Project Clinker, Hydraulic Carriage for Airship Installation of Optical Equipment.

摘要

Airship installation of delicate optical equipment often requires special rigging equipment not available commercially. One problem at this Laboratory called for the installation of an 8.5-foot-diameter mirror weighing nearly 2000 pounds, in a type ZPM-4 airship. The mirror was required to pass beneath a conical windscreen having a 5-foot clearance above the ground and be mounted within the screen at an angle of 45 degrees. One answer to this problem was a carriage having a top deck pivoted at one end. The movable deck was raised to the required angle by a motor driven hydraulic hoist of the type used commercially for dump trucks. The mirror was mounted on this movable deck by means of a wooden cradle which could then be drawn up the incline into position for installation in the airship. The inclined deck contains steel rollers to reduce friction and the cradle moves upward by means of an electric chain hoist. This hydraulic carriage was used successfully in many operations involving installation and removal of the mirror and resulted in a great saving of man-hours of rigging time.