No update this weekend I'm afraid, but I can tell you that we have recently bought a NOS Gee Indicator Unit and are continuing getting prepped for building the bomb bay. We have 5 off Bomb Crutch Assemblies to fabricate and we have to do some detail drawings to accomplish this. These will be essential in setting up the bomb frames.
Apologies for the lack of updates over the last few weeks; life gets in the way sometimes.
Nonetheless, we have been making slow but steady progress. In advance of getting the final drawings for the bomb bay keel structure finalised, Graham and I have been cannibalising our stock of bomb crutches to make a kit of parts for all 6 that we need. This is slow going as many of our recovered parts have suffered from corrosion and crash damage so ther's often some choice words when trying to remove corroded bolts etc. At least now we have a better idea of what needs fabricating and what can be re-used.
Whilst Graham was cursing and stripping down the crutches, I had another go at bead blasting our nearly complete example; it's looking better but I need to order some new media and perhaps get a new blast gun as it's becoming a bit worn out. The crutch assy just about fits inside the cabinet which makes handling it a bit awkward as well.
Finally, we took delivery this week of a Type 89 IFF Control unit, this will be installed in the W/Op position when the time comes; other than a bit of a clean it should be good to go when the time comes
Apologies, a bit late to the computer this week, but work and life gets in the way sometimes.
Saturday saw 4 of us at the workshop with Cliff in an artistic mood; so he broke out the paintbrush and has started on painting the jig which was delivered in red oxide primer. The fuselage once complete will remain on this for some considerable time, so it's important to protect it and to make it look presentable (professional) in the long term.
Whilst Graham continues to try and free up some of our bomb crutch mechanisms, I've started on fabricating a kit of parts for the other 5 bomb beams that are required. First off, are the brackets that attach the beam to the frames. On our original beam, I noted that one of the brackets was definitely suffering from a bad case of metal moth and as I have to make another 5 pairs it seemed rude not to replace it. I had intended on making the brackets using some original bend bars, but the material is too thick to fit inside them! Instead it was a trip to the bench folder,; having calculated a rough cut-off allowance it was with some trepidation that I made the first bend. Despite my concerns that due to it's thickness and not knowing the material spec, the bend turned out perfectly with no cracking and the side measuring exactly 1" as required....phew!! So having made a prototype, I was able to make 4 pairs only to discover that I didn't quite have enough material to make the last 2...grrr!!
Having transferred the holes from the corroded example to the new bracket, it was assembled with jointing compound (aka Yak sh!t to Riggers LOL) and 9 off 3/16" snap head rivets. I think you'll agree it looks a lot more serviceable now.
I'll be looking to refurbish our blasting cabinet, so will be replacing some items on it and will be ordering some more blasting media this week. The current media is getting a bit tired and I've taken some advice on some more specialist material; there's every chance that the cabinet will be called into use more frequently in the next few months (news on this to come....) so it needs to be in the best condition we can make it.
Finally, a bit of an explanation/apology. I imagine that with the delivery of the bomb frame blanks there might have been an expectation of some tangible manufacturing progress. However, a previous Project Lead once said to me that the cockpit flightdeck was the most complicated part of the build; I sort of disagree as whilst the flightdeck has a lot of small parts, the bomb bay is complex in its set up and almost every day we find out just how difficult it will be to assemble it. This is part of the reason why I've been working on the bomb beams as getting these made is essential to setting the frame distances on some of the bays and will also add a crucial amount of rigidity to the structure as we move through the assembly process.
I hope this manages expectations on this front as we have to get this right first time as there'll be little prospect of revisiting this if we mess up.
Unexpectedly managed to grab a few hours at the workshop yesterday.
Started off by making the last of the beam to frame support brackets, like the ones shown in the last update. Next job was to rivet the stop bracket on to the bomb hoist cover; there are a few more parts that can be attached but I need to find some spring steel for the spring that lifts the cover when the fastener is released. Should be a short job to complete it though, then it's only another 5 assemblies to make.
Finally, I had just enough time to have a first stab at making one of the side supports for a bomb beam. As this is 14swg thick, I had some concerns over bending it in our equipment, but I needn't have worried as dimensionally it turned out perfectly. Flanging the lightening holes was also a concern as I wondered if it was thicker than our tooling was cable of, but again it turned out fine.
