Rapid Platforms, part of the AFI group of companies, has assisted the Duxford Aviation Society with essential maintenance works on aircraft at the Imperial War Museum.
Rapid Platforms were called to a site-survey a job at the well-known Imperial War Museum in Duxford for the Duxford Aviation Society. Based on the M11 near to Stansted Airport, Rapid Platforms are
ideally situated for Duxford. The experienced team conducted a site-survey, and a Hybrid Niftylift HR21 was recommended, a versatile, easy-to-use self-propelled cherry picker, ideal for this type of aircraft maintenance work.
The Duxford Aviation Society (DAS) is a voluntary organisation established in 1975 and a partner organisation of the Imperial War Museum (IWM). In this case, the Society needed to undertake some essential refurbishment work on the top of the tailplane of its Vickers VC10. The VC10 is a British built commercial aircraft that operated from the 1960s to the 1980s and still holds the record for the fastest sub-sonic transatlantic crossing. It is the tallest aircraft in the British Airliner Collection and none of the Society’s own powered access equipment could reach the top of the tailplane.
Peter Archer, Chairman Duxford Aviation Society said: “Because they know the Duxford site and the area, Rapid Platforms were able to recommend the Niftylift MEWP. Our engineers used the machine so that they could get over and around the tailplane of the VC-10, to work on that particular part of the aircraft. We were very happy with the versatility of the machine which was on site for about a week.”
The Niftylift HR21 will lift 2 persons and their tools to a working height of 20.8m or a working outreach of 13m. Proportional controls deliver smooth, measured operation while 160º cage rotation and a 150º fly-boom allow precise positioning anywhere in its vast working envelope. It combines innovative weight and space-saving design with an excellent turning circle to deliver outstanding manoeuvrability on-site and lower transportation costs. It recharges the batteries without a mains power source, giving a ‘fast-charge’ whenever the machine is idle and the engine running and an electric-only mode allows zero-emission operation, making it perfectly suited for indoor use, or for quiet, clean operation.
