1:1 Spitfire K9817 Cockpit Build

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Thanks Vic,

Happy New Year to you.

Good to be back. The airbrush arrived by courier yesterday...THAT was a drama.
The airline told me I could not bring it on board because it had a "tank".

I said "no problem, it is in the CHECKED baggage".

They said "yes problem you can't bring it on at all, it can NOT go on an aircraft because it has a TANK."

OK, off to the freight company ($20 taxi ride). How much to freight?

"$102"

WHAT??? What do I get for that?

"Well, what you get is quick freight"

Great!! How quick?

"You can pick it up in Perth when you get off your flight?"

AND exactly how can you manage this??

"Oh, because it will be freighted on the same flight that you are on"

But it can't go on an aircraft.... it has a tank.

"No, it can't go in checked baggage, it has to sit NEXT to that in THE SAME HOLD in a plastic courier envelope at a cost of $102"

So I have to sign a "dangerous goods" declaration as it has a
tank?

"No, it isn't dangerous goods if you freight it..just if you check it in"

So I could have checked it in and signed a dangerous goods declaration?

"Oh no, certainly not...you can't check in dangerous goods!!...by the way, has it had any paint put through it?"

Ah...way ahead of you...NOPE brand new but there are three 10ml bottles of acrylic paint stuck in the box.

"That will have to come out...dangerous goods!"

Which, of course, I can't sign a declaration for and check in, can I.....

"You've done this before, haven't you?"

And I can't freight them as they are dangerous goods..right?

"You HAVE done this before"

So is there ANY cheaper way?

"Well, I suppose we could send it non priority freight"

And when would that get there and how much?

"Well $83, let's see, you could try to pick it up tonight when you get off the plane.."


Because it will be on that flight with me?

"Now, go on... Tell me you haven't done this before... but sir, I really wouldn't wait around for it tonight"

because it may not make that flight?

"Oh no, it will definately be on that flight...but it can take them half an hour or so to sort it and the $83 includes next day road freight the 200kms from the airport to your home ANYWAY."

And this makes sense?

"It seems to."

Am I on Candid Camera?
 
Cheers Glenn,

The moral of the story is DON'T pick up a good deal 3500kms from home when you are flying home on a Sunday night of a long weekend.

Cost of Airbrush $275 (saved $100)
Taxi $20
Freight $83
Paints Lost $20

Extra time at airport (as $120 in taxi fares to get to freight company in time before Sunday closing and then go back into city and out again later..not going to happen)
5 hours

Savings on exhibition wife couldn't go to as no longer time $48 and 2 hours
Cost of wife missing said exhibition...I think you can guess an approximate answer to that...

Look on face of very nice older lady at freight company when I asked if I was on "Candid Camera" ..... almost worth it.


The biggest joke of all is that the "tank" on the airbrush is about half the size of a deoderant can, contained exactly "one atmosphere" pressure as never used and would withstand several hundred pounds if needed.

The deoderant, three 100ml bottles of perfume and a 750ml bottle of Scotch, all of which VASTLY more flamable than ACRYLIC paint were no problem to check at all.

I am in the process of writing to the paint manufacturer to at least make them aware that they should be screening customers ... any terrorist may strike at the West for the cost of a small "Cockpit Green" .......
 
Having now changed my trousers, and recovered from a severe choking fit - that was brilliant!
I can just see this sort of thing developing further -
"Can't bring those on board this flight, they're dangerous goods!"
"Yes, it's my WP grenades, four magazines of 5.56mm ammo, and my M16A1."
"There you go, dangerous goods. Sorry, but it's the latest International Air Travel Rules."
"But this is a RAF Hercules, I'm a Para, and you're going to drop me into action ....."
 
Terry,



There was an apocrophal story doing the rounds of a US unit having knives and nail clippers taken from them as "dangerous" articles, whilst leaving them with their personal weapons as they were "unloaded" and therefore not "dangerous"...the sort of story that is so good you wish it WERE true.

Luckily for the lady (who was, after all, as fed up with rules as I) I was off a week's holiday and on my way home .. so pretty tolerant.

Normally that kind of thing gets me all sarcastic and bent out of shape....but I think you'll agree I didn't get at all like that...
 
Can just see the next stage on the horizon.
"Can't bring that on board sir, it's a Dangerous Item."
"It's a carrot !!"
"Yes, but it's pointed at one end."
 

Darryl my friend that is not an apocryphal, that story is for real as it happened to me here in good old OZ.

Coming back on an internal flight from Tasmania a few years back I had these nail clippers in my backpack, no longer the 5.5cm they had a small nail file on the back that folded out from the clipper body. This was less than 5cm long but was considered a 'lethal weapon' and the dumb cluck of a security guard was going to confiscate them.

I'd had the clippers for nearly 30 years and they had travelled the world in my backpack about five times over. I was not going to give them up lightly even at the risk of being off loaded. Deep discussion ensued even to the point of demanding by hold luggage back so I could stow the 'lethal weapon' in my case. Heated exchanges and threat of offload eventually had the offending nail file snapped off from the clippers and I was sent packing...........
 
I've had a constant stream of electronic and mechanical failures for two months and am just going through pulling everything apart for the third time (or is it fourth?) .

Whilst the sim is apart, I have taken the opportunity to swap out some of the "temporary" bits and in the new stuff that has arrived. The fuel button now has the correct brass ring around it and the proper top swing fuel gauge has arrived and will go in this afternoon.

The rudder mechanism has to have a sleeve and bushes put into it and those are being manufactured for me in Perth. After the pot taking me three tries and several hours hanging upside down, to fix, I got a whole 55 minutes flying before the pivot point failed....such is lfe.

Also just finished, Gwyn's drop tank unit he built for me.....for the Mk V when released. I will fit it in a couple of weeks when the whole lot goes back together.












And the real thing in situ...



The pic below shows the Bowden Cable that runs from the Lever to the tap (natural aluminium). This is actually where I will be routing the wires after hot gluing them around the switches (brown) and keeping the track clear of sharp edges etc.







I try to hide wiring that comes out of "mechanical" places and shouldn't be there. The Emergency Undercarriage Bottle has its switch wires run through the CO2 pipe..hiding them and making it look like it is soley "mechanical".
 
Thanks Mate,

Yep, it has been a real PITA. I managed to give myself three fairly bad burns (two from the soldering iron and one from the heat gun) but they weren't big, just one was too deep for comfort.

I'm hoping to get the thing back together and working within two weeks. We'll see. I hope to have some new, earlier model gauges laser cut, that wll take her back to a Mk V by the time I am finished. I want that to be in the next fortnight but my mate with the machine is buried..so I can't see it happening. I also need to chase Ross up on teh last of the door latch bits,
 
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