Slowly but surely a kit of parts is coming together :o)
Finally, I'm pleased to report that in collaboration with Airfix, they kindly LIDAR scanned the remains of the Stirling centre fuselage section that's in store at Stafford. This is invaluable information that informs our CAD design for the upper fuselage and on first inspection it closely matches our hand measured dimensions and profile. Before any of you model makers get excited there's no plans for Airfix to make a new Stirling! A big thanks to them for helping us out.
Great progress John and excellent collaboration with Airfix- I think their kit (with tractor no less!) was the first introduction to the Stirling for many of us🙂
A quick pre-weekend update,. The value of the recent LIDAR scan is now being realised; David has taken the scan and overlayed it on a side view of a Stirling. Allied with the data from the type record, and details taken from existing wreckage, we have accurately plotted the structure between Fr26 and Fr5. This has had the benefit of confirming what we had deduced from calculation which is always good to know that you're on the right track.
It's the LIDAR scan of the Stafford centre section off LK488, it's been rotated and turned the right way up (It's currently stored upside down on a pallet :o)
First off, thanks to some good old fashioned collaboration between organisations, we have taken on an initial 3 month loan of a significant piece of Stirling structure from the City of Norwich Aircraft Museum. We had been tipped off that there was a large piece of structure in store which hadn't been identified previously, Cliff despatched himself to the museum and lo and behold it was indeed part of the bomb bay structure from a Stirling. It's origin has been lost over time, but it's suspected to have come from the wreck off Hemsby. It's over 8' long so too big to fit in a car; Cliff organised some transport and it's now secure in our workshop. We suspect it's from the stbd side of the bomb bay between Frs 18 and 22; this is a long way aft of where we're building but the frame pitches are identical between Frs 11 14 which we are constructing. This would equate to Bomb Station 10 on the aircraft. Initial investigation has revealed the structure that goes fore and aft of the bomb beam and details of the outboard bomb door torque tube supports. All of these were hitherto unknown to us :o)
Other than that, Cliff and Graham have made a start on some of the smaller brackets for the bomb beams and I folded the further 9 side pieces to the bomb beams following last weeks' prototype. Next time will result in the flanged holes in the side plates and pilot drill the numerous holes required to attach the structure together. We're starting to make significant inroads to the kit of parts for the 5 bomb beams that are needed for the build.
It's amazing what's still out there isn't it? Makes you wonder what else is hidden away! Great news that the CNAM are happy to share with you and good to see more progress.
New
Posts: 22
By: doughnut2020
- 1st June 2022 at 11:16Permalink
Seems a lot has happened in the workshop with that New Jig? You meantioned some parts coming from Norwich. I assume you know of the the upper fuselage section that hangs form the ceiling of the Manston Spitfire Memorial hangar ? Says it is from N6004, seems the tail wheel assembly has gone back to RAF Museum.
Another Stirling fuselage appear to be in a Museum in France, photos show a large section including crew access door and ladder. Never been there but website show photos. The place is south of Reims at Vraux
We have measured the section at Manston as part of our design efforts and we have close links with Vraux. I can only thank all of the museums and collections that have gladly assisted us over the years
Apologies for lack of posts lately, but it's been holiday season and also there's been a lot happening behind the scenes.
So we have some good/excellent news and some not so good news. Let's get the not so good out of the way first. After some 8 years at Alconbury, we have been given notice to vacate our building due to scheduled redevelopment of the site. We can't complain as our landlords have been extremely benevolent over this time, but it's disappointing nonetheless having just installed the jig. But all good things come to an end so we are on a look out for suitable premises in the vicinity :(
Now for the good news...
After several years of planning and enforced delays due to Covid, myself, Andy and Cliff travelled to the Netherlands last week to survey the remains of Stirling BK716 which as you may recall was salvaged by the RNLAF. Needless to say, we were unsighted as to what had actually been salvaged by them, having only had a few teasing photos of some parts that had been set aside for us. What greeted us was 26 off large crates full of aircraft parts and an ISO container with the larger parts (not including the engines and Landing gear). It was a truly mind boggling sight and we were unsure if 2 full days would be enough to accomplish the task. however with the assistance of Major Bart A, and his team of guys we all set to...
