thanks guys
I found a Devon one on line which looked similar and clinched it for me that it was seemingly post war 🙂
cheers
John
Hi John
The Italeri kit would have you install what looks to be a galley on the aft side of the Navigators bulkhead, as far as I can ascertain this is where the Beam Approach crate and stowage for the emergency water supply and tropical kit was
John
LOL
No such thing on a Stirling 🙂
A work of fiction on Italeri’s part
John
Ditto to above Cees
All of our Stirling instruments have been replaced with non-luminous alternatives except for the Lorenz gauge and the 7 off fuel gauges for which there are no alternates
John
Not tempted Richy LOL
On reflection, the OPs photograph looks to be a Mk I judging by the nacelle and window configuration. If it is indeed 1944 dated then that would explain the very tired look to the airframe!
John
Hi James
It also looks like the aircraft in the photo has an FN4 turret as opposed to the usual FN20 for a Mk III:confused:
John
An CU aircraft would be a likely candidate and it looks pretty well used, surprised to see it on a continental airfield although it could have diverted. XT would make it 1657 CU at Stradishall/Shepherds Grove, surprised to see it in a dip with the Stbd u/c still intact! The towing equipment was a role fit and could be dismounted when not in use btw.
John
Many MkIIIs had the capability of towing gliders, so it’s quite possible this was pressed into service to supplement the more dedicated MkIVs. Autumn of 1944 would have seen the glider/para re-supply services extremely busy
John
Thanks Andy
Worth an ask 🙂
John
Have you got any photos Andy?
The item we’re trying to replicate is shown on the AP extract in the top RH side of the photo
John
Just a short update,
the cockpit floor is being worked on and will shortly be drilled into position. the outboard panels are a smidge oversize allowing us to trim them to suit and to match the contours of the fuselage skin once determined. Kev our resident carpenter has come into his own here with these panels being made from spruce and ply composite structure.
Secondly, a very minor detail in the greater scheme of things but we have been main working on the mounting for the Lorenz gauge behind the main instrument panel. Rather than being bolted direct to the panel as with all of the other gauges, it has its own bespoke cast mounting and needs a mounting chassis supported by rubber AV mounts. The photo below shows the work in progress and hopefully there will be some finished photos soon
John
Don’t think I’ve ever seen one fitted to a Stirling, open to be educated otherwise.
Any markings or ident marks (ARI etc)
John
Thanks Sonderman
A trip to Fort Veldhuis to see the original box from BK710 is well worth a visit too. Ours works as intended by Shorts now and just needs connecting up to the control cables 🙂
John
Hi all
A while since I last posted here, but be assured we’ve been beavering away and have made quite some progress of late.
I can finally say that following a long standing group effort, we have finally completed our throttle box. If you have been following it’s somewhat tortuous progress, you will know that it is now on its third iteration following the loan of the box from BK710 which allowed us to correct some geometric issues with our Mk 2 attempt. The pictures below, show the box with cam followers installed on the throttle levers, all labels affixed, Starter Panel complete and with the landing gear lock in place. this latter assembly involved a minor miracle by Cliff and Graham to get working in its correct sense, so well done them.
Next areas being worked on are the cockpit floor panels, prop feathering panel, fuel c0cks and once we’ve got our heads around it the De-icing panel in front of the 2nd Pilot. we also have 2 new volunteers, Brothers,Ed and Tom who have significantly lowered the overall demographics of the group 🙂