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GeoffR

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December 9, 2010 at 8:56 pm in reply to: Some old pictures of my gliding club #1121299

GeoffR
Participant

In the fourth picture the glider in the middle with the guys clustered around look a bit like a Hutter H 17. I had one of these for many years.
Alternatively it could be a Grunau Baby I guess.
Nice pics
GeoffR

December 1, 2010 at 9:41 pm in reply to: DH50 and B24 Liberator #1129411

GeoffR
Participant

Bager
There’s the possibility that at a later stage we’ll take a mould from that replica sometime if we have other people who want one.
I thought there was a long chance that someone might want to make a flying one someday, so I built about 3 degrees of washout into the wings, as I thought that might make it less touchy to fly.
The B24 and the S25 Sunderland have the cockpit placement that lends itself to making a flying miniature.
The S23 Empire boat and the PBY Catalina, sadly, don’t work out so well because their windscreens are too far forward.
I started making a 1/4 scale Sunderland to fly, but lack of suitable engines and lack of time and funds eventually put the brakes on that idea and I scrapped it.
I still think a flying Sunderland around 1/3 scale would be a useful, almost practical aircraft with the right engines.
GeoffR

November 29, 2010 at 1:18 am in reply to: DH50 and B24 Liberator #1132123

GeoffR
Participant

We make moulds for the wings (from a fabric covered wing),tail surfaces, engine and struts, and building jigs for the propellers. The rest is steel tube closely following the equivalent size and positioned spruce of the original, covered with flat fibreglass panelling.
Our flying wires are precision cut (Abrasive Water Jet) flat bar with rounded edges.
We hope the replicas will last indefinitely with practically no maintenance, and they are robust enough to be interactive, so within reason patrons can touch and have access to them inside and out.

DH86 and S23 will be full sized. That means they can never be fully assembled in my workshop. The S23 poses some challenges, and will need engineering input, but should be quite striking. It will float in a purpose-built harbour.

No moulds taken from the Liberator sadly…time and money wouldn’t allow.

GeoffR

September 17, 2008 at 10:11 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1205154

GeoffR
Participant

thanks Graham
will do
GeoffR

September 16, 2008 at 11:11 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1206290

GeoffR
Participant

John
that picture alone will save me a load of work and research, thank you for that. You obviously have a good idea of what I need.

Anything else you find would be gratefully received and put into the DH86 file.

I’ve been looking for my book “Airliners in Australian Service” as it has cockpit pictures that Martin might be interested in. Can’t find it so far which is worrying, but if/when I do I’ll scan and post those pics for Martin.

When I get onto the 86 project, I’ll get access to QANTAS Historic pictures collection, and get permission to publish some of those on this website.

GeoffR

September 16, 2008 at 12:06 am in reply to: DH.86 Express #1207097

GeoffR
Participant

Thanks Steve

GeoffR

September 15, 2008 at 10:47 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1207231

GeoffR
Participant

John
I’d give my right arm (well a few of the bones and some of the fingers) to get a copy of those books.
Any ideas on where I might pick them up? Obviously you want to hang onto yours, but if you wanted to sell them….
Maybe I have to troll around through the usual sources to see if I can locate some. I can see them being immensely useful down the track a bit.

UK’s the place to be if one is interested in these things.

GeoffR

p.s. Another book I’m always on the lookout for is Stanley Hooker’s “Not Much of an Engineer”. I read it decades ago and it’s a great book.

September 14, 2008 at 11:40 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1208514

GeoffR
Participant

Actually I’ve just realised that picture is there in higher res…(duh!)

that’ll be fine as is thanks Anon

GeoffR

September 14, 2008 at 11:12 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1208524

GeoffR
Participant

wow that is just amazing!
I hope when we do the DH86 we can approach that level of finish and accuracy.

