FPT Industries was formed in 1939 as Fireproof Tanks Ltd (commonly known as FPT)[1] in the boardroom of Airspeed Ltd at Portsmouth Airport in response to an Air Ministry requirement for the development and manufacture of self-sealing fuel tanks for the impending war with Germany. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article describes the company Airspeed Ltd For the technical concept see Airspeed. History See also History of Portsmouth There have been settlements in the area since before Roman times mostly being offshoots of Portchester, which In Aviation, self-sealing fuel tank is a Fuel tank technology in wide use since World War II that prevents fuel tanks primarily on Aircraft from Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
The intention of the board of directors was to commence work on the manufacture of self-sealing fuel tanks for aircraft entering service with the Royal Air Force, the highest priority being the Fairey Battle single engined bomber which although obsolete was regarded as a front line bomber by the Royal Air Force. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A bomber is a Military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets primarily by dropping Bombs on them
The early tanks were of welded aluminium structure with the sealing material applied as a composite layer on the outside. WikipediaNaming A major problem with welded aluminium tanks is weld decay and metal fatigue in the seams due to vibration in service. Intergranular corrosion ( IGC) also termed intergranular attack ( IGA) is a form of Corrosion where the boundaries of Crystallites Vibration refers to mechanical Oscillations about an equilibrium point. In response to this the company started to develop flexible fuel bladders in the early 1940s. One of the earliest examples of this was a composite flexible fuel bladder with self sealing coatings for the Supermarine Spitfire MkIX. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
Post war
During the war years and into the emerging jet age Fireproof Tanks Ltd developed new technologies in rubber formulation, moulding and sheet production in order to remain a leader in other specialist markets such as the creation of hovercraft skirts. A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by Working with Saunders Roe at Cowes on the Isle of Wight the company became so important to the hovercraft industry that the now renamed FPT Industries was bought by the British Hovercraft Corporation in 1966. Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works East Cowes, Isle of Wight. Cowes is an English Seaport town on the Isle of Wight, an island south of Southampton. The Isle of Wight is an English Island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km from the south coast of the British Hovercraft Corporation was the corporate entity created when the Saunders Roe division of Westland Aircraft and Vickers Supermarine combined March Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar.
Rationalisation of the aircraft industry
The British Hovercraft Corporation was eventually bought out by Westland Helicopters of Yeovil and a period of stability came along as Westlands developed new cutting edge composite material manufacture as part of their approach to advanced helicopter design and hovercraft construction. Westland Aircraft was a British Aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset. Yeovil (ˈjovɪl is a town in south Somerset, England, on the A30 and A37. Composite materials (or composites for short are engineered Materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by This paid dividends with advances in rotor blade design such as BERP now seen on the Westland Lynx and EH101 helicopters. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
Post 1990 and the GKN buyout
In the 1990s Westland Group were purchased by GKN Plc who restructured the businesses before selling their shares in Westland Helicopters to Agusta of Italy. GKN plc ( is a leading British Engineering company The Company was formerly known as Guest Keen and Nettlefolds and can tracing its origins back Augusta Agusta (now part of AgustaWestland) is an Italian Helicopter manufacturer Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Finding the advanced composite business that Westlands had developed attractive, GKN retained the other Westland companies and renamed them as GKN Aerospace.
During this time FPT Industries diversified again by developing advanced materials for helicopter Emergency Flotation Systems (EFS) and now manufactures EFS equipment for many large commercial and military helicopter types. Emergency Flotation Systems (EFS are emergency systems installed on larger commercial and military Helicopters in order to prevent the Airframe sinking in the event
GKN Aerospace Services Ltd-FPT Industries, as the business is now known, still manufacture self sealing fuel tanks, other fuel systems as well as helicopter EFS.
FPT Industries together with Portsmouth Aviation and Hants & Sussex Aviation are now all that remain of the once very large aircraft manufacturing base at Portsmouth Airport(UK) that once built aircraft such as the Airspeed Oxford, the Horsa glider and the Hawker Siddeley Trident. Portsmouth Airport was situated at the northwest corner of Portsea Island on the south coast of England and was one of the last remaining commercial grass Runway WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Trident, model DH121 or HS121, was a British short/medium-range three-engined Airliner designed by De Havilland
FPT Industries was formed in 1939 as Fireproof Tanks Ltd (commonly known as FPT) in the boardroom of Airspeed Ltd at PortsmouthDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic