10/10/07
Students taking any one of a number of land-based industry training
courses at Hadlow College, the rural skills centre near Tonbridge,
Kent, are getting behind the wheel of a new tractor to learn how
properly to use such machines.
Machinery lecturer Andy Hall (second from left) receives the keys to Hadlow College’s new McCormick CX105 XtraShift tractor from Marcus Glover of Kent dealer LandTecnics, with Hadlow technician Graham Simpson (right) and McCormick area manager David Redman.
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The college has taken delivery of a McCormick CX105 XtraShift,
which lecturers will use for instruction and training on efficient
operation and safe driving practices.
The McCormick was chosen by the college’s Machinery Department
as representative of the sort of tractor students are likely to
operate in farming and other rural businesses.
“We like to have a mix of tractors to give students experience
of different makes and models,” explains Andy Hall, head
of Hadlow’s machinery department. “The McCormick is
representative of a good general-purpose tractor and we like its
down-to-earth, uncomplicated specification.”
Another good reason for choosing the CX105 is that it is one of
the most popular tractors of its size and power, adds Marcus Glover
of LandTecnics, the McCormick retail sales and service dealer for
Kent, based at Wrotham Heath near Maidstone.
“It’s the best-selling McCormick model in Britain
so there’s a good chance that the Hadlow students will find
themselves driving one in their future careers,” he explains.
The Perkins 1100-series engined CX105 is the most powerful of
four models in the range, which spans 84hp to 102hp. It can be
had with a basic manual gearbox or McCormick’s XtraShift
semi-powershift transmission, as fitted to the Hadlow College example.
Learning how to operate a tractor safely and efficiently is covered
in several of Hadlow’s Further and Higher education courses
in agriculture, commercial horticulture, land management and equine
studies.
“We teach students the basics of how to drive and properly
control a tractor before they go on to do some field work, such
as ploughing and cultivations,” explains technical instructor
Graham Simpson. “Not all our students are from a farming
background, so they need the experience – and even those
that do come from farms benefit from being shown how to use a tractor
safely.”
With its spacious cab, upholstered passenger seat, large windows
for good all-round visibility, light steering and easy-to-use,
logically-placed controls, the McCormick CX105 XtraShift is an
ideal tractor for the teaching role as well as for commercial use
operating a wide range of equipment and implements.
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