Bluebird (K7) Project

Pay me no heed- I thought they were one clock missing- might’ve got my wires crossed! 😮

Has anyone please got a Gnat/Orpheus jet pipe temperature gauge that they’d like to donate to the Bluebird Project by any chance?

Why, was mine no good then ?

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What does it look like?

Bruce

Has anyone please got a Gnat/Orpheus jet pipe temperature gauge that they’d like to donate to the Bluebird Project by any chance?

I have seen the Bluebird updates and I am impressed by the way they try to piece it together again using as much original material as possible.

The irony is that the Lottery people who initially refused any funding because their ‘experts’ couldn’t see/understand how K7’s original material could all be used, are now knocking on the project’s door, impressed by what they’ve seen and wishing Bill to spread the word! So, maybe in the future some other project will benefit from their increased, if a bit late, understanding. :rolleyes:

I have seen the Bluebird updates and I am impressed by the way they try to piece it together again using as much original material as possible. Perhaps this would be a way of doing W1048 with only replacing items that are missing or damaged (such as the starboard nose skinning and the starboard wing), and keeping it in a jig to keep the airframe rigid as looking as it has been at the bottom of the lake.

The AWM reconstructed a Beaufort in a similar way and managed to keep much original material. Althoug the result would be patchy but impressive nevertheless.

Just a thought
Cees

LOL, K7 will be doing demo runs of no more than 100mph- her sponsons will in fact be subtly altered on the planing shoes to keep her speed down, lest she get any funny ideas! 😀

what would be amazing, would be to see K7 fulfill her destiny and do what she was designed to do, just need to find someone mad enough to try driving a boat at over 300mph 😀

Im game, any other takers?

My word, how things have changed since I posted that!

The restoration/rebuild of K7 has started, and I’m now 100% fully behind it; in fact, I am the cartoonist who’s work has been featured in the last few diary page entries, and also it’s me that has created the promotional video for the project which is now on You Tube!

The Bluebird Project Promo Video

A DVD cover they sell is also my work, and there’s more planned, too. Bill and I have spoken on the phone a couple of times, and he’s a fantastic bloke; I’m so glad to read here that there’s another Orpheus on it’s way ‘oop North to help K7 out. So, is it the correct type that they were after, then?

As of last week Bluebird is now back in one piece, her original frame having been brilliantly stitched back together. If anyone here has not been following the restoration, it’s detailed piece by piece with lots of photos in Bill’s diary entries on the BBP website- it’s well worth following, as the lengths they are going to to reuse every last tiny tangled scrap of original material are extraordinary- when finished, K7 is going to be quite staggeringly original!

The project site link is in my signature-

How interesting- three of my biggest interests, all in one thread! Bluebird/Campbell, historic aircraft, the Titanic!

Gina Campbell is very much FOR the restoration- indeed originally, K7 was going to be restored to an occasional running condition, with Gina piloting it at low speeds etc. Then the Lottery people said no to funding this, questioning the originality of any rebuilt K7 and saying that efforts should be concentrated on conservation instead. This has thrown the whole thing up in the air again (if you pardon the pun) and frankly, the whole thing has become an absolute joke and has proven thoroughly that the thing was far better off left where it was down in the lake, before Bill Smith came along and dragged it out; remember, he went and found it of his own volition, and THEN contacted the family etc, and what with the BBC being involved, the decision was THEN made to raise the wreckage.

Gina (understandably) came to detest the sight of the wrecked K7, eventually forbidding anyone from seeing it in Bill Smith’s factory lock-up, and prompting the rebuild decision.

The only good that has come from the whole sorry mess is the recovery of (most, anyway) of Campbell himself, so he could be laid to rest; and even that happened the day after 9/11, so the press was understandably not going to give it any coverage…

It’s a strong statement, but I genuinely believe that they should chuck it back in the lake where it belongs.

sounds like we are into W1048 territory ,paticularly your last comment most ironic!

That sounds like a win / win / win

🙂

Moggy

There are a few other sources for an engine coming up shortly so all is not lost-:)

We are pleased to announce that we are donating our spare Orpheus to Billy and the team for the Bluebird rebuild. Although not an airworthy unit, it should still work as a power-plant for any un-regulated transport uses.
It was removed from 537 in the early 90’s when she had her new shiny one put in, but was still in working condition, albeit out of hours for Gnat restoration purposes.

In return, the team are donating a unit that we can loan back to the museum, so that its exhibit space won’t remain empty.

There are a few other sources for an engine coming up shortly so all is not lost

Can you elaborate on that please?

k7 engine

Erm…Serbian or Croatian? I don’t really know!

Ooh, have they a Bluebird K7 too then?! 😀 But seriosuly, there’d be a lot of airframe parts left over once K7 had been shopping, so maybe a mutual deal would be good…

I tried phoning them with a serbian translator beside me and they didn’t understand him!-the aircraft is in poor condition but still has the 701 installed-(it’s a British built Gnat)-Whats required I think is somebody in Belgrade to physically go to the museum and grab a boss!(Musej Ratnog Vazduhoplovost)-although I’m afraid that politics may get in the way as Serbs and Bosnians don’t exactly like Brits!-There are a few other sources for an engine coming up shortly so all is not lost-:)

Sent you a PM, Bruce.

Thanks Bruce- I’ll see what I can find out.

If you find out which instruments are required, I will happily donate what I have to the cause.

Kind regards

Bruce

Yes, the original Orpheus is little more than a pile of dust and turbine blades now!

Well, I asked Bill what they actually want, and he answered thus-

‘The top of our ‘wants list’ is an Orpheus 701 to replace the 100 series
we already have. The 100 will fit in the hole but it’s not true to the
original. Naturally, the 701 will have to be capable of ground running
as is our 100.

We need cockpit instruments and switches, we need some bits of Bloctube
control runs and any spare 3/32 snap or avdel rivets that are going.
that’s about all for the aircraft bits. Oh, and a spare Gnat F1 fin
would be a nice thing to have lying about.’

So if anyone here thinks they could help with any of this, PLEASE let me know!

Most of an Orpheus 700 I believe.
Having looked at the website earlier today (for far too long) it appears to have sufferd more than the boat from 34 years underwater.

Bruce- I don’t know, but I’ll go ask!