Brunty Guppy Whoops

Thanks again.

Hi Matt
I am still waiting to here from D.W. before we do anything other than tape her up. And I honestly think we should wait till after the inevitable high winds that the next couple of months will bring. And possibly till she is towed outof the mud. She is weakened enough, and we can only make that worse when we start removing skin.
Re rivets, they are all dome heads in this area, not sure of the original American spec, but I don’t think anyone will notice if they are slightly different!!
I will let you know when and if I hear from D.W. he owns her so it’s his call.
Thanks again for being so helpfull.
Best wishes,
Ritch Blood.

I’ll try and have a closer look on saturday if i can (lots of vixen work to do) i’m assuming your not bothered about using dome heads, didn’t think you’d want to go around countersinking anything new. If you map out what needs drilling out when you get started i’ll give you a hand de-riveting if you get an air supply i’ll lend all the re-riveting kit from work, as it’s in the tool kit i control at work. i’ll try and get some sheet speedtape to patch up with for now

Oh yeah got some 20 swg alu at work that might be going spare, it didn’t have any CFC’s

Yep, that’s us.

Hi Kieth
Yep, that’s us, Max was having a bad hair day!!
And Bubbles, you and a few hundred others! I might as well get a target painted on my yellow jacket!! Actualy, the last time was ok, but last years twighlight run, when everyone came back down field in the dark was a bit hairy, all I could see was headlights coming straight for me. The things we do to put a pound or two in the buckets!!!

The damaged area is behind the Jaguar!
Anyway, after playing with those rough boys over on the Lightnings, it will do you good to be introduced to something much more civilised!! We might even let you sit in our Jet Provost if you are good! (or Jet Bathtub as one guy called it last Saturday, thats the sort of people that the Lightnings attract!!).
Seriously though, we were the guys trying to get everyone to park in some sort of order (fat bloke, yellow jacket, grey hair and worried look on his face).

Hmmmm, so you would be the chap i aimed for at both Twilight runs then! 😀

Quote “(fat bloke, yellow jacket, grey hair and worried look on his face).” I realy think I spoke to you when I moved my car further down towards the QRA shed ? and does Max have a (um) afro looking hairstyle and a facial piercing ? if so then I think I spoke to him on (very pleasant) my way in ?

Keith.

It’s behind the Jag!

The damaged area is behind the Jaguar!
Anyway, after playing with those rough boys over on the Lightnings, it will do you good to be introduced to something much more civilised!! We might even let you sit in our Jet Provost if you are good! (or Jet Bathtub as one guy called it last Saturday, thats the sort of people that the Lightnings attract!!).
Seriously though, we were the guys trying to get everyone to park in some sort of order (fat bloke, yellow jacket, grey hair and worried look on his face).

Ritch & Max, Wow ! thank you, that is so nice ! will take you up on that in the very near future.

Keith.

The big girl last saturday, with no sign of damage !

Just ask.

Keith
Next time you are around at Brunty, as Andy or any of the Lightning lads to point you in our direction, and we will be happy to show you around the aircraft in private. Or even PM me in advance and we will arrange something.

pagen01, Sorry no pics from the ‘pit it was so full of bods on that occasion, maybe next time ?

Keith.

Wow Atcham Tower, I was exactly 1 month old when that was taken!! Probably the last open day without rain as well!!!!!

Matt, both would be a very great help! yes we will have a few rivet’s to take out, not to mention many more toput back in again. 1/8, 5/32 and 3/16 will be the order of the day if you can help, or metric equivalant if not. But no rush, I will need to get the nod from D.W. first, no matter what, and I am inclined to wait till the windy season in March and April is over, as I don’t want to weaken the structure any more till then. I think it might be a good idea to get her back on firm ground as well, which will mean waiting for the ground to dry out and harden first.
Still, if we get the go ahead, we can at least start collecting the gear and matierials together.

Did you get any pics of the ‘pit Keith?

If you need any colbolt drills give us a nod, i know they’re a godsend if you have to de-rivet, which i’m assuming you’ll have to do some of, i can get plenty of speed type if you need to seal the tear while you mend

And to help the spirit of Brunters along, here’s a pic from its Armed Forces Days, 28 May 1960.

Ritch & Max, A little good news at last, best of luck with it !

Speaking of the weather at Brunty on 25 May 08 (wet wet wet) a lot of people were very thankfull for being allowed inside the Guppy, myself included !

For those who have never, this is what it looks like

Looking aft.

Looking forward.

And out of the window / hatch.

So here we go!

Ok
Time to break my silence!
I have spent the last two days pouring over a pile of photos of the damage, both internaly and externaly. I have worked out a repair scheme, which I belive we can carry out, outside in the cold and wet!
I have also talked to Nev Martin tonight, and run my ideas past him for approval, which he is in agrement with.
So, I have now submited my proposal to the aircrafts owner, and asked him for his approval to proceed.
Thats were we are at now, and hopefully we can bandage the old girl up. I just hope she is through trying to mate with a Green Goddess!! christ alone knows what the outcome could be!!!
Andy, thanks for the offer, the spirt of Bruntingthorpe is indeed strong, and thats why it is such a genuine pleasure to be there, you see, it’s not just the weather that draws us in!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess the Guppy would be a little hard to transport to cockpitfest one day, should the axe ever fall on it? :D:D:D

So best make sure it stays in one piece!!!

Brunty Arrivals Could very well be a supurb thread title, as WL405 has suggested ?????

If anyone interested Ive been there for most of the Brunty arrivals over the last 20 years, got some nice piccies 😉

Im thinking that sounds like a good idea for a new thread Andy 😎

I know it wouldn’t look pretty, but would it at least help keeping the elements out if you (insert ‘someone’) were to rivet over a sheet of aluminum with a bit o sealant around it. Like I said, it’s not pretty, but I a ‘proper’ fix sounds like a great deal of work. At least it would keep some of the weather out.

Does anyone have any photos that they could share of her arriving at Bruntingthorpe?

Hearing everything Rich, if you need our help just call on us any Saturday, we will help you guys out, just shout 🙂

VX927, yes I was there that day in the summer of 1995

I got a call at lunch, made my excuses and dashed off only to get stuck on the bl**** M1 so I was 1/2 hour late !!!!!!!! 😡

But go this shot, her engines were still ‘ticking’ 😉

If anyone interested Ive been there for most of the Brunty arrivals over the last 20 years, got some nice piccies 😉

Rich, dont despair mate, we will give you a hand 🙂

Cheers all

If only it were so simple!

Hi Mark

If only it was that simple! What the photos don’t show is the damage to the internal structure, which is serious. The problem at the moment is that first, all the new stresses that have been “punched” into the structure have to be relieved, and the skin persuaded back into its approximate original position.
Then the repair can begin.

If we remove too much damaged structure and relieve too much stress all at once, then get some high winds, the structure could distort to such a degree that it becomes impossible to repair at all. She is stuck in the mud / soft ground by her nose and sbd main gears, so any wind (and we approaching that time of year) could put incredible forces through the structure. Also, she is now side on to the prevailing wind, which is not good.

If we just drill a few hundred holes and put a patch on, all of those holes will also reduce the strength of the structure. Regarding sealants always be very careful what you use, many of the silicone sealants will have a terrible corrosive effect on aircraft skins, but between two pieces of skin out of view. I never use the common household sealants, use a specialist sealant like JC-5 (Yak ****!) or even a Thycol, PRC compound.

As I say, it needs a lot of thought, we can’t jack her up or jig her, as she is permanently outside and at the whim of the wind, so we will have to see what we can come up with.