Westland Whirlwind (fighter)

Just bought a copy of “Britain at War” magazine (Also a Key publishing mag). It has a good article on Whirlwind ops.

It also has a nice article on the Hurricats.

I can now fill you all in a bit further on what is happening. Thanks to a helping hand from the RaeS at Yeovil we are looking to hold our first AGM at Augusta Westland sometime within the first 3 months of next year this of course is also with the assistance of AW who have been very helpful in supporting this project. There will of course be more to come over the next couple of months and I will keep you up to date as things happen.:eagerness:

Good to get a conversation started you never know what may turn up.

Not a complete set of factory drawings, no. Barring miracles, many have gone for good (thanks to a flood at Westland).

But we do have a sub-set that was saved, and bits and pieces from other sources such as NARA in the US, sub-contractors, wind tunnel profiling data etc.

Did a set of drawings ever turn up ?

Ah, yes – that is the work of Ray Wood, who is now no sadly no longer with us. It is on display, along with a nose section, at Norwich Museum. Both sections are replicas, and the shape of them is a little off though it was the absolute best that could have been done with the information and resources available at the time. I wonder whether Ray was both the ‘quiet project’ and the owner of the two chests of components. Can anyone help?

Robert W, thank you very much for the clarification as to Lindy’s Lad’s identity. I am glad that it is someone we are already talking to!

All I need now is to hear from Vega ECM – Oh, and Graham, can you get in touch on a couple of things – one of which is Hurricane related?

Please see post 14 of this link. www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/warbirds-warbird-replicas/11821-scaled-down-westland-whirlwind.html

Does this picture show an existing whirlwind cockpit section?, if so where and when, and is it a replica??

Does anyone know what happened to ‘Lindy’s Lad’? Someone else who has had a go in the past, and who’s efforts we would like to incorporate.

To repeat what Chris says – If someone has made the effort in the past to begin a difficult project like this, then it is only logical that the effort is not wasted. PLEASE, people, come forward.

Come on Guys we have been pushing this for some time now and it would be great if you could all join forces and help put a Whirly back together again.

http://whirlwindfighterproject.webs.com/

Also on Facebook..

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf

I have been looking into the Whirlwind recently as a subject for our next replica build, there arent any surivivors or replica’s as far as I have been able to find out. It is an appropriate project for us as Westlands is local. There is some wreckage in private ownership from crash recoveries. The last survivor was scrapped in the 70s after being used by Westlands as a fire rescue training aid, needless to say the remains were in poor condition when scrapped. It surpises me that Westlands didnt make any effort to save at least one but it wasnt really a success for them. An engine was donated to a local ATS in the late 60s but this has long since vanished. I am looking for a pair of servicable Kestrals(ground runners) if any body knows for any I have heard they are still around in reasonable numbers and do not command Merlin prices.

A zombie thread, but I have just found it..

Peter, we have never found that quiet project. Who was it? It would be daft to be duplicating effort. Vega, you have a PM. Graham, please come aboard!

Matt

Whirlwind fighter project

Just a piccy of a few parts that will one day become a 1/4 Cockpit:)

Tony, I’ts good to see your Whirlwind fighter parts. As you say, “from small beginnings”.

The Hornet cockpit started with a throttle box and a few instruments too.

When I next go to AW, I shall try and fit in a meeting with Fred…..I think I might have confused the forum…my photo shows an original windscreen etc…the 1/4 I refer to is a 1/4 cockpit using those parts…i.e. real screen, panel, stick etc….1/1 scale:)

The secret lies in reading the post properly. From past experience I know how good I am at reading things so that they mean something other than what the writer meant so I read it twice to make sure I understood, at least it made sure I wasn’t confused (I’m easily confused as you would find out if you saw me doing something which requires concentration and you ask me my name, you’d be guaranteed a random answer.:D )

There are at least three ‘unfound’ Whirlwind crashes in the UK, although there is no gaurantee teh MUs didn’t do an exemplary job of recovering them at the time. A work in progress there…

Hi
post or pm me the serials and I might save someone some time, being in canada, I am no threat to the sites, but I have been researching them since the 70’s and know most of those visited.
cheers
jerry

Maybe 2008 will produce a newly discovered whirlwind site for recovery:D

Hi
It would be nice 🙂
But I would be hard pushed to name a whirlwind crash site not visited.
True I don’t know about all the ones in france, but the photos surfacing of the crashes, all seem to show bellylandings …
I think scrapyards are the only hope for airframes / bits,
( florida / france / rechlin ), maybe even where the stuff from lennoxlove went., And a speedboat somewhere with two peregrines in it..:D
The yeovil one if it’s still there, I don’t think is going to be dug up..:(
Cheers
jerry

Sorry folks replicas dont float my boat, bit like buying a new willys jeep and saying you got the real macoy from ww2.

Why do you say that? A new Jeep is clearly different to a WW2 Jeep. A replica (by definition) should be the same as original – only newer.

Real macoy

Sorry folks replicas dont float my boat, bit like buying a new willys jeep and saying you got the real macoy from ww2. I will wait untill i find the real thing with rolls royce periguines.

Maybe 2008 will produce a newly discovered whirlwind site for recovery:D

Failing that try talking Steve vissard into a project as he is half way there with the only pair of baby periguines to date

When I next go to AW, I shall try and fit in a meeting with Fred…..I think I might have confused the forum…my photo shows an original windscreen etc…the 1/4 I refer to is a 1/4 cockpit using those parts…i.e. real screen, panel, stick etc….1/1 scale:)

You little tinker you…;)

When I next go to AW, I shall try and fit in a meeting with Fred…..I think I might have confused the forum…my photo shows an original windscreen etc…the 1/4 I refer to is a 1/4 cockpit using those parts…i.e. real screen, panel, stick etc….1/1 scale:)

1/3, ¼, ¾… This is the same situation I found when trying to get a accurate Whirly 3D model made for the Sturmovik flight sim, plenty of skilled people to make all that was needed to finish a 3D CGI working model, but all using different formats… Each piece crafted to perfection, beautiful on its own, but useless when put together! 😡

We could all of us contribute to making this happen, but unless there is a cohesion of information and peoples skills it will never be… 🙁 All this wonderful effort could be utilised to make so much more… 😉

Time is running out, the one thing that could be the greatest resource in making a Whirlwind replica is not going to be with us forever… Fred Ballam! The only man I know who actually worked at Westlands on some of the last Whirlwinds made… 🙁

As People have been talking about static and flying replicas – I thought I would add a replica panel — as we have just finished a Nose Art panel of a Westland Whirlwind.

The Tramore Flyer was flow by F.O. Harvey DFC of 263 Squadron and was lost in 43.

It is at 1:3 scale at 80 cm long.

This was a custom panel for a collector.

Hi
Nice panel. 🙂
Does the panel represent P7090, the a/c F/O Philip Harvey was shot down in ? (or his more usual usual mounts P7010 or P7094 ) Most interesting as I didn’t have P7090 as HE-R, or the name ‘tramore flyer’ associated with it.
Is it linked to dunmore east, or bishop grove, county waterford, where he came from ?

Nice all this new stuff on whirlwinds turning up this last year. 😀 hopefully more in 2008 🙂
Cheers
jerry