1:1 Spitfire K9817 Cockpit Build

[Tony Hill]

I also found some pictures of the throttle Undercarriage Horn and Cancel button unit for the throttle that I converted to working from Tony's beautiful solid resin replica.

The rear silver button has since had the correct legend "PUSH" stamped onto it.

 

[fubar57]

Good stuff Darryl

 

[Crimea_River]

Pics not showing for me. I need to click on each icon to be directed to Photobucket.

 

[fubar57]

Weird....same for me now but I did see the photos yesterday

 

[Tony Hill]

Cheers Geo!


Hopefully working now Andy?

 

[Wurger]

It works for me.

 

[Wayne Little]

Works down under too..

 

[Crimea_River]

Yeah, there was some glitch here the other night. I couldn't see any of John's pics either but all seems good now. I found the site to be more buggy than usual lately.

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff Darryl.

 

[Tony Hill]

Cheers Guys,

Just a few brass standoffs for the throttle made on the lathe over this weekend. I also went through the delicate process of drilling and countersinking the holes for them in the throttle side plates. A very nerve racking job to get it perfectly lined up with the holes on each sideplate and sitting correctly for the top guide plate (still to be made) to follow and space the throttle and mixture levers.

I have received all the bolts and machine screws I ordered and it was actually a great feeling to be working with the historically correct materials. I don't think it is "normal" to take great pleasure out of turning in "slot" head screws instead of "Phillips" but it WAS the most wonderful feeling. Knowing that the throttle is completely "to spec" right down to the bolts and screws, is very satisfying. I will even be getting the correct rivets and turning custom sized brass taper pins to complete the job.

I'd forgotten just how much i enjoy the "detail work"!

Next I made a wooden stand-in for the throttle lever, as Replica Aircraft Parts are supplying that. I'm making up the Mixture Lever. I'll post some pics when I have made the mixture lever and Top Plate.

 

[Crimea_River]

Good stuff Darryl. Do you know if your contact there would be able to build a set of rudder pedals for a Mosquito?

 

[Tony Hill]

Can't be shot for asking Andy... give me a few days. Do you have the GA's?

 

[Crimea_River]

I don't think we do. I've scoured through our drawings but did not see them. Thanks Darryl.

 

[Tony Hill]

Ok Mate,

Leave it with me. If RAP can't do it, I can try my mate in the East of OZ, he 3d prints and sends to a metal casting company.

D

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Darryl.

 

[Tony Hill]

Picture time, with a weekend of work behind me.

Throttle body assembled as a test fit.

Back in the day, we were belted (quite literally..with a belt!) if our screws were not perfectly aligned in our work piece...apparently old habits die hard..even on a test fit The tradesmen who took our classes were from the generation that built these aircraft. So these little touches actually feel quite "right".

The three black markings are for the mounting lugs for the Undercarriage Horn switch units. The roman numerals in pictures further down are marked on the throttle sideplates and the standoffs which are coded together as some of the positions are slightly different sizes, distances. They are matched down to the .001" to keep the throttle sideplates square to each other.

Top plate made and fitted but still needs the grooves cut for the guides to Mixture and Throttle levers. Some further machining was required to bring the flanges down to the correct size and fit. I still have to remachine the side flanges as they are very slightly out from front side to back side due to not clamping them tightly enough the first time I levelled them. Luckily there is still about 1/16" tolerance to work with so I should be able to do that and still be within "spec".

The adjustable stop for the throttle travel made from 3 pieces of 3mm aluinium and aircraft rivetted together. I was most unhappy with the imperfections in this and rivets showing, but figured car bog may crack with the tension on the piece...so I remade it in steel:

It is a small piece and is a delicate L shape with a channel cut through the centre to accept the bolt and adjust position. In the end I decided there was no chance of clamping it and still being able to work with the milling machine collet chuck closely enough to cut it. So I cut it and formed it on the end of a 3" x 7" bar of steel I have and then sliced it off that like a bread slice. It is only one inch by 3/4 inch by 1/8 inch in size!

Next I moved on to the mounting brackets. These are deceptively simple looking...until you work out that they are bent on angles (each one slightly different!!) to mount the throttle at an angle. They are also slightly different shapes left and right of centre. Too close to be easy to tell but too far apart to ignore the difference.

So..on to my tool of absolute last resort...graph paper and my (VERY dodgy) Tech Drawing skills.

I had to do these from looking at detailed photos and a bit of mental "unfolding" as I don't have GAs for them. The first is the bottom bracket, a very wierd shape indeed for a simple triangular bracket. Rather than chance it, I cut the patterns out and actually flded them to make sure that they would work. Apart from a few minor glitches caused by material thickness, they did.



When I first put them next to the photo below, I had a heart attack, thinking they were totally wrong...then I remembered I had blown that photo up and changed the relative width/lengths, to make it fit an A3 sheet and show the biggest detail I could get..so the photo is wildly out of proportion.....the drawing is, however, 1:1...so I couldn't be THAT wrong...could I...

My panic abated when I matched them to the drawing and put them against the throttle body

You can see now, how badly the below picture is "out" but why my heart sank when I put the brackets next to it!!

The aluinium braising on the bottom bracket did not go well.. my torch wasn't even enough, so it will now be filled with an epoxy resin called JB Weld which is strong, can be sanded and is easy to mix.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Tony Hill]

Thanks Wojtek,

Guys the task of updating so many posts to re-establish the thread is just too daunting, particularly when whatever provider I change to may just do the same as photobucket in due course. Photobucket already lost my photo links once, now have introduced pay use and frankly, I'm over them.

So while I stew and decide where to go next, I've started a facebook page @SpitfireK9817 .I am not a fan of antisocial media, so I would rather get back to the forums..but we will see.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement and whichever way I go, THIS forum will be the one that I keep up to date.

Imurg looks like the go right now but I'm still learning my way around it.

 

[Airframes]

Darryl, just keep your pics in your own folders on the HD, and upload direct to the forum. that way, you can't lose any pics, and they'll always be here on the forum too.
I really can't understand why anyone would want to use a third-party hosting site unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Robert Porter]

Unfortunately this is one of a very few forums that allows direct uploading of pictures, so those of us that share photos to multiple sites and forums have to rely on some form of photo sharing site. In my case, following the PhotoBucket assassination of their user base I decided not to subject myself to any other 3rd party and have created my own image hosting and sharing service. While I always choose the direct upload option here, I also upload everything to my own site so that if needed I can share from there.