General Dynamics News, Volume 17, Number 8, April 8, 1964 Page: 2 of 6
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Page 2 GENERAL DYNAMICS NEWS Wednesday, April 8, 1964
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100 MILES UP - Centaur launch vehicle is being tested at
NASA's Lewis Research Center in space chamber that simulates con-
ditions at altitude of 100 miles. In lower picture, Centaur is lowered
by crane, while, at top, vehicle is worked into position. Auxiliary
propulsion, hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical systems are operated
in space environment.
Centaur Space Vehicle
Performs in ChamberA GD/Astronautics-built Cen-
taur space vehicle was installed
recently in the newly-completed
space power chamber at NASA's
Lewis Research Center where it
will make earth-bound "flights"
at simulated altitudes of about
100 miles.
At the Cleveland, Ohio, facility,
an elaborate pumping system will
induce the vacuum of space with-
in the chamber, while nitrogen
panels are used to drop the tem-
perature. Solar radiation will be
simulated by banks of high-inten-
sity quartz lights.
Under these conditions nearly
all systems of the Centaur vehicle
(6-A) will be tested, includingauxiliary propulsion, hydraulic,
pneumatic and electrical systems.
Only propellant flow and actual
engine ignition will be omitted.
The test series will permit
NASA engineers, aided by a GD/
Astro team, to study Centaur's
performance in a space environ-
ment, checking such functions as
guidance, autopilot, engine gim-
balling with cryogenics on board,
and even the firing of attitude
engines.
For Centaur 6-A, the space
power chamber series is the sec-
ond battery of tests to which it
has been subjected. Previously,
the vehicle was used for valida-
tion purposes at Cape Kennedy.ASTRO ENGINEER
NATIONAL WINNER
A GD/Astronautics research
engineer, Dee Clinton Passey
(Dept. 965-3) has just received
word of victory in a national
contest he won while studying at
the University of Utah, Salt Lake
City.
Passey won the Undergraduate
Division National Award in a
contest staged by the American
Institute of Aeronautics and As-
tronautics during 1963. Final
judging was based on papers
presented.
Winning the Salt Lake City
local contest, Passey went to Fort
Worth for the Southwest Re-
gional. He then sent his paper
titled "An inertial range com-
puting device for a small two-
stage ballistic missile," to nation-
al headquarters in New York.
Passey will receive his award
in Los Angeles in May.
He received both BS and MS
degrees in electrical engineering
in 1963, joining Astro last Sep-
tember.
NOVEL STRUCTURE
TESTING RADOMES
An unusual structure designed
and developed by General Dy-
namics/Electronics - San Diego
engineers and technicians, is now
being put to use in the testing of
large radomes.
The device consists of two main
parts: a support on which large
radomes can be supported in
many orientations relative to a
fixed antenna enclosed by the
radome, and a platform which canHot Development
'Tender Loving Care' Lavished
As F-111 Wing Section FormedImagine wearing a $435 suit on
the job and working only 15
minutes at a spell!
That's the "plight" of welders
in GD/Fort Worth's Dept. 37
(high-temperature welding and
machining) when hand-welding
the F-111 wing carry-through sec-
tion (pivot support fitting and
wing pivot fitting).
But there's a catch. The ex-
pensive "suit" is a fire and heat-
resistant asbestos unit. The 15-
minute "work stint" is about the
longest sustained period of time
General Foreman E. G. Hender-
son thinks a man should spend in
a "hot box." Reason: tempera-
tures are kept at a constant 300
degrees F. throughout the hand-
welding operation.
"We're using D6AC steel on
this F-111 part," Henderson said.
"It's tougher than conventional
steel and must be welded at this
high temperature to maintain its
chemical integrity."
Sixteen hours of hand-welding
are required on the big F-111
carry-through section. But this is
only a fraction of the time Dept.
37 spends assembling, testing,
drilling and reaming the vital F-
111 part.