Progress was surprisingly quick and some interesting artefacts came to light immediately; the first part I picked off the first crate turned out to be an almost undamaged Propellor Feathering Panel (we had already made one of these previously based on an original). Parts then came thick and fast; fuselage sections, the extreme nose still showing the original profile, a damaged but more or less complete sloping bulkhead to the Bomb Aimers position/fwd bomb bay, Bomb Aimers panel, flying control runs etc etc. At the end of it all we had cleared the pile and ended up with a goodly pile of parts to bring back, not all of which would fit in the van unfortunately. But we have a cunning plan in that department ;o)
Lots of photos of what we brought back; I won't go into details but will elaborate if asked to identify any parts. Ignore any parts on pallets by the way...
Well that's certainly a mixed bag of news - sorry to hear you need to find a new home, hopefully you'll find somewhere suitable soon.
But on the flip side - wow - what a haul of parts! Looks like a lot of work sorting those out but all valuable stuff. Do you know what'll happen to the parts you don't take?
Posts: 10,169
By: Peter - 6th April 2022 at 15:51 Permalink
Excellent progress John and crew!
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 7th April 2022 at 18:55 Permalink
No update this weekend I'm afraid, but I can tell you that we have recently bought a NOS Gee Indicator Unit and are continuing getting prepped for building the bomb bay. We have 5 off Bomb Crutch Assemblies to fabricate and we have to do some detail drawings to accomplish this. These will be essential in setting up the bomb frames.
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 19th April 2022 at 07:46 Permalink
Apologies for the lack of updates over the last few weeks; life gets in the way sometimes.
Nonetheless, we have been making slow but steady progress. In advance of getting the final drawings for the bomb bay keel structure finalised, Graham and I have been cannibalising our stock of bomb crutches to make a kit of parts for all 6 that we need. This is slow going as many of our recovered parts have suffered from corrosion and crash damage so ther's often some choice words when trying to remove corroded bolts etc. At least now we have a better idea of what needs fabricating and what can be re-used.
Whilst Graham was cursing and stripping down the crutches, I had another go at bead blasting our nearly complete example; it's looking better but I need to order some new media and perhaps get a new blast gun as it's becoming a bit worn out. The crutch assy just about fits inside the cabinet which makes handling it a bit awkward as well.
Finally, we took delivery this week of a Type 89 IFF Control unit, this will be installed in the W/Op position when the time comes; other than a bit of a clean it should be good to go when the time comes
cheers
John
Posts: 716
By: Trolley Aux - 19th April 2022 at 09:24 Permalink
Thanks John and the guys, Stirling work as always !
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 26th April 2022 at 08:06 Permalink
Good morning all
Apologies, a bit late to the computer this week, but work and life gets in the way sometimes.
Saturday saw 4 of us at the workshop with Cliff in an artistic mood; so he broke out the paintbrush and has started on painting the jig which was delivered in red oxide primer. The fuselage once complete will remain on this for some considerable time, so it's important to protect it and to make it look presentable (professional) in the long term.
Whilst Graham continues to try and free up some of our bomb crutch mechanisms, I've started on fabricating a kit of parts for the other 5 bomb beams that are required. First off, are the brackets that attach the beam to the frames. On our original beam, I noted that one of the brackets was definitely suffering from a bad case of metal moth and as I have to make another 5 pairs it seemed rude not to replace it. I had intended on making the brackets using some original bend bars, but the material is too thick to fit inside them! Instead it was a trip to the bench folder,; having calculated a rough cut-off allowance it was with some trepidation that I made the first bend. Despite my concerns that due to it's thickness and not knowing the material spec, the bend turned out perfectly with no cracking and the side measuring exactly 1" as required....phew!! So having made a prototype, I was able to make 4 pairs only to discover that I didn't quite have enough material to make the last 2...grrr!!
Having transferred the holes from the corroded example to the new bracket, it was assembled with jointing compound (aka Yak sh!t to Riggers LOL) and 9 off 3/16" snap head rivets. I think you'll agree it looks a lot more serviceable now.
