Hello;

Thanks all, for replying to my post. I’ve been MIA for a few days.

Chumpy, I’d like this to be a flyer. A poor man’s Spitfire, and I think flying it would be a thrill to build and fly, even if it is scaled down in size. It would also be an opportunity to show off and say “see what I built?”

DazDaMan AND Mk1, I have given some thought to wood construction. I would prefer metal, although I really think the tools, cost and time required would be a big lump to chew, so wood is looking more favourable all the time. Terry Wilshire’s Tally-Ho project looks terrific, and quite accurate in shape. I think it’s a $1000 investment to buy a one-use licence to get his plans. I’d want to modify it into a MkIX, but that shouldn’t be impossible. When I talked to Terry last week, he mentioned that wood’s biggest advantage is that it’s so forgiving. You can saw, sand and shape it so easily, as well as add to it if needed. Let’s say the fuselage frames come out 1/8 inch too narrow. Just epoxy a thin layer on the outside edge. Is this an acceptable repair? Terry seemed to feel that it was.

I’ve always had perhaps an unfair or uneducated view of wood. I have simply always assumed metal is stronger, but this may not be true if structure is well designed. And wood can be at least reasonably well sealed, UV protected, etc. Wood I’ve been told, can break, but it doesn’t fatigue, and it dampens engine vibration. Can you tell I’m still learning, or even justifying this in my mind? Ask me next week, and I might want carbon fiber. The week after that, bamboo…

There have been some other awfully good wood replicas. Anyone familiar with Ross Ferguson’s MkXIV ? It’s beautiful, and looks like one of the best replicas I’ve ever seen, with virtually perfect lines and curves. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll post or e-mail some pics. It’s worth a look, and then a second look.

MkI’s machine is quite nice. I like the way the engine all seems to reside inside the “boundaries” and not stick out anywhere. When it comes to replica Spitfires, I’d really prefer not to see any lumps, bumps or intakes that aren’t suppose to be there. I know it’s tough to avoid at times with different engine shapes, etc.

A bit of personal background, and why I have this bug: I wanted to build a full scale Spit 20+ years ago, and started machining the stub spar booms and frame 5. Then I woke up and realized I wasn’t a rich man, so I stopped. Around 8 years ago, I started to make a 1/4 scale Merlin for fun, and I’ve put that on hold since I bought a bigger project; a house. The little Merlin was fun to work on, and I’ll resume work on it one day. Learned a lot about investment casting, wax mold making, and certainly a ton about the Merlin, and as a small legacy, I have a bunch of Merlin parts in my possession. The wheelcase alone is quite a work of art.

So, the Merlin and Spitfire bug will not go away with me, and actually I’m quite happy about that. As a result, it seems quite reasonable to build a Spitfire, even a scaled one, and treat this as the project of a lifetime. I know that the vast majority of these projects don’t get finished, but in my opinion, that’s no reason to not try. I want to fly, but I’ll get a ton of fun out of the journey too.

I’ve only commanded an ultralight so far, so obviously it’s back to flight school, and then tail-dragger school, but that’s all part of the venture.

Here’s what I do have in my favour; good building skills with metal and wood, even though sheet metal fuselage frame forming isn’t my best skill at this point. I have an Aerospace background, I work in Canada’s premier Aerospace research facility and work with aluminum and composite structures, and I have access to lots of tools, including a mill and lathe, both of which come in handy all the time.

What I lack is a money tree and a big garage. Since I just have a medium sized garage, I might want to design this aircraft so that the wings can be removed at the root like the original (not a quickie job, I know).

There’s my lecture for today. I know how hard this Spitfire bug can grip a person, but I honestly feel that both the aircraft and the Merlin are spectacularly beautiful machines. Yes the Hurricane was a bigger player in the Battle, and yes the Mustang is faster with much longer legs (as well as stark-raving gorgeous as well) but there’s something artistically perfect about the Spit, especially the MkIX for me.

Any replies are welcome and tips as well. That’s why I’m here.

Thanks again everyone, Tom.