An I paid an afternoon visit to the Shuttleworth Collection to see the latest progress on the various restorations.
Firstly the PO-2. The wings have now arrived and are having the fittings installed.
Russian aircraft are sometimes praised for their simplicity, well heres an example of Russian simplicity
An unusual view
The Spitfire is moving along, with good progress being made. As with everything the devil is in the detail, but more of that later.
The engine top cover now ready for primer
Detail on the nose tank
A look down the fuselage with the tail (temporarily) in place. There is much more work to be done in here, thankfully they have a stock of small engineers. Sadly they will probably use a big one!
The Cockpit is coming along nicely, tale a moment to think that every part has been removed, documented, inspected and refurbished or replaced. Painstaking work!
The windshield being put on for a trail fit
Its an enormously complex part, that when finished looks so simple, and this is without Perspex! It looks good in place
Here is an example of the detail work that is being carried out on the aircraft. There are about 100 Dzus fasteners used on the aircraft , 82 large and around 20 small ones. They are used to fix removable panels in place. Heres a picture of a similar but slightly older one in place on the Hind.
The fasteners are attached onto the panels and fit through a bracket on the airframe, like these two shots below
Each fastener is made up from 7 separate parts, they have to be taken to pieces, pain stripped, cleaned, checked and any worn or damaged parts replaced (in this case the outer bracket on the left hand side appears to have a crack in it, and the other parts are worn).
All this so that as many of the original parts can be re-used. As I said earlier progress is good, but not necessarily visible.
Elsewhere in Hangar 1, the wings of the Blackburn Monoplane have been removed from the airframe for recovering and some remedial works. In this shot is the first wing to be stripped with the second sitting upright in the background
Tying in nicely with the oldest flying British aircraft, is a new arrival for the Collection. This is up in one of the hangars and is the Scud II glider. This is Britains oldest flying glider. Its been purchased for the collection by the SVAS. It’ll look great in the air next season
By: Bruce - 14th December 2009 at 12:42
No, it had an overhaul in the 70’s – but not to the level they are going now, or anywhere close.
Bruce
By: David Burke - 14th December 2009 at 12:16
I am sure the Spitfire V had a rebuild in the 1970’s .
By: adrian_gray - 14th December 2009 at 11:54
So this example of Russian simplicity… I take it you are referring to the main undercarriage wheel and springs behind?:diablo:
Adrian
By: John Aeroclub - 14th December 2009 at 09:14
The change? Is it Black registration letters on the B.2?
John
By: ZRX61 - 13th December 2009 at 21:44
Russian aircraft are sometimes praised for their simplicity, well heres an example of Russian simplicity
I’ll be right back, I’m just going out to the shop to weld my toolbox shut 😮
By: Manonthefence - 13th December 2009 at 21:39
How dare you call them Fairys :diablo:
You are right Bruce, but Dzus is the generic term thats used by the engineers. You learn something every day.
The reason it was stripped down to the last bolt is because it needed it!
Dave
Looking forward to the Scud and the Blackburn Monoplane sharing the same skies.
By: Bruce - 13th December 2009 at 21:34
I really hate to be picky – excellent pics by the way – but the fasteners are ‘Fairey’ Fasteners. Dzus are American, simpler and work much better….
Bruce
By: contrailjj - 13th December 2009 at 21:07
Dzus…
wow! many thanks for sharing the pics Nick, beautiful details in the Dzus and their associated brackets.
James
By: G-ASEA - 13th December 2009 at 20:52
I must admit, in no small part thanks to the the enthusiasm of one of the collections pilots, I am really looking forward to seeing it fly.
Yes, I was with him when we rigged the Scud at the London Gliding Club some months ago. I took some photos of him sitting in the glider. Then he and his family came over to my fathers workshop, with the owner of the Scud.
I haven’t seen it fly for some time, so it will be nice to see it in the air again.
Dave
By: funhouse - 13th December 2009 at 20:13
Why was the Spitfire stripped down to the last bolt?
Because this is the first rebuild in the aircrafts history.
By: Wyvernfan - 13th December 2009 at 19:11
A Tigercat killing a Po2… is that a victory?
No worse than an Me163 downing a B17 or B24… or 109 downing a Swordfish. Thats war for you.!
By: Pure Lightning - 13th December 2009 at 18:50
Why was the Spitfire stripped down to the last bolt?
By: GliderSpit - 13th December 2009 at 18:34
Shame the TFC Grumman F7F Tigercat is no longer in this country.. as seeing the Po-2 reminds me of a certain Korean war aerial victory, scored by a US Navy Tigercat shooting down a North Korean Po-2. Could have made an intersting airshow double act.!
A Tigercat killing a Po2… is that a victory?
By: Wyvernfan - 13th December 2009 at 17:50
Po-2.
Shame the TFC Grumman F7F Tigercat is no longer in this country.. as seeing the Po-2 reminds me of a certain Korean war aerial victory, scored by a US Navy Tigercat shooting down a North Korean Po-2. Could have made an intersting airshow double act.!
By: Manonthefence - 13th December 2009 at 17:23
I must admit, in no small part thanks to the the enthusiasm of one of the collections pilots, I am really looking forward to seeing it fly.
By: G-ASEA - 13th December 2009 at 11:19
The Scud 11 arrived at Old Warden in the afternoon of wednesday 9th December. It had come from Dunstable, London gliding club. We put it together, as shown in the photo. It hasn’t flown for a few years.
Dave
By: Manonthefence - 13th December 2009 at 10:10
Finally. Spot the change!
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December 13, 2009 at 10:09 am