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By: 19th June 2018 at 14:32 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-I think your biggest issue is that whether static or airworthy, the labour required to make these from aluminium is the same. Or are you wanting them in wood?
FB
By: 19th June 2018 at 14:45 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Aluminium FB. One difference is that commercial aluminium is a lot softer and easier to work...
By: 19th June 2018 at 14:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-But still requires the tooling! The difference is negligible.
By: 19th June 2018 at 15:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Exactly, probably virtually the same as if likely to have to support its own weight, your softer commercial ally would then have to be heat treated to take the loads required. Tooling costs will be considerable, and those already with said tooling aren’t going to let it be used cheaply.
FB
By: 19th June 2018 at 16:30 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Wasnt there a company in the Isle of Wight that did Spitfire airframes?
By: 19th June 2018 at 20:02 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Thanks for your input guys. I’m afraid you are way off the mark if you think you can compare the fabrication of most static vs airworthy projects. I had some airworthy frame 11 parts made fairly recently and the workmanship is exquisite.
I never heard of any of the homebuilt Spitfire cockpit projects having parts heat treated either. For most applications this simply isn’t necessary.
So to avoid any further thread creep, does anyone know of anyone doing these please? I’m not interested in getting into an argument about the details and costs. They are my problem, no one elses.
By: 19th June 2018 at 20:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Malcolm Goosey was flogging some frames at aerojumbles until quite recently. He may be worth contacting via his website?
By: 19th June 2018 at 20:11 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Thanks AM
By: 19th June 2018 at 22:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-He sold those frames. Make them yourself Elliott! It’s cheaper and not that difficult- for a static!
By: 19th June 2018 at 22:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Get a set of drawings,print off full size,glue onto wood,cutout and cleanup,trace onto 1mm aluminium adding flange thickness of 15mm,cutout and clean,sandwich between wooden formers,hammerform,drill out rivet holes and do lightening holes,frame complete..Easy.?
By: 19th June 2018 at 22:47 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Parnell Engineering in Cornwall?
edit: These guys:
https://www.facebook.com/ParnallEngineeringAdvanced/
By: 20th June 2018 at 10:25 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Hi Elliot, Martin Philips was knocking out frames a while ago , he may have a few left, Likewise Mr Adlam, also I believe the Boultbee group were/are producing a spitfire simulator, they maybe able to help; most of these non airworthy frames are made out of NS4 (5152?) perfectly strong enough to take it's own weight! in fact it's actually quite difficult to get "soft" aluminium these days as almost all of it is heat treated to T6 hardness
By: 20th June 2018 at 18:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Thanks everyone who responded. I think I found what I was looking for :)
By: 22nd June 2018 at 09:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-On Dutch auction site Marktplaats.nl a frame 11 is for sale. Possibly from a Dutch Spit. It has some damage but is mostly complete.
Cheers
Cees
By: 23rd June 2018 at 11:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-no interest in an original piece of Spitfire then?:D
Cees
By: 23rd June 2018 at 13:04 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-Yes Cees, it's already been sold. Thanks for the heads up by the way!:eagerness:
By: 23rd June 2018 at 14:04 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-I saw it Cees - thanks for mentioning it
By: 23rd June 2018 at 17:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
-ok, visited the tangmere museum today and there was a very nice spitfire fuselage reconstruction on show.
cees
By: 28th July 2019 at 08:41 Permalink
-Have just found this thread whilst searching for some info. FYI Do not print off drawings full size to use as templates, they are distorted & you’ll end up with a banana shaped Spitfire ! The best way to manufacture formers is to reproduce the Supermarine drawing in CAD & use that as a basis for a 3D CAD model to have formers 5 axis CNC machined. it’s what I’ve done.
By: 28th July 2019 at 10:32 Permalink
-Not unless you draw lines on it at the centreline and out at every 4" and spline the line by hand.Only do it in halves and you should be ok.But definitely CAD is the most accurate way :)
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By: Whitley_Project - 19th June 2018 at 13:50
Can anyone suggest a sensibly priced source for these please?
Thanks