Another cockpit instrument addition is this A.P.I. (Air Position Indicator) unit – complete with key. This would of been mounted just below the port instrument panel together with an external air temperature gauge.

Also i’d like to take the opportunity to say thank you to Geoffrey Bussy, who whilst looking for Short Sturgeon photos to help towards an intended article he is writing for a French aviation magazine, was kind enough to send me some scans of Sturgeons – some of which i hadn’t seen before.

Rob

Nice find Rob,

They aren’t that common. I spent a while looking for mine for the Sea Hornet PR.22 panel.

I have extensively photographed the dismantled Typhoon when it was on show in the Michael Beecham centre recently. The engineers at 27MU have done a great job on the cowlings, spinner and rad intake. I was able to look inside them too. I don’t know what references they had to use (maybe drawings from Hawkers at Kingston as it was the late 60’s?) but the work is very convincing.

Last weekend myself and the Chairman travelled to Holland to the Stichting Aircraft Recovery Group 1940 – 1945 at Fort Veldhuis. A fascinating Museum and well worth a visit. Needless to say we went there to measure up some recovered parts and this was very successful to the extent that they have loaned us some significant items, such as a throttle box, floor panels, escape hatch, turret door and part of the cockpit coupe. they have also donated some items which will be invaluable to us. Some of the most notable finds were a near complete but damaged rudder pedal assy which is now ours and parts of the 1st Pilots seat beams which give us the exact location for the cut-outs for the rudder control cables to pass through.

I also took the time to look at Cebro’s wonderful Halifax cockpit and his Hampden cockpit slice

Thanks again to the Chairman and all the Volunteers at Fort Veldhuis, who made our visit both informative and enjoyable

John

That is certainly an impressive haul of reference parts. I look forward to checking over the throttle box castings the next time I’m up. This will really help in detailing the drawings for these patterns.

What a shame that was scrapped – would have made a lovely project now….

I wonder if this was one of the “pods” that Sandy Topen ended up with? I have been shown some photos of several skeletal single seat vampire/venom cockpits that he had in the late 70’s/early 80’s. These were’nt from Vampire FB5 VZ193 or Venom FB1 WK393, so maybe they could have been from this one: Vampire FB5 VV542 or the original RAF pod from Vampire FB5 VZ304 before it was replaced with a Swiss FB6 one?

Hornet F1

Always interested to hear of other surviving Wyvern parts, and a return visit to the Norfolk And Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton meant i could take a closer look at the incomplete port main flap section that is held by the museum.

Many thanks to the chairman and museum volunteer for lifting it out and giving me access (Wyvern photo credit Andy Davey – Air Britain).

Rob

I’m glad you got a good look at this flap section. When I saw it last year it looked in pretty good condition.

I would think that a Hornet must be worth two Spitfires

Excellent, I’ve nearly got half a Hornet, so can I trade it in for a complete Spitfire?? :eagerness:

The confusion might come from the ‘RAF Museum Reserve Collection North Weald’ text ! Whilst its good to finally see something happening with these machines – I wish the RAFM would target the machines that
would fill gaps like the Cotton Electra Junior and try and avoid the likes of the proposed Il-2 deal which whilst an interesting type would have made people scratch their head for its significance at Hendon!

So do I receive a Spitfire in exchange for a Hornet then? 😀