Spitfire IX Project

New update. Getting very close to finished now.


First some detail shots of the interior
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../interior1.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../interior2.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../interior3.jpg
They pretty much speak for themselves.

The seat..with Sutton Harness now fitted (the other two straps will be attached, one behind the seat and one through and onto the back of the sim with an elastic "inertia lock real".
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/seat1-1.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/seat2-2.jpg
Armour plate waiting for it's next coat of paint.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/armour1.jpg
A closer look at the undercarriage unit fairing
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/uccover.jpg

The bottom frame of the bullet proof windcreen with the sides of the front canopy frame.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...indscreen1.jpg
Most of the bits to fix back in..the Lightbulb holder arrived an is currently drying..thank you Spits!
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/group-1.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/bits1-1.jpg

The "sound system"
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...H/IMG_3960.jpg

The top coat of Cabots is on but isn't as shiny as I'd hoped. I think I will go get a gloss and use that for another top coat. Sorry but the flash obscures some of the features
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../MoodyFull.jpg


And the final for tonight...the "signwriting". Painted by putting a cut stencil (adhesive) on the wall..had some fun with that twisting and sticking to itself but we got there. Pay no attention to the rough green line...that will be covered by the windscreen frame.

the shiny glow around the Moody Blue" is the "cloud" I painted on to break up the outline.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...oDH/Moody1.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...oDH/Moody2.jpg

More to come Saturday night chaps

Awesome project and such a wonderful aircraft

Thanks mate, yep, she's a keeper.

Wow!! amazing!!

VERY NICE! Great JOB

Trevor

Hi all,
Darryl came up to Perth to collect this part for his Spitfire, no doubt we will be seeing pics of it installed soon. It's a replica CO2 cylinder which was used to hopefully blow down the landing gear in the event of a hydraulics failure. Thanks for lunch and free entertainment Darryl!!!
http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/d...cylinder-1.gif
http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/d...cylinder-2.gif
http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/d...cylinder-3.gif

Cheers, Gwyn

Man.....that project is looking absolutely incredible!!! Glad to see this coming to fruition.
Jon

Thanks Gwyn & Jon

Ok, a series of the real thing and then mine to as she is now:

1
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...e10cockpit.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...itfireleft.jpg


2
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...1_kpit_003.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...iretopback.jpg


3
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...04n_15_023.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...tfireright.jpg


4
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...0399812d86.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...rhoughdoor.jpg






And some gratuitous detail and general shots:




http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...tfirefront.jpg


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...itfirerear.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...firefront1.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ightdetail.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...itfireside.jpg

Still a lot to do to make her "flyable" but sitting in her now is great. The leather seat back and headrest are being done, and Spits is making teh door mechanism for me..thanks mate...so it is all go. Hopefully an update soon.

And I get to fly it next week - whooo hooooooooo chocks away Ginger, tally ho, pip, pip....


Cheers Gwyn!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Westozy

And I get to fly it next week - whooo hooooooooo chocks away Ginger, tally ho, pip, pip....


Cheers Gwyn!!

---

Still hoping to have it flyable to a basic level by then Gwyn but work has piled onto me at the moment.

I'll let you know.


Darryl

[QUOTE=Tony Hill;103590]Still hoping to have it flyable to a basic level by then Gwyn but work has piled onto me at the moment.

Your not alone there Mr Crusoe!!! I'll wait for bells and whistles and a 2.6m curved projection system so make it a fortnight after!!!

Gwyn

22nd of May sounds good..and a safe bet. We'll aim for that then. Bring some wrestling gear as well :)

A brief "update" well, actually a step backwards (thank you so much Andy!!!...MATE :) :) :)

I now find I need to build yet another camera control. The Camera Selector Unit. Until now I had never seen one, couldn't find one and was going wing it with a 3 position switch. OFF/Oblique/Vertical. But Andy to the rescue with a picture of the unit.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...tsidePR1XI.jpg

It seemed to have three switches and lights, and what I thought was a fuse box...details Andy confirmed for me soon after when he found the diagram:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ectorUnit1.jpg


Luckily I have three supercharger type switches spare, two lights (and just found a third) and stumbled upon a fuse box that is very close or identical, provided it is the size i think it is when it arrives. It is a Type G fuse box...I don't suppose anyone can say "yep, that was the type used in the Camera Selector"?? And into the bargain I picked up a shallow two way AM switch for the OFF toggle!


