Yesterday was also my first opportunity to try out my DSLR properly and here are some of my efforts.

Lovely shots David, the 16 Sqn Buccaneer looks nice!

I’ve seen it before Baz, done quite a bit of my own studying of the subject (as utterly boring as that sounds!), the only similarity I can see with that idea and the subject here is the a dual dial layout, the mechanism itself, and to some extent the display is very different.

Having an instrument display driven by torque motors suggests to me something fairly simply that relays information from inputs from another device.
A flight designed roller blind att ind is very complex when stripped.
Thats partly why I was wondering if it was a ships relay instrument read out, though watching all the vids I can’t see anything like it in use.
As you know I have a sim, and some of the instrument drives in that are similar to Ians subject, but even the faces are more complex.

It is easier to build a new spitfire using plans / drawings and a data plate than it would be to restore one…. Was the Lincoln at Cosford mentioned? 😀

Easier maybe, more interest and money in the type – definitely!

The ‘new’ attitude indicators of the late ’50s were a roller blind presentation instrument which recieved its information from a master computor and gyro system (often an MRG Master Reference Gyro), this replaced the older standard artificial horizons which used conventional atmosphere and gyro sensors. The attitude indicators were introduced on RN/RAF high performance jets of the late 1950s, and often had a standar art horizon back up.

Scimitar was the first type introduced with the system, followed by Sea Vixen, Lightning F.1 and lastly the Buccaneer S.1.
Vixen & early Lightnings were fitted with Pilot Attack Sights (PAS) which presented targeting information based on the same central computor (MRG) info that fed the attitude indicators. PASs bridged the GGS and HUD eras.
Buccaneer had PDU Pilot Display Unit (PDU) which was a more developed targeting/sighting system and encompassed LABS.
Vixen, & Bucc also had AI radar info for the observer to use at longer range, the Lighting pilot had an AI scope.

Head Up Displays were introduced later, Harrier/Jaguar era, HUDs presented full flight reference info as well as targeting info.

The instrument here doesn’t look like a bridging instrument between artificial horizons and attitude indicators to me, as it looks more basic than what it’s replacing and certainly doesn’t have any roller blind features, but I do agree some trials piece or maybe sim as the info is obviously fed from another source.

Aww, no Britains die cast tractor for me this Christmas then!
My uncle had a 35 and 135 which he used to let me have a go with, the one above looked a bit like the 135.

Anyway, back to killer Cats!

A very grey day, but all eyes were on Sally B today, with her first flight of the season.

It was a very great pleasure to talk to one of her pilots for today, when I gave him a lift yesterday:)
Sally B is certainly an endearing legend as a display performer in the UK, all power to the charity and support to keep her going, sadly I haven’t seen her display since N.Weald c.’92

Nice MF135 with the Cat!

In the temporary absence of a far more qualified answer, with the engine sitting correctly I thought that the compressor housing could be split by removing the bolts at each horizontal edge, and from the upper half radius of the front and rear mating ridges.

Be interesting to see updates and pictures of your project John, I do like the Avon.

New arrival today, previous owner and pilot Andrew Dixon delivered Pembroke C.1 WV740 to HFL.
WV740 has been at St Athan before, when it served the Station Flight from July 1976 to March ’78.

Apparently we can expect something similar soon, but in orange and grey!