I’m going to the QANTAS museum meeting next week and I have to discuss these projects. Would it be possible to get via email some higher resolution pictures of that replica to take with me?

regards

GeoffR
[email]reichelt@airwaveyachts.com.au[/email]

September 14, 2008 at 11:34 am in reply to: DH.86 Express #1209348

GeoffR
Participant

Mark
it’s a reasonable question.

The building frame is made from irrigation pipe, sheeted with corrugated iron, reflecting the ingenuity of the early outback inhabitants.
I’m not sure why it leaks, I suppose the joints have loosened and opened up over 80+ years, but it’s meant to be left in its original configuration, so it can’t be resheeted or changed I guess.
I agree it should be maintained and sealed, unless there’s some other factor I’m unaware of. I’m heading out there next week to quote on some upgrade jobs on the ’61 , and to attend the AGM, and seeing you’ve brought it up, I’ll put a case for that.

Despite some of their impressive assets they’re underfunded, like most museums. I have a number of projects looming up with them, the DH50, for which we have original Puma engine, prop,radiator, & wheels.
Following that there is the DH86, the AW FK8, and the Be2e.
I’m 60 now, so I’d like to get them all done while I’m able to work.

The Dh61 is weatherproof enough to be stored there in the main front part of the building.
In the back part of the same building there are some original engines; an original RAF V8 as in a Be2e, and an immaculate Bristol JupiterXI, among other things, but it doesn’t leak at that end.

GeoffR

September 14, 2008 at 2:28 am in reply to: DH.86 Express #1209687

GeoffR
Participant

Thanks Roger

regards

GeoffR

September 13, 2008 at 10:22 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1209857

GeoffR
Participant

Dave
A possibility I suppose, as I’ve kept the wing mould. Actually I joined the top and bottom wing moulds together and mounted them on a frame under which I keep another mould.
I kept the mould for the Avro Baby wing too which is fortunate because the Bundaberg museum people have just ordered a single wing into which will be set a glass cabinet showing some of Bert Hinklers’ artifacts

The QANTAS Founders Museum in Longreach suffers a bit from everyone thinking it’s a QANTAS project, but in reality it’s just a consortium of townfolk and ex-QANTAS people scraping it together. Mind you QANTAS do throw in some help quite often which makes a big difference.

The fibreglass method is quite handy as it makes for very durable displays.
This is the 1/10 Sunderland, which was actually a flying model.

I ended up giving this one to the RAAF.

It’s all good fun but not lucrative, so I build boats to earn a crust.

GeoffR

September 13, 2008 at 12:14 pm in reply to: DH.86 Express #1210182

GeoffR
Participant

Dave
sadly no. A flyable one would be too vulnerable to the elements and general deterioration.
My method is to make a painted, fabric covered wing, then take moulds from it, from which fibreglass wings are made, which have an indefinite life in bad conditions. Similarly the fuselage and empennage are fibreglass.
The DH61 lives in the original QANTAS hangar which leaks badly. Heritage provisions dont allow the hangar to be renovated.

This is the original A/C in the same hangar 70 years before.

The DH50 and 86 will have to live in similar circumstances.
Also all these are interactive replicas, so the public can access them freely, which means they have to be pretty robust.

Thanks for your comments John.

GeoffR

September 13, 2008 at 9:24 am in reply to: DH.86 Express #1210222

GeoffR
Participant

Hi Roger
I make aircraft replicas, like this DH61 for the QANTAS Longreach museum

and the DH86 is on my agenda as soon as I finish the DH50, which is starting in January.
It would be a huge help for me if I could get a copy of the manual for DH86.

Is there any way I’d be able to get a copy from you?
I’d really appreciate it

Hoping you can help
Geoff Reichelt
[email]reichelt@airwaveyachts.com.au[/email]

January 20, 2008 at 8:27 pm in reply to: BA 777 Emergency Landing Short of Runway at LHR #560766

GeoffR
Participant

a bit more info from another forum (http://www.airmech.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=77610) there’s apparently a confirmed report that ‘The aircraft landed with over 8,000 kgs fuel’.

GeoffR
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