devices—all bear witness to the ingenuity of materials engineers.

1907 Bakelite created

Leo Baekeland, a Belgian immigrant to the United States, creates Bakelite, the first thermosetting plastic. An electrical insulator that is resistant to heat, water, and solvents, Bakelite is clear but can be dyed and machined.

1909 Precipitation hardening discovered

Alfred Wilm, then leading the Metallurgical Department at the German Center for Scientific Research near Berlin, discovers “precipitation hardening,” a phenomenon that is the basis for the creation of strong, lightweight aluminum alloys essential to aeronautics and other technologies in need of such materials. Many other materials are also strengthened by precipitation hardening.

1913 Stainless steel is rediscovered

Although created earlier in the century by a Frenchman and a German, stainless steel is rediscovered by Harry Brearley in Sheffield, England, and he is credited with popularizing it. Made of iron with about 13 percent chromium and a small portion of carbon, stainless steel does not rust.

1915 Pyrex

Corning research physicist Jesse Littleton cuts the bottom from a glass battery jar produced by Corning, takes it home, and asks his wife to bake a cake in it. The glass withstands the heat during the baking process, leading to the development of borosilicate glasses for kitchenware and later to a wide range of glass products marketed as Pyrex.

1925 18/8 austenitic grade steel adopted by chemical industry

A stainless steel containing 18 percent chromium, 8 percent nickel, and 0.2 percent carbon comes into use. Known as 18/8 austenitic grade, it is adopted by the chemical industry starting in 1929. By the late 1930s the material’s usefulness at high temperatures is recognized and it is used in the production of jet engines during World War II.

1930 Synthetic rubber developed

Wallace Carothers and a team at DuPont, building on work begun in Germany early in the century, make synthetic rubber. Called neoprene, the substance is more resistant than natural rubber to oil, gasoline, and ozone, and it becomes important as an adhesive and a sealant in industrial uses.

1930s Glass fibers become commercially viable

Engineers at the Owens Illinois Glass Company and Corning Glass Works develop several means to make glass fibers commercially viable. Composed of ingredients that constitute regular glass, the glass fibers produced in the 1930s are made into strands, twirled on a bobbin, and then spun into yarn. Combined with plastics, the material is called fiberglass and is used in automobiles, boat bodies, and fishing rods, and is also made into material suitable for home insulation.

1933 Polyethylene discovered

Polyethylene, a useful insulator, is discovered by accident by J. C. Swallow, M.W. Perrin, and Reginald Gibson in Britain. First used for coating telegraph cables, polyethylene is then developed into packaging and liners. Processes developed later render it into linear low-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene.

1934 Nylon

Experimenting over 4 years to craft an engineered substitute for silk, Wallace Carothers and his assistant Julian Hill at DuPont ultimately discover a successful process with polyamides. They also learn that their polymer increases in strength and silkiness as it is stretched, thus also discovering the benefits of cold drawing. The new material, called nylon, is put to use in fabrics, ropes, and sutures and eventually also in toothbrushes, sails, carpeting, and more.

1936 Clear, strong plastic

The Rohm and Haas Company of Philadelphia presses polymethyl acrylate between two pieces of glass, thereby making a clear plastic sheet of the material. It is the forerunner of what in the United States is called Plexiglass (polyvinyl methacrylate). Far tougher than glass, it is used as a substitute for glass in automobiles, airplanes, signs, and homes.

1938 DuPont discovers Teflon

Annoyed one day that a tank presumably full of tetrafluoroethylene gas is empty, DuPont scientist Roy Plunkett investigates and discovers that the gas had polymerized on the sides of the tank vessel. Waxy and slippery, the coating is also highly resistant to acids, bases, heat, and solvents. At first Teflon is used only in the war effort, but it later becomes a key ingredient in the manufacture of cookware, rocket nose cones, heart pacemakers, space suits, and artificial limbs and joints.

1940s Nickel-based superalloys

Metallurgists develop nickel-based superalloys that are extremely resistant to high temperatures, pressure, centrifugal force, fatigue, and oxidation. The class of nickel-based superalloys with chromium, titanium, and aluminum makes the jet engine possible, and is eventually used in spacecraft as well as in ground-based power generators.

1940s Ceramic magnets

Scientists in the Netherlands develop ceramic magnets, known as ferrites, that are complex multiple oxides of iron, nickel, and other metals. Such magnets quickly become vital in all high-frequency communications, including the sound recording industry. Nickel-zinc-based ceramic magnets eventually become important as computer memory cores and in televisions and telecommunications equipment.

1945 Barium titanate developed

Scientists in Ohio, Russia, and Japan all develop barium titanate, a ceramic that develops an electrical charge when mechanically stressed (and vice versa). Such ceramics advance the technologies of sound recordings, sonar, and ultrasonics.

