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Technology update
Ready for sea
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The T45 Goshawk trainer is manufactured by BAE Systems and supplied to the U.S. Navy, via Boeing, for aircraft-carrier pilot training. The T45 is a naval version of the long-established Hawk trainer, with a specification appropriate to a marine environment. An important element of the T-45's development was re-engineering the Hawk's engine diaphragm, not only to counter the effects of a high salt-level environment, but also to withstand the
repetitive shocks of carrier landings by student pilots. BAE Systems has given Brookhouse Aerospace the responsibility for this work.
The engine diaphragm is a structural component of the T45 that secures the powerplant to the fuselage. It is bolted to the aircraft's structure before the engine is bolted to it.
Brookhouse was supplied with CATIA information of the required finished diaphragm and the data were used to design and manufacture the tooling necessary to produce both sheet-metal and solid components.
Sheet-metal components of the diaphragm were produced either on the company's 2500-t rubber press or via purpose-designed forming tools. The solid components were produced in-house on precision NC machine tools. Front and aft sections of the diaphragm were then painted and treated before assembly on specially built jigs. Individual components were fixed in place using titanium bolts rather than rivets
to meet the environment specification. The company also produced exact representations of the engine holding spigots to ensure total interchangeability of the diaphragms.
Brookhouse specializes in the design and manufacture of tools and components involving metals and composite materials and has manufacturing experience embracing a range of aircraft types, from the Eurofighter Typhoon to Airbus airliners.
Stuart Birch
Aerospace Engineering May 2000
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