Neville Duke RIP

[bzn20]

 

1 hour ago, viscount806x said:

Nige B

 

You'll know about this!

 

Edgley Pt 3

 

I was going to stop at Pt2 but after going through the previous posts, up sparked another batch I'd forgotten about.

 

Looms. They are a set length with breakouts at intervals where drawn/called up to go to a component/switch the loom continues on. Enough cable to connect to required component, not tight as a guitar string or excess to hide and extra weight. On one Optica a few for the same circuit were short. The cables would have to be taken out of a bunch, Ty-Wraps snipped in clamped and new wiring made up and installed to drawing. Only the loom has to come out,all of it. Quite a bit was hidden and trying to put a few wires in wasn't possible...The Production manager, The Boot expert from Norhampton was blowing steam . No chance add a bit to the end ! The leckies were telling him or trying. Not allowed, its got to be one length, no breaks, connectors, its coming out. The whole loom. He couldn't understand...The CAA will not allow it, the inspector won't allow it to get that far as the CAA anyway. The inspector is blowing steam now. Its coming out or get someone who knows as much as you to sign for it. We were stood around watching the inspector taking the boot man apart verbally, priceless. CAA? who are they? We'll get round them, just do it, add a bit. Inspector said The CAA are not the Girl Guides, a shoe shop, department store or wearers of Doc Martens. We were crying by now. In walks the Chief Inspector, he's heard about it now and in the hangar. Asks whats going on? He's told. Goes over to Mr Boots and they walk off a bit, have a  one sided conversation. Boots comes back......Take it out then ! He slopes off. More delays.

Couple of days later I'm in the cockpit and binnacle is in. I'm looking for  vac/pressure tubes (not 100% what they were) for some instruments so I can route it out of my way/don't  get trapped. Where are the tubes ? That's them there. Too short, What? Sure enough they are, got to be ripped out and correct lengths and almost as bad as the loom episode but by now Boots had learned and got on with it.

 

For a totally unconnected reason a guy in Electrical  design was made redundant as a cost cutting measure with a bit of a payoff. Within a month he's back as a consultant on £750 a day...A DAY ! 1985 !

 

The two  guys that made the cockpit frame strips, see pics of model above. They had to be wheeled to get the cruves and direction change otherwise they crease and buckle, sit up off the cockpit. True craftsmen. They were on £25 an hour but worth their weight in Gold.

 

Sales drive in Libya of all places. The Sales Manager is in his hotel taking a call from Edgley HQ. Hows it going kind of thing. Then they ask him to go to Egypt , they'll probably want some. In less than a minute the door burst open by armed people in suits and drag him off. Thought he was a spy or something. Edgleys were on the phone to the Foreign Office, Our man in Tripoli got him out pretty quickly.

Every day there was something happening.