1946 Tupperware

As a chemist at DuPont in the 1930s, Earl Tupper develops a sturdy but pliable synthetic polymer he calls Poly T. By 1947 Tupper forms his own corporation and makes nesting Tupperware bowls along with companion airtight lids. Virtually breakproof, Tupperware begins replacing ceramics in kitchens nationwide.

1950s Silicones

Silicones, a family of chemically related substances whose molecules are made up of silicon-oxygen cores with carbon groups attached, become important as waterproofing sealants, lubricants, and surgical implants.

1952 Glass into fine-grained ceramics

Corning research chemist S. Donald Stookey discovers a heat treatment process for transforming glass objects into fine-grained ceramics. Further development of this new Pyroceram composition leads to the introduction of CorningWare in 1957.

1953 Dacron

DuPont opens a U.S. manufacturing plant to produce Dacron, a synthetic material first developed in Britain in 1941 as polyethylene terephthalate. Because it has a higher melting temperature than other synthetic fibers, Dacron revolutionizes the textiles industry.

1953 High-density polyethylene

Karl Zeigler develops a method for creating a high-density polyethylene molecule that can be manufactured at low temperatures and pressures but has a very high melting point. It is made into dishes, squeezable bottles, and soft plastic materials.

1954 Synthetic zeolites

Following work done in the late 1940s by Robert Milton and Donald Breck of the Linde Division of Union Carbide Corporation, the company markets two new families of synthetic zeolites (from the Greek for “boiling stone,” referring to the visible loss of water that occurs when zeolites are heated) as a new class of industrial materials for separation and purification of organic liquids and gases. As the key materials for “cracking”—that is, separating and reducing the large molecules in crude oil—they revolutionize the petroleum and petrochemical industries. Synthetic zeolites are also put to use in soil improvement, water purification, and radioactive waste treatment, and as a more environmentally friendly replacement in detergents for phosphates.

1954 Synthetic diamonds

Working at General Electric’s research laboratories, scientists use a high-pressure vessel to synthesize diamonds, converting a mixture of graphite and metal powder to minuscule diamonds. The process requires a temperature of 4,800°F and a pressure of 1.5 million pounds per square inch, but the tiny diamonds are invaluable as abrasives and cutting points.

1955 High molecular weight polypropylene developed

Building on the work of Karl Ziegler, Giullo Natta in Italy develops a high molecular weight polypropylene that has high tensile strength and is resistant to heat, ushering in an age of “designer” polymers. Polypropylene is put to use in films, automobile parts, carpeting, and medical tools.

1959 “Float” glass developed

British glassmakers Pilkington Brothers announce a revolutionary new process of glass manufacturing developed by engineer Alastair Pilkington. Called “float” glass, it combines the distortion-free qualities of ground and polished plate glass with the less expensive production method of sheet glass. Tough and shatter-resistant, float glass is used in windows for shops and skyscrapers, windshields for automobiles and jet aircraft, submarine periscopes, and eyeglass lenses.

I woul echo Twin Otter’s comment, the best and simplist activity any individual can do is join and support their local independant aviation museum either through simple membership, volunteer work or financial/parts donation.

There is a need in many countries for co-ordinated National collections policy, and for those to flourish beyond government funded War Museums and Military Service Museums a strong not for profit sector is required, particularly to preserve the less marketable “Air Transport” collections where Corporate support and interest is limited, and in many cases not available due to the former operators being taken over or put out of business.

This may require some groups to pool their resources to seek Government support for shared building Infrastructure.

Unfortunately parochial or regional loyalties and individual pet interests need to be overcome for the longer term overall good.

From afar, Duxford with its co-sited IWM and Duxford Aviation Society providing a critical mass of interest to attract visitors, supporters and government money.

For instance the answer for the BA collection at Cosford may be for a number of existing groups to form an umbrella organisation to preserve and display them on the Cosford site complementary to, but outside the RAF Museum’s responsibilities, an seek government funding for undercover display, ans support from BA in the initial phase.

Again from afar the BAPC is envied as a body which does work well as an umbrella group for its independant members, but perhaps what is missing from the BAPC is the ability for individuals to join and contribute to appeals etc to save particular aircraft and see them allocated to one of he member organisations who has sought to preserve the aircraft. However as always there needs to be a collection policy to avoid resources being wasted on too many duplicate frames or items beyond economic recovery.

There is an untapped resource of individuals sitting in front of PC screens and sitting inthe armchairs reading aviation magazines who are interested in helping preserve aviation heritage, harnassing their voices and pens (and even pockets) can result in increased government funding for capital infrastructure, the most important tool in preserving aircraft is a roof over their head. Aviation Museums and enthusiasts alike need to co-operate and lobby in competition with other charities like sport, perfoming or visual arts, arguing the importance of such collections on heritage, cultural, education and technology arguments.

regards

Mark Pilkington