With the recent Percival threads running I thought Why not add another. Here we have the magnificent refurbished U/C legs from our lead Proctor project Mk 3 LZ791 (G-AKEX). They were overhauled by Ken Fern on our behalf, the transformation is a joy to behold. Before refurb started they were both shabby with corroded nuts and bolts,not worth a second glance. They are now fully serviceable, pristine, topped up with oil and with new locking nuts and wires in place. Beautifully resprayed in silver cellulose paint, both are now at our local trim shop having new leather gaiters made. These have an elasticated collar top and lower edge and cover the chrome oleo protecting both from dirt. Sadly the legs will be fully covered with the U/C spats and fairings and will only be seen during the annual check. The spats have gone to a vintage car company who specialise in making aluminium bodies from scratch. They have all the tooling required including english wheels to fettle and return both to as new condition ready for painting and fitting. The engine for the Mk 3 goes into the workshop before christmas for a zero time rebuild to commence. 2012 promises to be a milestone year for the rebuild of this Proctor.
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By: Snoopy7422 - 20th October 2011 at 21:15
Legs.
Interesting. I know the Gull IV/VI went through several gestations of u/c, but I’d always presumed that the early Proctors had relatively few differences to the Vega, especially the Proctor I. A late Vega with the curved windscreen and a Proctor I look, superficially, very close. I thought it was mainly the cabin area and a few extra ancillaries. I’ve seen photos of the Vega legs and, on the face of it, they look the same as your legs in the photos. Do you know what the changes were?
By: Tango Charlie - 20th October 2011 at 19:31
U/C Legs
The early marks 1-3 Proctors used a common U/C design not carried over from the Vega Gull series. Our ones have a manufacturers plate from a Croydon based manufacturer, next time I am at the workshop I will get their name. These U/C legs are serious pieces of metal over engineered as was practice for the time and as tough as old boots! They put a new meaning into the word “Light Aircraft”!. Legs for the later Mk 4 & V are similar but with different attachment brackets. We think a poorer and likely weaker design compared to the early marks.
By: Snoopy7422 - 20th October 2011 at 01:46
Legs.
Nice legs TC, and well done to KF for a nice job. Do you happen to know if all Proctors shared the same legs. (I presume that they aren’t handed?) I ask this as the later Proctors were significantly heavier than the Vega-derived MkI’s..?
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October 19, 2011 at 8:20 pm