I'll be looking to refurbish our blasting cabinet, so will be replacing some items on it and will be ordering some more blasting media this week. The current media is getting a bit tired and I've taken some advice on some more specialist material; there's every chance that the cabinet will be called into use more frequently in the next few months (news on this to come....) so it needs to be in the best condition we can make it.
Finally, a bit of an explanation/apology. I imagine that with the delivery of the bomb frame blanks there might have been an expectation of some tangible manufacturing progress. However, a previous Project Lead once said to me that the cockpit flightdeck was the most complicated part of the build; I sort of disagree as whilst the flightdeck has a lot of small parts, the bomb bay is complex in its set up and almost every day we find out just how difficult it will be to assemble it. This is part of the reason why I've been working on the bomb beams as getting these made is essential to setting the frame distances on some of the bays and will also add a crucial amount of rigidity to the structure as we move through the assembly process.
I hope this manages expectations on this front as we have to get this right first time as there'll be little prospect of revisiting this if we mess up.
Till next
John
Posts: 716
By: Trolley Aux - 26th April 2022 at 11:51 Permalink
Flying along, super super super
Posts: 7,036
By: trumper - 26th April 2022 at 13:59 Permalink
Well done , just terrific
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 8th May 2022 at 09:00 Permalink
Morning all
Unexpectedly managed to grab a few hours at the workshop yesterday.
Started off by making the last of the beam to frame support brackets, like the ones shown in the last update. Next job was to rivet the stop bracket on to the bomb hoist cover; there are a few more parts that can be attached but I need to find some spring steel for the spring that lifts the cover when the fastener is released. Should be a short job to complete it though, then it's only another 5 assemblies to make.
Finally, I had just enough time to have a first stab at making one of the side supports for a bomb beam. As this is 14swg thick, I had some concerns over bending it in our equipment, but I needn't have worried as dimensionally it turned out perfectly. Flanging the lightening holes was also a concern as I wondered if it was thicker than our tooling was cable of, but again it turned out fine.
Slowly but surely a kit of parts is coming together :o)
Finally, I'm pleased to report that in collaboration with Airfix, they kindly LIDAR scanned the remains of the Stirling centre fuselage section that's in store at Stafford. This is invaluable information that informs our CAD design for the upper fuselage and on first inspection it closely matches our hand measured dimensions and profile. Before any of you model makers get excited there's no plans for Airfix to make a new Stirling! A big thanks to them for helping us out.
regards
John
Posts: 157
By: TEXANTOMCAT2 - 8th May 2022 at 15:51 Permalink
Great progress John and excellent collaboration with Airfix- I think their kit (with tractor no less!) was the first introduction to the Stirling for many of us🙂
Posts: 716
By: Trolley Aux - 10th May 2022 at 14:33 Permalink
Excellent John
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 20th May 2022 at 07:08 Permalink
A quick pre-weekend update,. The value of the recent LIDAR scan is now being realised; David has taken the scan and overlayed it on a side view of a Stirling. Allied with the data from the type record, and details taken from existing wreckage, we have accurately plotted the structure between Fr26 and Fr5. This has had the benefit of confirming what we had deduced from calculation which is always good to know that you're on the right track.
John
Posts: 716
By: Trolley Aux - 20th May 2022 at 08:44 Permalink
Is that an original piece of wing panel john or fuse?
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 20th May 2022 at 20:02 Permalink
Hi TA
It's the LIDAR scan of the Stafford centre section off LK488, it's been rotated and turned the right way up (It's currently stored upside down on a pallet :o)
John
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 21st May 2022 at 19:01 Permalink
Hi all
First off, thanks to some good old fashioned collaboration between organisations, we have taken on an initial 3 month loan of a significant piece of Stirling structure from the City of Norwich Aircraft Museum. We had been tipped off that there was a large piece of structure in store which hadn't been identified previously, Cliff despatched himself to the museum and lo and behold it was indeed part of the bomb bay structure from a Stirling. It's origin has been lost over time, but it's suspected to have come from the wreck off Hemsby. It's over 8' long so too big to fit in a car; Cliff organised some transport and it's now secure in our workshop. We suspect it's from the stbd side of the bomb bay between Frs 18 and 22; this is a long way aft of where we're building but the frame pitches are identical between Frs 11 14 which we are constructing. This would equate to Bomb Station 10 on the aircraft. Initial investigation has revealed the structure that goes fore and aft of the bomb beam and details of the outboard bomb door torque tube supports. All of these were hitherto unknown to us :o)
Other than that, Cliff and Graham have made a start on some of the smaller brackets for the bomb beams and I folded the further 9 side pieces to the bomb beams following last weeks' prototype. Next time will result in the flanged holes in the side plates and pilot drill the numerous holes required to attach the structure together. We're starting to make significant inroads to the kit of parts for the 5 bomb beams that are needed for the build.
