Superb work.

Just out of curiosity, how much more can you add to your cockpit structure? You clearly have a lot of original parts to start with.

From following the project updates over time, I see you have re-built the frame, propogated it with many of the restored cockpit components, and now the firewall. Do you have any of the upper decking/cowling/door structure?

With the UK and Canadian Typhoon Project generating fuselage jigs, airworthy parts and assemblies, it would be excellent if these could also be used to assist projects such as yours.

Keep up the excellent work.

A rather nice Dunlop Mk2 spade grip although, the lack of brake lever attachments on the rear suggest ‘foot operated’ brakes and a slightly less glorious ‘fighter’ provenance that the weapon switch suggests, perhaps Gannet? My lists don’t go back far enough to cover the various later Dunlop spade grips, Air Ministry could shed a little more light perhaps?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RAF-DUNLOP-MK11-CONTROL-GRIP-SPADE-GRIP/322626417815?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

GYD

Same grip as a gannet, but the one I owned had a “stores release” version of the Selectric button fitted instead.

H Comet Racer,

Excellent Sea Hornet wing section pics. I haven’t seen these before. Thanks for posting.

In your second image, that’s the carb intake in the fixed portion of the outer wing section.

I’ve seen many sea hornet fuselage scrapping photo’s, where the usual method was to cut the wing inboard of the engine nacelle and crop the tail plane, just as the previous colour image of VW949. This leaves a complete outer wing with engine nacelle in a maneagable lump, and the fuselage narrow enough to load onto a lorry.

Does anybody know the reason there were lots of Sea Hornet rear fuselages at St.Davids? What happened to the rest of the aircraft, why were those parts left?

There’s no metal in those chunks of any quantity. These sections would have been left on the dump to burn.

Excellent pics. Is this a target tug Tempest cockpit fit?

That’s a relief the pilot is ok, and managed to put it down on a runway.
I was looking forward to seeing the vixen fly at DX today.

‘224 – Poor old girl. She’s been out doors since the early 70’s!
Its a fact of life that old castings will eventially fail, due to corrosion, and being under constant strain. Notwithstanding that an airframe like this that has been moved around a lot in its life.

I used to help look after her at North Weald in the 80’s. One story that comes to mind were the events that took place on the night of the mid-October gales in 1987. ‘224 used to be kept on the Southern side of the airfield, and the night of the strong gales, she took a trip across the airfield, mainly backwards! The aircraft did not have any of the nose weights fitted due to the forward structure being mid-refurbishment, and the gales pushed the tail down and moved it right across to the western side of the airfield. It didn’t touch anything else fortunately, and somehow managed to stay on the perimiter track. Underneath the tail, there used to be a small triangular aerial fitted, that due to the tail scraping was pretty much worn away. Only the rubber skid prevented it from making more damage.

How complete is the airframe now?

Hi blackjet604,

Searching through the Flight Global Archive, if you read on in subsequent issues you will see the DH Hornet F3 was withdrawn from the NZ race. The statement from the initial article: “Several Hornets are privately owned in North America” is incorrect, and is probably an extrapolation from the single Sea Hornet CF-GUO/TT193 that was being operated as an aerial mapping aircraft.

Quite which Hornet F3 was intended for this race is not stated, but you are probably correct in saying it would have been a UK-based DH company prepared airframe, used for promotion. The year 1953 is pretty late in its service life, and the demand for all available airframes by the RAF to be sent to Malaya at the same time, may have meant none were available?

“The New Zealand Race
THE London-to-Christchurch (New Zealand) Air Race is now less than a fortnight distant. The contest will be started from London Airport at 4.30 p.m. on Thursday, October 8th, by H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester.
When the entry-list was first published, seven months ago, there were 19 nominations—13 in the Speed Section and six in the Transport Handicap. Since then there have been one or two changes and—as in all events of this kind—the inevitable withdrawals. An American entry, the F-82 Twin Mustang to have been flown by Maj. H. I. Hill and Mr. J. L. Dyer, was replaced some weeks ago by a B-45 Tornado, with the same crew, and since then the Royal Aero Club—who are responsible for the organization at this end—have been notified that the B-45, in turn, has been withdrawn. Another non-starter, not altogether unexpectedly, is the channel-wing Custer Executive, which made its first flight as recendy as July 13th; it was to have competed in the Transport Handicap. Other withdrawals, notified earlier, have been the Danish F-84G Thunderjet, the U.S. entry of a D.H. Hornet F.3 (to have been flown by “Slick” Goodlin), and the Spitfire 24 entered by the American Aircraft Corporation; the last-named aircraft crashed, killing P. D. Freytag, who was to have flown it in the race. There are rumours, incidentally, that the Australian Commonwealth-Mustang (F/L. Whiteman) is an unlikely starter. There now remain nine entries in the Speed Section and five in the Transport Handicap. The R.N.Z.A.F. Hastings arrived in this country on September 11th, landing at Lyneham after an uneventful journey from New Zealand. The pilot, W/C. R. F. Watson, said that they had experienced most unusual met. conditions of a head-wind of about 35 knots all the way—”If somebody can produce the same wind-direction for the race we shall be very happy.” The Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant crew have to pack a considerable training schedule into the time remaining. One of the main objects, say the makers, will be to observe fuel consumption and performance in detail; a number of full-load take-offs and landings will be made, and the results gained will be a guide to the take-off performance in the warmer, thinner air at Karachi and toe Cocos Islands. During these nights, also, various “domestic” details will be examined, such as the best way to feed the crew, who will be wearing oxygen masks for much of the race-flight. The Valiant will fly m three stages, London-Karachi (4,192 miles), Karachi-Cocos (3,255) and Cocos-Christchurch (4,929)—12,376 Ac maiH-The RAF – Canberras are to make a five-stage flight.
Of the Viscount’s prospects in the Transport Handicap, Vickers admit that in a world-spanning race of this kind their entry of an aircraft designed for medium-stage work cannot hope to receive the handicap allowance necessary to give it victory. Never-theless, they expect it to give a good account of itself and to demonstrate turboprop reliability. Full arrangements have been made for spectators; of these we shall publish particulars, including admission prices, etc., in a
race-guide—giving full details of entries in next week’s issue.”