Calgary's Hurricane on the Move (1 Viewer)

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Have you guys located the Brownings yet Andy? I think you put out a call in another thread but I haven't found it yet. I found this in an article while looking for something else

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Famous cuz I'm on FB? Hardly!

I'm heading up to the shop on Friday to discuss the paint scheme and should get some pic updates for the weekend. For those interested, here are the drawings we will use:

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We're buying Microsol by the gallon.

I was at the shop on Friday and can post some progress shots but have lots to sort and resize. Here's a teaser:

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After nearly a year in our hands we are finally able to return the Hurricane's hydraulic control unit to Historic Aviation Services. At some point back in the mists of time, the unit was removed from the airplane, disassembled and all internal parts were lost. It necessitated borrowing a complete unit from Vintage Wings Canada and engaging a second machinist to manufacture the missing pistons and arms when we were not satisfied with the quality of the work produced by the first. We also needed to build the tools required to disassemble and reassemble the case. Considerable research was also required to source new seals from overseas vendors.

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The hydraulic control unit, now with new pistons, control arms and seals. At some point in the past, the case was opened and emptied leaving us to manufacture and replace all the fiddly bits on the inside.

As the airplane will not be flown, the undercarriage will not be retracted and the flaps will not be needed. The obvious question here is 'why bother' with all the time and expense to rebuild a hydraulic control unit? It's an interesting question to which we continue to receive an entertaining range of responses. Our thanks to society Vice President Jack McWilliam for overseeing this whole process and meeting every challenge to get this unit completed.

Once again we owe thanks to our two Hurricane enthusiasts in Ontario, Brian Davis and Ron Taylor for sourcing parts such as an RPM indicator and a number of drawings needed to build a pilot access step. Both gentlemen have their own Hurricane projects and have been very helpful on a number of occasions.

Brian Davis flew in from Ontario with Darrell Brown when we visited Historic Aviation for our quarterly inspection on March 23. They were anxious to see our airplane in its current state, to spend considerable time talking with chief engineer Greg Davis while taking hundreds of photos of various components and assemblies on the Hurricane. The next day we hosted their visit to the Bomber Command Museum to see the Mosquito project. We also visited Historic Aviation Services on March 16 with Australian military historian and author Ken Wright who was the first international member of the Calgary Mosquito Society and an early contributor to our website.

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Visiting from Australia was historian and author Ken Wright (top) and in the bottom photo HASI engineer Greg Davis talks to visitors Brian Davis and Darrell Brown who came out from Ontario to inspect the Hurricane in support of their own restoration projects.

We are also happy to report that after more than two years of researching colours and markings for the Hurricane that the ten custom colours of Aerothane paint were delivered by the vendor in California.

Thanks and acknowledgement to board member Andy Woerle for heading up the research to determine the colours and markings on the airplane. Our efforts engaged some of the best minds on the subject here in Canada, in the USA and in Britain. From this work Andy has produced a +75 page document that is likely the definitive work on Canadian Hurricane markings. He has also distilled all of the information down to a four plan view with precise details on all the colours and markings on the airplane for Historic Aviation's use to paint the airplane.

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The result of over two years work in concert with some of the finest historians in Canada, the UK and the USA. Thanks to CMS board member Andy Woerle, this four plan view of the precise colours and markings for the Hurricane, detail for HASI exactly how to finish the airplane.

With all of this information in hand, board member Scott McTavish worked with a digital artist in the UK to update the colour profile print of the Hurricane which will soon be available for sale and should be quite popular when the airplane is complete and on display.

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Digital print of Hurricane 5389.

In addition to acquiring a full set of original and deactivated .303 Browning machine guns for the Hurricane, we have also acquired a quantity of bullets and links, enough so that every gun will have a belt running to its ammunition box. Most of the rounds are the correct vintage, being dated from 1936 to 1943.


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Dave C. watches his son Geoffrey load .303 rounds into clips with an authentic WWII vintage tool to make up ammunition belts for the guns in the Hurricane.



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Geoffrey made a single belt, 26 feet long (8 meters) with all of the bullets. How long would it take the Hurricane's 12 guns to burn through this much ammunition? A: Two and a half seconds; though a full load of ammunition would give the Hurricane up to 16 seconds of firing time.

