One of Malcolm’s first jobs was to help assemble Valiant bomber wings using age-hardened rivets that were stored in a fridge
and the other was assisting my mate with installation of the baggage bay doors. In the days before Computer Aided Drawings and NC machines, dressing with rubber mallets was necessary to achieve the required fit. These two jobs were at the two extremities of the assembly lines, roughly half a mile long, so it was good exercise. Then I made Viscount fibreglass air conditioning ducting. It was in the early days of this method of fabrication and I recall seeing glass particles floating
in the air that landed on my neck and wrists which then itched like mad. My only protective clothing, apart from gloves, was doing up the top button of my shirt and rubber bands around my shirt cuffs. I was then appointed as a Progress
Chaser. During the aircraft assembly process, missing airframe parts were listed. It was my job to find them. As a sheet metal or machined part progressed through heat treatment and painting, each stage was recorded on a progress card. So, I followed this process and initiated the essential urgent action. Sometimes I could not find any trace of such urgently needed parts and, although being a mere apprentice, I was authorised to place remedial orders. I was told that, after 400 Viscounts were built to specific airline orders, manufacture of a further speculative ten was authorised, which were known as ‘white tails’. It was claimed these aircraft were built from unused parts from duplicate ordering by Progress Chasers over the years. My introduction to the Drawing
The Viscount production line at Brooklands where Malcolm installed windows and baggage bay doors
Office was in a section to draw detailed modifications to Viscount airframe parts. This was followed by a comprehensive modification to an important aspect of the Vanguard control surfaces gust locks to prevent wind damage on the ground.
When parked, pins were inserted into the main wing ailerons and tail surfaces’ elevators and rudder. These pins were operated by a lever in the cockpit and only possible when the engine throttles were closed. The lever and pins were connected by a complex series of tubular rods operating through levers attached to the airframe via individually designed brackets. During flight testing at operating altitudes, it was discovered there was a tendency for the pins to lock the flying controls. It was realised the cooling of the airframe was causing sufficient contraction against the internally heated gust lock rods. The design remedy was to double the length of travel of these rods to overcome this issue. My job was to draw the extended movements of all the components and redesign those showing any jamming. This required very interesting detective searches around the drawing numbers hierarchy and even clambering around assembled Vanguards to find relevant airframe part numbers. As a soon-to-be qualified Engineering
Apprentice, I was destined for detailed drawing in the vast VC10 Drawing Office (DO). The first assignment was in the equally vast Mould Loft where many 8x4 ft aluminium plates were screwed on to wooden tables so that major sections of
SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2019 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 37
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