More work but all for the good I suppose. A genuine thank you Andy.


.

ISeat is now with the Upholsterer for the cover and the head rest.

A week or two

A few spare moments only but a start to the hydraulic and pneumatic lines.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...H/IMG_3972.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...H/IMG_3973.jpg

WOW!!! Amazing!!

Thanks Anderson. More next weekend with any luck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

A few spare moments only but a start to the hydraulic and pneumatic lines.

---

Excuse me, you are supposed to post pics of your sim, not of a real aeroplane.....

Eer, ..hang on a sec .....




Seriously, . it looks bloody awesome , .... Tally Ho!!

Thanks mate, I agonised over using PVC irrigation line or copper tubing or brass tubing for ages. I knew nothing about bending pipe until yesterday!! I settled on copper instead of brass because that was what was available yesterday. As the aircraft seems to have used some copper and some brass, I'll live with it for now.

Hi, If you want real clean bents ,
you can fill the copper tubes with very fine sand and heat it over a flame untill the tubes start to change colour.
then you can use any circular sample for bending without the need of using special tools.
For special bents you can heat the tubes untill the colouring stops and let it cool down,
the tubes stay very soft again fill the tubes with sand and bend it to your likings.
The sand keeps the tubes round instead of going into oval shape if done correctly.
greetz

Hi Darryl, if you buy copper tube in a coil, it is already annealed (softened), and can easily be bent by hand!

Your sim looks fantastic, it has been a pleasure to make parts for it!

Cheers, Gwyn

Thanks Kermit..I'll try that trick where the bends are too tight or close together to use the bending tool.

Gwyn, cheers mate..The coils are what I bought. Nice stuff.she will be a little longer to be flyable now as I can't get time on the tools to do the big assembly that is left..the monitor tray. The neighbours don't seem to like me running the saws and drills at 23:30!!

It will be late June now before I can do that...NOT happy. I have managed to get the slide pots installed for the Mixture and Prop Pitch....you did me the great favour (or Supermarine did with their design??) of making the throw on those levers pretty much exactly the length of the slide pots!

So all that remains now is for Leo Bodnars card to arrive, the wiring to be completed and the monitor tray and she will be "basically" flyable. The detailing will probably go on for years :(

The Seat upholstered and the head pad done. He did a great job on both...the seat pad is a "private purchase" item, longer in the back than standard issue (as I am getting too old for hard seats fro 3-4 hours at a time.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...H/IMG_3979.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

Gwyn, cheers mate..The coils are what I bought. Nice stuff.she will be a little longer to be flyable now as I can't get time on the tools to do the big assembly that is left..the monitor tray. The neighbours don't seem to like me running the saws and drills at 23:30!! (

---

Saws and drills, I've heard of those hehe... Started your valve thingy, it will be ready for your visit!

Cheers, Gwyn

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Westozy

Saws and drills, I've heard of those hehe... Started your valve thingy, it will be ready for your visit!

Cheers, Gwyn

---

:) :)


Great news....I will phone you shortly with another little job to fit in between all things 777.


Darryl

Just ordered from Sefton Clothing Co:

Late pattern Type C Helmet
Type E* Oxygen mask

All fully wired and spliced to a NATO plug, for which I can plug a converter straight into the computer!

I also have a line on an early type Landin Lamp lowering unit.


Not much else done as work is too flat out ATM

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

The position behind the stick and well forward makes it quite hard to see and the parallax error is huge so navigation on the compass alone must have been a nightmare.

---

Actually no. The reason is that it is an Admiralty Pattern Small Boat Compass of the "grid" type - designed for this situation. If you look at your original with the moving card the procedure would run:

- Release the lock on the top rotating ring and dial on the course you want to fly. Lock the ring.
- Fly round the sky till the card floating in the bowl lines up with the two parallel "lubber" lines on the rotating top ring. This is actually easy to judge from just about any angle as the eye/brain is very good at judging when two sets of lines are parallel. Even when viewed from difficult angles. There is no reason to read the numbers. You just need to fly keeping the sets of lines parallel.
- Then dial the course on the gyro compass on the blind flying panel and uncage the gyro. Fly on Gyro which is in the important 6 instruments.
- Every 10-15 mins check the gyro against the magnetic compass (because the gyro tends to precess).