cheers
John
Posts: 1,306
By: Zac Yates - 27th May 2022 at 21:53 Permalink
Excellent news!
Posts: 24
By: BertMk2 - 30th May 2022 at 13:14 Permalink
It's amazing what's still out there isn't it? Makes you wonder what else is hidden away! Great news that the CNAM are happy to share with you and good to see more progress.
Posts: 22
By: doughnut2020 - 1st June 2022 at 11:16 Permalink
Seems a lot has happened in the workshop with that New Jig? You meantioned some parts coming from Norwich. I assume you know of the the upper fuselage section that hangs form the ceiling of the Manston Spitfire Memorial hangar ? Says it is from N6004, seems the tail wheel assembly has gone back to RAF Museum.
Another Stirling fuselage appear to be in a Museum in France, photos show a large section including crew access door and ladder. Never been there but website show photos. The place is south of Reims at Vraux
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 2nd June 2022 at 10:09 Permalink
Thanks Doughnut
We have measured the section at Manston as part of our design efforts and we have close links with Vraux. I can only thank all of the museums and collections that have gladly assisted us over the years
best regards
John
Posts: 1,954
By: 12jaguar - 4th July 2022 at 13:40 Permalink
Hi all
Apologies for lack of posts lately, but it's been holiday season and also there's been a lot happening behind the scenes.
So we have some good/excellent news and some not so good news. Let's get the not so good out of the way first. After some 8 years at Alconbury, we have been given notice to vacate our building due to scheduled redevelopment of the site. We can't complain as our landlords have been extremely benevolent over this time, but it's disappointing nonetheless having just installed the jig. But all good things come to an end so we are on a look out for suitable premises in the vicinity :(
Now for the good news...
After several years of planning and enforced delays due to Covid, myself, Andy and Cliff travelled to the Netherlands last week to survey the remains of Stirling BK716 which as you may recall was salvaged by the RNLAF. Needless to say, we were unsighted as to what had actually been salvaged by them, having only had a few teasing photos of some parts that had been set aside for us. What greeted us was 26 off large crates full of aircraft parts and an ISO container with the larger parts (not including the engines and Landing gear). It was a truly mind boggling sight and we were unsure if 2 full days would be enough to accomplish the task. however with the assistance of Major Bart A, and his team of guys we all set to...
Progress was surprisingly quick and some interesting artefacts came to light immediately; the first part I picked off the first crate turned out to be an almost undamaged Propellor Feathering Panel (we had already made one of these previously based on an original). Parts then came thick and fast; fuselage sections, the extreme nose still showing the original profile, a damaged but more or less complete sloping bulkhead to the Bomb Aimers position/fwd bomb bay, Bomb Aimers panel, flying control runs etc etc. At the end of it all we had cleared the pile and ended up with a goodly pile of parts to bring back, not all of which would fit in the van unfortunately. But we have a cunning plan in that department ;o)
Lots of photos of what we brought back; I won't go into details but will elaborate if asked to identify any parts. Ignore any parts on pallets by the way...
As always, take care
John
Posts: 24
By: BertMk2 - 5th July 2022 at 12:57 Permalink
Well that's certainly a mixed bag of news - sorry to hear you need to find a new home, hopefully you'll find somewhere suitable soon.
But on the flip side - wow - what a haul of parts! Looks like a lot of work sorting those out but all valuable stuff. Do you know what'll happen to the parts you don't take?