Post by agile on Jun 26, 2010 23:15:50 GMT 12
As requested by Zac, here is a quick update on NZ2328-82, and some pics hurriedly snapped during the day's busyness. Incidentally, we tend to refer to the project as HR339 - the RAF serial of NZ2382, the source of the wings and most other components outside the fuselage - and the guise in which the aircraft saw active wartime service, and to which I believe we hope to return it...? Denys?
Cockpit access hatch - I think we only need the telescopic ladder to complete this.
Office furniture.
Completed vertical stabiliser - just requires fabricing.
One of two Rolls Royce Merlin 25s. This one is gradually approaching completion, although we are still short on a few ancillaries, notably the hydraulic pumps and alternator/generator (one for the port engine, the other for the starboard), as well as exhaust stubs and other smaller bits and pieces. Unfortunately for obvious reasons Merlin parts are quite hard to source in NZ, and the stuff on E-Bay is all from Battle of Britain Spitfires and Dambusters Lancasters. ;D
Inside this rather plain looking box is a lovely set of new-build tailplanes built for us by Avspecs. The workmanship is exquisite, as you would expect looking at their updates. In the background are the wings of HR339. For those unfamiliar with the story behind this aircraft, it was written off after a taxiing accident at Wigram on its way to Taieri for storage in 1953. My understanding is that it was sold to a farmer from Pigeon Bay, who cut the aircraft into pieces small enough to fit onto his little truck. This sounds pretty dire, but in fact a lot more of the aircraft survived this way than with most of NZ's Mossies, with one notable exception. In most cases I believe the wings were sawn off and burnt on the spot...
Prop blade restored by SAFE. This was originally intended for Avspecs, but was found to be unsuitable, and so was exchanged for one of ours.
The next major challenge - once work is complete on the rear fuselage (I didn't get a chance to photograph this area because some of the team were at work there today - it's a bit of a pain to get in and out of, so I left them to it) is to rebuild this area of the fuselage.
During NZ2328's sojourn in Oamaru, this area of the fuselage was under the dripline of a Macrocarpa tree, and the water has taken its toll. The structure is rotted entirely away in places, and is distorted beyond recovery in others. It actually looks worse in the flesh than in this pic.
The project is led by a former Fleet Air Arm engineer who is now a cabinet maker - perhaps the perfect background for the job.
If anyone has any questions, fire away and I'll try to answer, or else find out from someone who can. Likewise if any forumites are visiting Ferrymead on a Saturday and want to have a look up close, send me a PM and we can arrange a time.
As well as the Mossie, the Hughes 300c restoration is rapidly approaching completion, and looks stunning. The helicopter guys have taken delivery of a Hiller UH12, which I think is next in line for their tender mercies.
Cockpit access hatch - I think we only need the telescopic ladder to complete this.
Office furniture.
Completed vertical stabiliser - just requires fabricing.One of two Rolls Royce Merlin 25s. This one is gradually approaching completion, although we are still short on a few ancillaries, notably the hydraulic pumps and alternator/generator (one for the port engine, the other for the starboard), as well as exhaust stubs and other smaller bits and pieces. Unfortunately for obvious reasons Merlin parts are quite hard to source in NZ, and the stuff on E-Bay is all from Battle of Britain Spitfires and Dambusters Lancasters. ;DInside this rather plain looking box is a lovely set of new-build tailplanes built for us by Avspecs. The workmanship is exquisite, as you would expect looking at their updates. In the background are the wings of HR339. For those unfamiliar with the story behind this aircraft, it was written off after a taxiing accident at Wigram on its way to Taieri for storage in 1953. My understanding is that it was sold to a farmer from Pigeon Bay, who cut the aircraft into pieces small enough to fit onto his little truck. This sounds pretty dire, but in fact a lot more of the aircraft survived this way than with most of NZ's Mossies, with one notable exception. In most cases I believe the wings were sawn off and burnt on the spot...
Prop blade restored by SAFE. This was originally intended for Avspecs, but was found to be unsuitable, and so was exchanged for one of ours.
The next major challenge - once work is complete on the rear fuselage (I didn't get a chance to photograph this area because some of the team were at work there today - it's a bit of a pain to get in and out of, so I left them to it) is to rebuild this area of the fuselage.
During NZ2328's sojourn in Oamaru, this area of the fuselage was under the dripline of a Macrocarpa tree, and the water has taken its toll. The structure is rotted entirely away in places, and is distorted beyond recovery in others. It actually looks worse in the flesh than in this pic.
The project is led by a former Fleet Air Arm engineer who is now a cabinet maker - perhaps the perfect background for the job.
If anyone has any questions, fire away and I'll try to answer, or else find out from someone who can. Likewise if any forumites are visiting Ferrymead on a Saturday and want to have a look up close, send me a PM and we can arrange a time.
As well as the Mossie, the Hughes 300c restoration is rapidly approaching completion, and looks stunning. The helicopter guys have taken delivery of a Hiller UH12, which I think is next in line for their tender mercies.