Airframe: Historic Aviation Services


Fuselage and Center Section
  • Finished fitting sliding canopy to cockpit doghouse assembly.
  • Manufacture and install windscreen to canopy seal fairing (original missing).
  • Prep, mask and paint rear cockpit doghouse area covered by sliding canopy as required. (Dark green color matched to original sample).
  • Installed upper, rear cockpit armor plate (behind pilot's head).
  • Made up plywood templates for middle and lower, rear cockpit armor plates (originals missing) began fabrication of same.
  • Manufacture port and starboard rear sliding canopy stops; install same in position (originals missing).
  • Final fit and finish of starboard cockpit emergency exit door panel.
  • Fabricated missing fuselage cross brace wires (qty 2) at joints G and H (as per Hurricane 5418). Installed same in position aft of radio equipment rack.
  • Fabricated inner seat height adjuster segmented quadrant section (original missing) using outer section as a pattern. Installed same and adjusted seat for proper raise/lower operation.

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Manufacturing the pilot's seat height adjuster. Much of the original had disappeared over time. Using one side as a pattern to make its mirror image.
  • Restored canopy open lock and cable assembly as required. Installed same in position in port side of cockpit.
  • Installed new Morse telegraph switch assembly for downward identification light (from HASI inventory) in position in starboard side of cockpit.
  • Sorted port side cockpit access, retractable step components to determine missing parts and materials required to fabricate same.
  • Sourced materials and fabricated inner extension tube, stirrup assembly and locating brackets.

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The iconic retractable 'stirrup' for the pilot to get from the ground to the trailing edge of the port wing. The stirrup and much of the complex retraction mechanism was missing and had to be manufactured.
  • Cleaned and serviced step handhold actuating assembly and connecting rods, pulleys and anchors as required.
  • Made up and installed necessary woodwork to accommodate step hand hold actuating assembly on port side of fuselage.
  • Installed retractable cockpit access step and hand hold actuating assembly in position in fuselage, and rigged for proper operation.
  • Finished fabric work around hand hold actuating assembly as required.
  • Sorted original main port side cockpit electrical components and wiring to determine condition and restoration process. (Other than one fuse panel and several junction boxes, virtually all items were un-useable.
  • Fabricated new wood main port side cockpit electrical panel using original as a pattern. Prep and paint cockpit green.
  • Service original electrical junction boxes as required. Supplied serviceable item from HASI inventory.
  • Supplied serviceable landing light relay from HASI inventory (1 original beyond repair).
  • Mounted electrical junction boxes, fuse panel and landing light relays to main cockpit electrical panel.

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BEFORE: The port side cockpit electrical and fuse panel with landing/taxi light lever.

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AFTER
  • Disassemble, clean, inspect and repair landing/taxi light dipper lever control as required.
  • Machine new dipper lever control tension knob (original missing) as per Hurricane 5418.
  • Re-assemble dipper lever control unit and install in position on main cockpit electrical panel.
  • Manufactured mounting brackets for main cockpit electrical panel as required (originals missing). Mounted main cockpit electrical panel assembly in position on portside of cockpit.
  • Manufactured new wood brake air supply gauge, mounting panel (using original as a pattern), prime, silver dope and install same in floor of cockpit.
Wings
  • Manufactured qty. 2, starboard side aileron bellcrank actuating rods using port side examples as pattern.
  • Made up qty. 2, starboard side aileron pulley actuating cables, using port side examples as patterns.

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The aileron bellcrank assembly, another component that has dogged us since the start of the project. Failing to locate one, HASI used one as a pattern to manufacture a second for the opposite wing. The brass fitting on the upper left is milled from raw stock, requiring thirty seven different operations.
  • Final installation of port and starboard aileron bellcrank assemblies, actuating rods and cables in main wing panels.
  • Fabricate port side aileron bellcrank top, service / inspection panel (original missing) using starboard side as mirror image pattern.
Empennage
  • Continued rib repairs to port and starboard elevators, rudder, horizontal and vertical stabilizers.
  • Continued leading edge repairs to all above as required.
  • Continued trailing edge repairs to all above as required.
  • Begin fabrication of port side tail wheel, lower rudder hinge, horizontal stabilizer mounting, and service/inspection panel (original missing) as per Hurricane 5418.
  • Manufacture qty. 4, port side tail/empennage service/inspection panel spring loaded fasteners (originals missing).
  • Begin manufacture of lower, rear fuselage to rudder streamlined fairing (original missing).

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Byron R. and Andy W. admire some of Greg's handiwork in building from scratch the lower rear fuselage fairing for aft of the tail wheel. Lacking both original parts and drawings, Greg used the airframe as a jig to build the new piece.
 

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