In practice you hardly ever use the compass except for quick checks.

Those P8 compasses were VERY popular in the UK on small yachts till the late 1970's. With no GPS, Loran or Decca on small yachts we used to navigate for real - just like Spitfire pilots did. With a small yacht heaving around like an airplane - you needed a simple system to stay on course. Keeping the lines parallel after dialing on the course was the way to do it. And of course we were always told we were using "Spitfire" compasses. Though in reality Spitfires were using boat compasses.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by graemesmith

Actually no. The reason is that it is an Admiralty Pattern Small Boat Compass of the "grid" type - designed for this situation. If you look at your original with the moving card the procedure would run:

This is actually easy to judge from just about any angle as the eye/brain is very good at judging when two sets of lines are parallel. Even when viewed from difficult angles. There is no reason to read the numbers. You just need to fly keeping the sets of lines parallel.

- Every 10-15 mins check the gyro against the magnetic compass (because the gyro tends to precess).

In practice you hardly ever use the compass except for quick checks.

Keeping the lines parallel after dialing on the course was the way to do it. And of course we were
always told we were using "Spitfire" compasses. Though in reality Spitfires were using boat compasses
.....

---

Thanks Graeme, we will agree to differ I fear. (but I welcome friendly discussion any time).

I've used the P8 (or P11 which is idetical in all important respects) in Tigermoths and it is a good
compass..but there it is in clear view over the top of the stick, not hidden half behind a spade grip. A
position which also introduces a curve and another straight line (column spade and straight edge) into
the field of view. It is not a particularly stable compass and in any sort of weather does not settle at all
well, which makes keeping an exact course difficult. As I said, I would have nightmares if navigating
just by it alone.

A DG is also only as good as the accuracy of it's setting against the compass...and the numbers must
be read for that. A preflight check I have read for the Spitfire is "allign DG to runway heading" rather than
Compass. The constant weaving on taxi (voluntary AND involuntary due to the fully castoring tail wheel)
is unsettling to a modern Whisky Compass, let alone that bowl of oil!

You must also remember that in a small yacht you are making what, 5-6 Knots? That gives you a fair
few oportunities per hour to average out the movement, take landmark sightings, chart readings
triagulations etc. In the Tiger' that is 60mph (50odd knots) In a Spitfire cruising at 250mph you have
barely 1/40th of those oportunities. And that is assuming that you can see the ground through the
cloud in sufficient detail to make an assessment (usually done in a Spitfire by rolling 90 degrees
to look straight down, a game not conducive to settling the compass).
At 25,000 a Spitfire's wing covers the whole of south east England (Johnnie Johnson, if memory serves)

A noted Spitfire Recce pilot (whose name escapes me for the moment but whom I could chase up
easily enough) said that it was barely possible to fly within 5 degrees of planned course . 5 deg being
considerable error over, say, 350 odd miles.

The distinct lack of anchorage or sheltered cove in which to take a break and consider the next course
is merely an unpleasant bonus, as is the certain knowledge that what goes up must come down! :)

cheers


Darryl

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

friendly discussion

---

Same back!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

A noted Spitfire Recce pilot ....... said that it was barely possible to fly within 5 degrees of planned course . 5 deg being
considerable error over, say, 350 odd miles.

---

You are lucky if a small yacht can achieve +/- 10 degrees

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

The distinct lack of anchorage or sheltered cove in which to take a break and consider the next course

---

What anchorage? You have to find it first!! :-) Fog=cloud or fog, Tide=Winds aloft, Sea State=Turbulence, Anchorage to consider next course=handy airstrips dotted all over the clouds to let you take a break! ;-)

Couple it to the fact that a yacht engine would often hit resonance with the P8 card which would proceed to circle the bowl at often impressive speeds.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tony Hill

Let alone that bowl of oil!

---

There's your problem! Every P8 I ever came across was filled with alcohol. Mix the oil and alcohol and it turns milky white. No wonder you can't see it!! :-) :-)

Alcohol made them lively to respond but slow to settle.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by graemesmith

Alcohol made them lively to respond but slow to settle.