Overall, the complete job takes
Traffic Supervisor
To Chair Committee
J. W. Higgins, GD/Astronau-
tics traffic supervisor, has been
elected chairman of the rate and
rl cifin i ci ih n m bn i fseveral weeks-and more "tender
loving care" than Henderson has
even seen put into a structural
airplane part.
After bench assembling detail
parts of the section in Dept. 37,
the meticulous welding job is
begun.
The section is placed on one of
two large positioners which can
be completely rotated vertically
under an overhead automatic
welder. The wing section is then
enclosed in the giant hot box, a
special 16-foot long, 8,900-pound
steel container lined with a series
of heaters.
"The hot box has removable
panels," Henderson said. "Thus
after the wing section is heated
to 300 degrees F., it is rotated
under the automatic welder, the
panel removed, and the weldment
made. This process is repeated
until the bottom is welded en-
tirely around the wing section."
Then comes the intricate hand-
welding of inside parts. The hot-
box top is removed, and the sec-
tion is covered with an asbestos
covering to maintain the constant
300 degrees F. temperature. Only
area exposed is that relatively
small section to be welded.
The operator dons an asbestos
suit, and heavy heat-resistant
gloves, and drapes himself in
glass-impregnated blankets. He
then goes to work making "ex-
pert welds" in an area hot enough
to bake a cake.rr ,
i~anxiP
AA
WARM WORK - In photo at left, GD/Fort Worth's Willis Moon Jr. and J. N.
Cummins, metal fitters, ready small area of F-i11 wing carry-through section.-
inside "hot box" - for hand weldment. Asbestos blankets help keep temperatureat 300 deg. F. Center: E. J. Bundick, welder, dons special gear and (at right) car-
ries out assignment in area "hot enough to cook biscuits." Air is blown into his
suit through headpiece.GENERAL DYNAMICS NEWS
Wednesday, April 8, 1964
Page 2
be w 1y1LcLasss i te 01 To keep the operator relatively
be positioned in an arc lying in a Aerospace Industries Association's co knep the eavy rslated
vertical plane.WsenTafcCmite. cool inside the heavy insulated
verad e plane.Western Traffic Committee. clothing, air is blown inside his
The radome supporting plat- The AA committee is made uprees suit constantly through an air
f of traffic managers of principal manifold system.
about an axis perpendicular to manufacturers of aircraft, mis- a y
the platform. Thus, a wide range siles, spacecraft and components After welding, the big part is
of azimuth and elevation posi- with factories in the west. flushed, cleaned, sandblasted and
tions can be obtained. given thorough magnetic-particle
and X-ray tests.
Later, the piece is cleaned and
given a final stress-relief heating
at 1,250 degrees F. as insurance
against shrinkage.
The carry-through section is
then sent to a Fort Worth vendor
for more intensive heat treatment.
After being returned to GD/
FW, the part is processed through
machine shop, then shot-peened
to make the section more uniform
and to prevent stress corrosion.
Aluminum .004 to .006 inches
thick, is sprayed on, and another
chemical sprayed on to protect
the aluminum coating.
The part is returned to Dept.
37 for complete drilling and
reaming, an intricate process that
will make new demands-includ-
ing tapered holes-on workmen.
"This drilling is the most pre-
cise we've ever attempted," Hen-
derson said. "Right now we're
spending long hours in classrooms
and workshops perfecting this
one vital operation. We're bring-
ing in experts to help us, and
'ven experts to help the experts."
After drilling and coating in-
'SWINGING" PLATFORM - Unique structure developed by GD side, the carry-through section
Electronics - SD engineers for testing large airborne radomes is is ready for shipment to assembly
checked by H. A. Swanton, GD/E senior design engineer, and E. L. -where it literally becomes a
Rope, test engineer, during checkout of 17x4% x3-ft. radome. part on which the airplane's sue-
Coss hinges.A
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General Dynamics Corporation. Convair Division. General Dynamics News, Volume 17, Number 8, April 8, 1964, periodical, April 8, 1964; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1168165/m1/2/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.