Transport Vith a Difference
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A Specialized Fleet at Manchester's Ringway Airport Deals with FireFighting, Freight-Handling, Traffic Control and Maintenance By Ashley Taylor,
A.M.I.R.T.E.
BRITAIN'S largest municipal airport, Manchester's Ringway, is handling a steadily growing number of passengers and volume of freight. A clear indication of the weight of traffic passing through Britain's second largest airport may be assessed from figures that show 511,912 passengers used the airport during 1958. This is an increase of 26,963 over the previous year's total and is nearly twice the number of passengers handled at Ringway five years ago.
Civil aircraft movements last year numbered 29,329, or 2,392 greater than in 1957. Freight, in short tonnage, showed an increase of 888 over the previous year's amount with a 1958 total of 10,523. At peak times almost 5,000 passengers and 72 short tons of freight are handled in a day.
These figures imply that comprehensive ancillary services are essential in maintaining punctuality and it is mechanical transport, in various forms, that plays a vital part in the smooth running of the airport facilities.
The airport estate covers an area of 660 acres, on which there are some 1,630 yd. of private road, 24 miles of runway and 2+ miles of taxiways. Here, lighting services, such as the highand low-intensity runway and approach lights, taxiway lighting and mercury-vapour road lights, are provided. Approach and runway lights, in particular, must be maintained to a high standard, and for this purpose mobile equipment is essential.
Surface cleaning must also be car
ried out and in bad weather grit has to be spread. Salt must not be used because of its corrosive effect on aircraft structures, Furthermore, completely reliable Mobile emergency and fire-fighting equipment is vital.
To meet these varied needs the corporation's airport department has built up a fleet of fire and rescue appliances, freight-handling equipment, fork-lift trucks and general vehicles. In the first classification are two Rolls-Royce Thornycroft B81 6 x 6 foam tenders and a MercedesBenz Unimog 4 x 4 rescue tender.
The freight-handling group's tractors .and trailers comprise a .Lansing Bagnall type. P electric tug, two Lan-Sing Bagnall T.O.E.R.f electric tractors, three Lister T.C.N. 2-ton freight trailers; three Harbilt 5511 tugs, two Coles Electric Eels, two Lister NU9G Auto-Trucks, three Fordson Major agricultural tractors, a David Brown Taskmaster tractor, a Jumbo hydraulic
crane, three catering trucks, 62 Eccles baggage trucks, each of 1-ton capacity, and a toilet servicing machine. Forklift trucks are represented by an electric Lansing Bagnall type P.F., three Conveyancer E3-20 models, a Conveyancer with Perkins four-cyfindered oil engine, and a Conveyancer type E6-24.
General-service vehicles include three Bedford C.A. 10-12-cwt. vans, a Bedford 4-ton tipper, a Bedford 5-ton tipper, a Bedford 3-ton longwheelbase truck, a Bedford-Pattison 30-cwt. tipper, a Humber Hawk saloon and two Atkinson sand and grit spreaders.
At the moment the airport is being extended and the airport .director, Mr, G. A. Harvey, told rue that certain items of new equipment had been specially designed to meet the requirements of the future. The main buildingsshould be completed next year, and their construction had been designed to expedite the movement of baggage to and from aircraft. The new runways will take any aircraft without a weight penalty and when they come into use at Manchester, Britannias and Comets will immediately be able to use the airport.
Apron-level Handling The apron will be flanked by twin piers, one for domestic and one for international traffic, with parking space for a total of 22 aircraft at the piers. A further 10 stands will be available for freighters and other aircraft. Both within the building and on the piers, baggage will be handled at apron level, whilst passengers will use the first floor. Only foreign baggage will be handled at first-floor level.
The corporation's plan to acquire additional land beyond the south-west end of the main runway has been approved., This also includes a scheme for halting traffic on the WilmslowAltrincham rOad when exceptionally large aircraft are taking-off and landing. However, if the main runway is extended, which would then enable such machines as the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8 to use it, the highway may be taken underneath the runway by means of a tunnel.
