Rex J Andrews was approached during the construction of the new multi story Adelaide Airport car park to solve a vibration isolation problem.
The Vickers Vimy was used for the first offical flight from England to Australia, flown by Ross and Keneth Smith from Adelaide. It resides in a purpose built glass hanger at Adelaide Airport.
During the Carpark construction vibration from raming the foundation piles may have disturbed the fragile airplane.
Rex J Andrews was tasked with jacking the delicate structure and placing it on isolators.
Several steel structures were designed and built at the Sydney facility to aid the process.
Simple pallet trolley jacks were used to lift the aeroplane safely and evenly to the height necessary to fit the isolators.
The process was complicated by unknown weights and deflections. The structures were designed to allow on the fly height changes whilst still complying with Australian Standards. several isolator weights were used to get even deflection when preloaded, ensuring maximum isolation advantage.
Sample Design Documents: VICKERS02-REV0.pdf