---

Has much the same effect on me!

A couple of late night sessions to save my sanity:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/camsel3.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/camsel1.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/camsel2.jpg

I used a red light for Port Camera, Blue for Oblique and green for Starboard. Not sure what colour they really were, probably all red? Anyway, I'm happy enough. I also chose grey to match the Type 35 controller...I guess that would have been the colour.


I'm not at all happy with the label but when I get a minute I will impose on Chris's good nature yet again. I will also need him to do a couple of labels for the Lamp unit.



Also a bit of a start on the Landing Lamp Unit.

The handle is spring tensioned and feels very like operating a bowden cable..it is not/won't be linked to any electronincs, just there for the look of it. Gwyn turned an endcap for me. I made the rest. (except of course the flap lever,)


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...atioDH/ll1.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...atioDH/ll2.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...atioDH/ll3.jpg

More later, late now.

At last a bit of progress. 3 full days work I had set aside turned into two half days..but never mind.

Before:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...atioDH/ll1.jpg

The completed Landing Lamp Unit:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...H/LLUNITF1.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...DH/LLUNIF2.jpg


I am half way through a respray of the interior to this new green colour..still not quite right but as close as I am going to try to get.


I spent a lot of extra time on the LLU because of the great pictures I had access to. Thanks mate!!

It is a nice looking unit and it looks great mounted under the panel. I just have to do a legend for it and finish the painting in the area and it can go back in. Pictures then!

The radiator shutter lever has been ditched and I have ordered another which will look spot on and work of a pot for controlling radiator shutters (or cowl flaps in GA aircraft Thunderbolt etc.)

More soon hopefully.

Awesome!!! Congrats my friend!!

Thanks Anderson!!

Getting closer now.

A few of the improved CSU:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../camseltop.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../camseltag.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ellabelnew.jpg

Darryl, your attention to detail is astounding. I look forward to perusing it sometime.

BTW, how do you think a 777 would stack up against the Spitty in a dogfight? :p

Ken.

Thanks Ken,

You are most welcome down here any time.

Spit versus 777? I think the jet wash would be a huge problem for the Spitfire!

I did see a Chiuaua kill a Doberman once though....,,



It got stuck in the Doberman's throat
:)

OK, finally some photos of the Throttle (and you can see the new better green interior as well).

1. Closed position, Prop Pitch full fine...as you would leave the aircraft.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t1.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t6.jpg

2. Maximum weak mixture setting with the mixture lever (left) at its full travel. The throttle can be moved forward from here but will exceed the allowable boost if weak mixture is selected. When the throttle is closed from here it takes the mixture back with it to "rich" (fully back) position, so the engine can not be run at weak mixture and low power, which causes detonation if allowed to happen.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t5.jpg

3. The warning horn switch (rear) and undercarriage indicator power switch(forward).

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t8.jpg

4. The label for the throttle...carved with an engraving dremel bit into the wood handle I made.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t9.jpg

5. Full rated boost with the throttle at the forward stop...if moved a little left from here it can be pushed further forward to the takeoff setting (or to full boost if the boost override cutout is flipped. I've just noticed that this setting is NOT safe as the mixture is "weak"..it should be pulled back fully...Ill catch **** from the Mechanic for that!!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t4.jpg


6. Top view..you can see the stop on the left for the mixture at half way...also the forward stop for Rated Boost and then the slip chanel of the gate to go sideways and a little further forward into Take off Boost.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ratioDH/t3.jpg



And a couple of the monitor tray now ready to be installed after the wiring is finished.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ioDH/tray2.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ioDH/tray1.jpg

does somebody haves the correct measurements for me?
my project mail = spitcockpit@gmail.com
greetz,
dada1995

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I battled the million little problems that always plague something that is “practically finished”. But all the frustration was worth it. By 23.30 I was ready and called my long suffering wife in. I had decided to give her first flight. It was actually more fun to watch I think. Unfortunately the video battery died but I was NOT postponing.