With future needs in mind the airport department approached Lansing Bagnall, Ltd., Basingstoke, to provide battery-operated electric tractors for the baggage trains. They would have to deal effectively with a 1-in-4 ascent, when towing a possible load of 8,000 lb. A further requirement was that the unit should be capable of negotiating sharp corners in narrow passageways. Much development work was performed by Lansing Bagnall, Ltd., who finally delivered -a tractor to the corporation's satisfaction.
. At present, two Lansing Bagnall electric trucks are available at the airport. On average they cover over 300 miles per week during the summer
periodand about .100 per week in winter. In addition, , two Eleatic Eels,. two Lister tugs and a . David Brown tractor are employed
on apron work.
At peak times these are all in use, but at normal periods they are about 30 per cent. employed. When not in operation the electric tractors are stored in the main garage, where there are nine points available for battery charging. Many more electric tractors are likely to• be bought when the expansion of the airport is complete..
The Taylor 3-ton crane, is a necessity for breakdown purposes, but it also has a variety of "bread and butter" functions. A detachable platform can be fitted to the jib to enable maintenance work to be carried, out at high levels, such as within hangars, and on obstruction and road-lighting maintenance. Typical of other work which may be performed by this crane is the lifting of the many concrete manhole covers for servicing runway lights.
High-speed Gritting
During frosty or snowy weather large quantities of grit have to be spread on the runways. Big expanses require to be treated at high speed. A search was made for gritting equipment that would work with maximum efficiency at 30 m.p.h. and two Atkinson mechanical gritters were chosen. They are towed behind Bedford 5-ton tippers. For the Cleansing of the runways and airport roads, Lewin rotary brushes, hauled by tractors, are employed.
Fire appliances at Ringway consist c21 of two major dual-purpose units, producing foam or water jets, and a rescue vehicle. As aircraft in trouble rarely stay on the runways, low-pressure tyres, which facilitate travel over soft or rough ground, were regarded as essential for all fire-fighting appliances.
At first some difficulty was experienced in obtaining covers of the right dimensions for the foam tenders, and at one stage purchase of continental supplies was considered. However, after investigation, the Dunlop organization produced tyres of the right contour and size. With these it is possible to use pressures of 30 p.s.i. during periods of prolonged rainfall. When the ground is hard they may be inflated up to 75 p.s.i.
Aircraft crashes are always a possibility and emergency services must be able to reach and tackle difficult Country as rapidly as possible. This subject was given serious consideration by Mr. Harvey and his chief fire officer. As a result, Manchester now possesses the only • Mercedes-Benz Unimog fire tender in Britain. This machine, fully equipped, cost close on £5,000, but because of its versatility the money is regarded as well spent.
In general terms the Unimog can be regarded as a 2-tonner that is as fast on main roads as a car, and as manceuvrable on rough country as a tracklayer. The articulation of the axles is remarkable. Vertical steps of over 15 in. can be negotiated, gradients of I in 11 can be climbed, and water over 2 ft. 6 in. deep can be forded.
This appliance can safely be tilted sideways to angles up to 440 from horizontal and, with a superior performance on soft boggy ground, the Unimog can be retied upon to reach difficult locations in a manner that would be impossible with any conventional machine.
Ringway's Unimog is equipped with V.H.F. two-way radio and loud-hailer, two John Kerr 220-1b. dry chemical extinguishers, three 80-lb. CO, cylinders and hose-reel equipment, a Black and Decker electrically powered aircraft-rescue saw, and two 1,000-W. portable searchlights.
The electric generator, designed to
operate all electric equipment simultaneously, is driven by front power take-off and three 100-ft. reels of electric cable allow considerable free movement for many items of ancillary equipment. The machine may be fitted with various attachments. to the power take-off and so used for numerous duties in addition to its main function.
For transport of the airport police a Bedford Workabus van is used. Police officers are regularly on special traffic control. As a safety measure, when certain large transatlantic aircraft are landing or taking-off, traffic on the road beyond the end of the main runway is halted. Police going out from their office to the control point, about two miles distant, in the Bedford van, receive direct orders by radio from the air traffic control tower.
Maintenance of the airport vehicles and equipment is the responsibility of the station engineer and all vehicles are subjected to regular inspection and maintenance, based on intervals of time rather than on mileage.