PDS Chairman, John Getty, Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand share a joke in Marrakesh.

The objective was to achieve the first ever nonstop circumnavigation of the world by manned balloon. To be able to claim the record, the balloon had to travel a minimum distance of four radians of the earth. The 1998 attempt covered approximately 15,000 miles propelled only by the wind climbing to a height of up to 30,000 feet and speeds of around 250 miles per hour.

The envelope canopy for the huge balloon begins to take shape in the Per Lindstrand factory in Oswestry.

Using the winds of the Jet Stream the brave pilots travelled all the way from Morocco before ditching off Hawaii.

The fabric balloon was 1.1 million cubic feet and a combined hot air / helium type. The large Capsule and the critical parts made by PDS all performed faultlessly and Per Lindstrand complimented us on the quality and accuracy of all our work. In the near future Virgin and Richard Branson may well pick up the challenge once more and attempt either the first ladies circumnavigation or perhaps the “First Ever Roun the World Balloon Race”.

You can be sure that PDS will be there creating the best machined parts and pressure capsules for Lindstrand Balloons.

Virgin Atlantic Balloon “Capsule” for Richard Branson comprised many precision parts engineered by PDS in Nelson, Lancashire.

Back to the future… No matter how old the technology, there are always new and better ways to put that technology to work for mankind.

Annette Getty - PDS Quality Manager has been designated “Lady Driver” and will hopefully attempt a Ladies’ World Landspeed Record in late 2009. Annette has been instrumental in Project Managing the manufacture of many of the critical components for the steam car

PDS have been recently working closely with the designer from the British Steam Car Challenge Team to shape and build special steel tubing for the chassis of this exciting project. We began the process by cutting the square section T59 tubes into lengths and then machining them extremely accurately to create the piece parts required for assembling by welding together on the special Jig that we built in our factory in Nelson.

The car is designed to exceed 300 mph and will be the fastest ever vehicle to be powered by steam.

Follow the project at www.steamcar.co.uk

PDS technicians check the welded sections of the spaceframe in the PDS clean room assembly area in Lancashire

From an idea – to a world beater, an artist’s impression becomes an impressive reality. This first look at the proposed car was very close to the final product.

Thrust SSC in build at Farnborough in Q Shed, One of PDS’ skilled engineers fitting one of their high precision hubs and stub axles which performed faultlessly on the Supersonic Car.

Some of the Special Projects which have been performed by our small company are truly regarded as being “World Class”.

A British fighter aircraft tethered to a crane was first transported to the south and then assembled by one of our Directors, a Forty foot long Monster Car which rumbled almost silently across the desert with the sound of its mighty engines coming along behind later.

Oil Rigs of the North Sea, Britain’s fastest electric powered car, the World’s first global balloon, in fact anywhere where there is a special need for outstanding engineering skill and dedication to purpose you may well find the members of Team PDS.

Tethered Harrier at Shoeburyness

From initial concept drawing through to actual assembly we have staff who have the capability to assist our customers in even their wildest ambitions.

Hydraulics and pipes

This Aseptic sachet filling plant was built from scratch in just over 3 weeks, with the final build and testing in our clean room facility.

The customer came to PDS with an idea and some sketches and was assisted at all stages of the creation of the machine from the manufacturing of the chassis and then components right through to the finished product assembly.

The basic frame was manufactured in stainless steel section and the cabinets were made in situ. We then built the electronics and electrical circuit boards in our own workshops. The hydraulics were then assembled and all the necessary pipework was created and connected and then the machine was tested for basic operations by ourselves.

Wiring assembly in situ

Ironing out all the teething problems for the customer by a series of detail consultations and information transfer, we were finally able to deliver to them a completely finished working prototype within four weeks of initial order. This tested out Aseptically at 100% at first attempt!

If you have a requirement for product manufacture and/or design development assistance we can offer a wide range of ‘in house’ services which will enable your project to progress in the shortest possible time.

When Results Count – Count on PDS

Manufactured by PDS

Fully computerised plant gives top class control & reliability of operation

We were asked to manufacture a working prototype for a customer who because of the high component costs involved needed a saleable item to help recover some of the development costs. The first product built was tested and developed to a high standard to iron out any problems. Once the reliability was assured the piece was then sold on to bring in some revenue. This gave our customer the support and confidence to build a further 4 of these complex machines.

Our customer’s initial expectation was for PDS to assist him with the concept, design and CAD preparation of the product drawings for his product. The customer was so impressed with our constant support & cooperation on the first prototype, he asked PDS to manufacture all his products as the engineering arm of his operation.

Most impressive is the clean down product change time of approximately 4 minutes without any stripping down of the machinery. The finished item ready for shipment to the customer.

When Results Count – Count on PDS

Detail of bottle cleaning plant clearly shows the holding method being crushproof keeps the

Utilising a 12” Diameter twin blade propeller turning at 6200 RPM and driven by a 650bhp V8 Chevy Big engine running on Avgas; Miss Windermere VI reached speeds of over 155 mph, smashing though a series of World Records including fastest ever on wood, fastest boat on Windermere and the Unlimited Hydroplane record.

Aerospace Engineering “On the Water”

A new upgraded propeller shaft from PDS comfortably allowed the V8 Engine to deliver maximum power (650bhp) without fear of twist or shearing as previous attempts had suffered.

Underside view showing the newly machined shaft in place ready to test.

The propeller was also reworked in our Nelson workshops by wire erosion cutting to incredibly accurate tolerances. The centre location hole was increased on the taper to make it fit accurately on the new location.

PDS Engineering stood by to give urgent backup during the record season in case emergency alterations or redesigned components were required. This is the same facility which was utilised by Richard Noble for the THRUST SSC in Black Rock Desert Nevada for the World Landspeed Record runs and also by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson for the “Round the World Balloon”.

Another project which Nelson based Precision Engineering Company PDS has worked extensively is yet another potential World Beater. Working with the late Ken Norris (the man who designed Donald Campbells’ Bluebird car and boat both of which held their respective World Speed Records) PDS have begun building a boat called Quicksilver to attempt the record on Lake Coniston in the millennium year.

The driver of the jet engined contender is proposed to be writer Nigel Macknight who has been researching and developing Ken Norris’s concept for about fifteen years. To achieve the motive power for the speeds required, the Quicksilver team has purchased an RAF Buccaneer twin engined jet bomber to strip out the fully functioning engines, one of which will be fitted in the boat hull. The Rolls Royce Spey engines are of a similar type to those used in the Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) which was another project featuring heavy PDS involvement.

“To actually meet Ken Norris and John Ackroyd, the designers of the boat was a wonderful nostalgic experience” says John Getty the PDS Chairman, and long-time fan. “But to work closely with them as partners in such an exciting venture was awesome”. John Ackroyd was also the designer of the Thrust 2 car which Richard Noble drove to a World Land Speed record in the early eighties. “These men are renowned as two of the best designers in the world with a wealth of experience at the ‘sharp end’ of record breaking.

It is a great honour to be regarded as equal to the challenge alongside them”.We were really pleased the day when the space frame of the boat rolled out of our works in Nelson and hopefully into History. Checkout the Quicksilver website; www.quicksilver-wsr.com

With the Quicksilver record boat and now a British Steam Car in the making, 2009 promises to be a cracking year for all the lads in Nelson as they aim for even greater success at the highest levels of high technology engineering.