After a 10 minute briefing on procedures etc, she went through the startup drill (with minimal prodding) and that beautiful Merlin roared to life. Takeoff was “interesting” but basically safe. The U/C “up” was flawless, no Spitfire wobble at all….bi7ch!!!! 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../overhead1.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...oDH/sidea2.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...oDH/sidea3.jpg

There followed a 32 minute flight where she chased a few AI around Biggin Hill, beat up a small field nearby (not sure which, but they will have rung the authorities by now  ), tested the instruments and after an aborted first circuit made a very passable “wheeler” landing back at Biggin. The brakes unfortunately proved very effective at the end of the landing run .... but nothing a new prop won’t fix. 

She is definitely a fan now and I got the nod of approval on my building. Seeing the War Office get so excited about something like that is a rare privilege indeed!

So then it was on to the advanced air test. It all felt quite natural getting her started. The temps came up fairly quickly as the engine was still hot from Tracey’s flight, so a quick taxi was in order (thankfully the ground run tests had honed my skills on the brakes). Without much pre-flight (Fuel, mixture, prop pitch, elevator trim, temps and throttle ) I let off the brakes and eased the throttle forward at about the same rate as my right leg. A bit of right aileron as well. When the tail came up though she gave a kick to the left and I needed to boot in more right rudder. (I have read where some pilots use their feet rather than setting the rudder trim, as you have to retrim immediately after takeoff in any case and the rudder forces are not huge …I tried this and think it is probably the method I will adopt permanently…you just need to watch the kick as the tail comes up..standard tailwheel flying stuff really). In what seemed like a heartbeat she was airborne and it was time for the U/C. A little bit of porpoising (and a raised eyebrow from the War Office!) and we were off. +6 Boost and 2650 and she climbs like a homesick angel. Level off at 5,000 just under 2 minutes later. Time for a HASEL check. That done, into the test.

The controls are great. Full stop. The aircraft should be and is, VERY sensitive in pitch. Very small movements fore and aft are necessary OR in fact desirable. The total travel is only about 22deg full forward to full back. In tests they found that in a steep turn, a backwards pull of only ¾ of an inch is enough to induce pre stall buffet. The A2A model is not quite that severe but almost. Tight turns are a joy though.

Next came a couple of lazy slow rolls. For me as an aerobatic pilot, flying a roll without feet on the rudder pedals is counter-intuitive. But the Spitfire does this admirably. I could almost hear the “aaahhhhh’s” from people on the ground 

Then I tried some square rolls. WOW!!!!!! The first was spot on with perfect 90deg angles and a nice little “cough” while inverted. The next two I got cocky and missed the angles by 5-10 degrees….oh well. Not the aircraft’s fault.

On to the Cuban eights as a pre-requisite for a full loop. First one worked a charm and I used a normal half roll off the top of both halves. The second was also great and I threw in spirited square half rolls for good measure. The cockpit handles it all very nicely.

A loop was next and that went off without a hitch, although you need to be very careful on the pullout as the whole world gets grey pretty quickly. (note to self, rig a G Meter somewhere).

I left the Stall Turn until after all this, as they are not all that easy. I find that in the Spitfire there is a nasty surprise (the model, I wonder if the real one is the same?) The fact that the controls remain effective right down to the stall means that it hard to judge when to do the “turn” part of “stall turn”. The first one I fell into through too much rudder authority and was lucky to avoid a spin. The second I tail slid out of because I held on too long (…not a nice feeling in real life). The third was perfect.

I’ll leave the “Upward Charlies” until I get a better feel but want to get at least two in a row out of her.

Last but not least was a shallow dive at full boost reaching 390mph from 6,000ft. As fast as I wanted to go first up and ending at 1000ft. Then I dodged trees back to Biggin for a “run and break”.

The circuit was a bit wide but the speeds were spot on and she settled into a perfect three pointer at 65mph.

WHAT A BUZZ!!!!!!!!

A few shots, video asap.

The office.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../overhead3.jpg

From rear starboard quarter
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../overhead4.jpg

Panel
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../overhead2.jpg


Pipe detailing, right hand side.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../overhead6.jpg


Landing Lamp Unit and Compass
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../overhead7.jpg

Helmet and Masks
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ioDH/helm1.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 1995Dada

does somebody haves the correct measurements for me?
my project mail = spitcockpit@gmail.com
greetz,
dada1995

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