Getting static Spitfire fuselage frames made

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Member for

24 years 2 months

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Can anyone suggest a sensibly priced source for these please?

Thanks

Original post

Member for

17 years

Posts: 1,037

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

Member for

24 years 2 months

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Aluminium FB. One difference is that commercial aluminium is a lot softer and easier to work...

Member for

24 years 2 months

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But still requires the tooling! The difference is negligible.

Member for

17 years

Posts: 1,037

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

Member for

6 years 6 months

Posts: 192

Wasnt there a company in the Isle of Wight that did Spitfire airframes?

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,835

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.

Member for

16 years 2 months

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Malcolm Goosey was flogging some frames at aerojumbles until quite recently. He may be worth contacting via his website?

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24 years 2 months

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Thanks AM

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19 years 2 months

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He sold those frames. Make them yourself Elliott! It’s cheaper and not that difficult- for a static!

Member for

17 years 11 months

Posts: 2,605

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.?

Member for

18 years 3 months

Posts: 2,025

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

Member for

24 years 2 months

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Thanks everyone who responded. I think I found what I was looking for :)

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 2,172

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

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 2,172

no interest in an original piece of Spitfire then?:D
Cees

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12 years 6 months

Posts: 171

Yes Cees, it's already been sold. Thanks for the heads up by the way!:eagerness:

Member for

24 years 2 months

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I saw it Cees - thanks for mentioning it

Member for

14 years 6 months

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ok, visited the tangmere museum today and there was a very nice spitfire fuselage reconstruction on show.
cees

Member for

7 years 7 months

Posts: 3

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.

Member for

17 years 11 months

Posts: 2,605

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 :)