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Post by 109augsburgeagle on Nov 3, 2008 18:37:47 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 3, 2008 19:13:40 GMT 12
Great shots of the Ardmore Freighter. It is interesting to see how the white of the roundel has disappeared.
Does anyone know what the diagonal red line under the tail meant?
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Post by shorty on Nov 3, 2008 19:18:20 GMT 12
Does anyone know what the diagonal red line under the tail meant?
limit line for towing arm so as not to overstress parts by turning the tow bar to too greater an angle.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 3, 2008 19:40:59 GMT 12
Thanks.
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Post by Radialicious on Nov 3, 2008 21:01:14 GMT 12
Kerry, thanks for the photos mate. I used to visit Ardmore in my last job all the time and never really took more than a glance at the poor old girl. Shorty is right about the diagonal red line. Exceeding that angle on a Bristol with a tow bar will certainly result in damage. It will rip the ass clean out of your tractor or tug. ** Note to all Bristolists - if you need to move your B170, for whatever reason, it is much more fun to taxi her than tow her. ** ZK-CPT is due for a run in the next few days and it has been decreed that a late evening run wouldn't be a bad idea. Gavin Conroy has taken photos of Big Bird from 5.30am to dusk. With her facing the setting Marlborough sun will provide an awesome record of her new life. Now that I am comfortable with starting and running the engines, a night time run would be nice to record also. A friend of mine told me recently of his experiences as a passenger in the last days of the Bristol. In the dark, the exhaust stacks would produce a flaming ring around the nacelle such that he was surprised she didn't catch fire. That was the reason that the aft cowls were made from steel. The other reason for the individual exhausts and their placement was as an augmenting airflow to draw air through the cowls to assist in engine cooling. The exhausts are placed in the cowl exits as the following photo shows and the depression that they cause amongst the engine itself draws cool air through the fins. Simple as! The CT-4E Airtrainer, Caribou (and I think) the Piper Apache are similar examples of machines that use the high energy exhaust to draw air through the cooling system of the engine. The Starling population in Bristolville needs a bit of a reminder that Big Bird is no longer a haven for bludgers and squatters. The next job is to arrange the long promised canvas covers. In the meantime, fire risk permitting, I know the perfect way to give the occupants of the cowls a sweet eviction!
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Post by corsair67 on Nov 3, 2008 21:49:54 GMT 12
Al, have you seen the HARS Constellation flying? That produces lovely blue flames from the exhausts while in flight.
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Post by Radialicious on Nov 3, 2008 22:00:59 GMT 12
Hey Craig, na I've never seen her in the flesh but really wanna. Our Nanchang has a healthy flame from the exhausts at anything above idle in the dark and I'm sure most un-muffled engines do also. Will look forward to that one!
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Post by Radialicious on Nov 4, 2008 20:24:08 GMT 12
I spent the afternoon in the hangar today chipping away at my Hercules. At the moment I'm doing the jobs that I consider to be important - ie to try and find all the nasty fish hooks before I get too far into the project. Today I made a simple tool to remove all the cylinder heads so that I could check the condition of the bores/sleeves. It was pretty clear that she wasn't inhibited because there is a lot of corrosion inside the sleeves. They didn't look all that good at all but after the acres of flaking steel were removed it wasn't as bad as it seemed. She might be a bit smoky and the compressions might be a bit down but for what I want to do with her, she will be fine. There is every chance that the engines on ZK-CPT were in similar condition internally due to being stored outside for 22 years with one dose of inhibiting that would have been destroyed by the odd person turning the props over the years. Besides people expect smoke from old oily radials. It's not going to be easy freeing her up again but when I do, that is when I will start the restoration and titivation side of the project. It is nice to see the sleeves, ports and pistons inside the big bores and having such direct access to it all is great. Hopefully I can get her freed up sooner rather than later!
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Post by Radialicious on Nov 6, 2008 21:53:02 GMT 12
I enjoyed Allan's video that was added to Youtube a couple of days ago. It recorded the first taxi of CPT since her arrival. Like I mentioned on the site, I wish I had pulled the lower trapdoor shut. We had no real need to keep it open and it is a bit distracting to see it appear so close to the ground. We had a right royal party in the flight deck that afternoon. A huge grass airfield, a Bristol B.170, noise, laughing, hissing, squirting, roaring, shouting and the knowledge that we were the only people in the world doing what we were doing.
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Nov 9, 2008 16:08:36 GMT 12
Managed to get some Photos of the Ardmore Freighter today. Hmm, I was out at Ardmore on the 3rd and got asked for directions to the Freighter, that wasn't you by any chance was it?
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Post by 109augsburgeagle on Nov 10, 2008 5:26:48 GMT 12
Managed to get some Photos of the Ardmore Freighter today. Hmm, I was out at Ardmore on the 3rd and got asked for directions to the Freighter, that wasn't you by any chance was it? Nope, I know where the freighter is, it's not hard to miss!
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Nov 10, 2008 15:59:59 GMT 12
No, I agree, it's not!
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Post by Gavin Conroy on Nov 10, 2008 19:54:59 GMT 12
I enjoyed Allan's video that was added to Youtube a couple of days ago. It recorded the first taxi of CPT since her arrival. Like I mentioned on the site, I wish I had pulled the lower trapdoor shut. We had no real need to keep it open and it is a bit distracting to see it appear so close to the ground. We had a right royal party in the flight deck that afternoon. A huge grass airfield, a Bristol B.170, noise, laughing, hissing, squirting, roaring, shouting and the knowledge that we were the only people in the world doing what we were doing. I agree Al, that day was just brilliant and thanks for letting me come along on the first taxi, huge amount of fun and yip, Allan has done a great job on the video you speak of.
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timj41
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 3
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Post by timj41 on Nov 14, 2008 20:57:28 GMT 12
Agreed , it would be a great shame if the engines were no longer able to be run , simply because nobody actually did . Would be a good project to run , than re inhibit the engines once every two years or so ( around easter time ) :-)
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timj41
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 3
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Post by timj41 on Nov 14, 2008 21:00:11 GMT 12
hello, please excuse my ignorance but what does inhibiting entail exactly? Very impressed with the taxi, wonder how fast you could push her safely?
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Post by Radialicious on Nov 15, 2008 17:20:25 GMT 12
The inhibiting process is an internal preservation process that reduces the risk of corrosion when the engines are to be idle for a long period of time. The basic procedure is to run the engines and get them up to operating temperatures to 'boil off' any moisture that might be inside the engine and in the oil. The oil can be drained and the engine run again with a special preservative oil. It is possible to introduce preservative into the carb intake while the engine is running and literally use this to 'put the flame out' or drown it. This ensures the induction system is well oiled. Injector carbs that have rubber diaphragms and tricky-dicky internal systems are drained of fuel and filled with preservative oil also. When the engine has cooled down sufficiently, a spark plug is removed from each cylinder and preservative is sprayed liberally into each cylinder. Many inhibiting guns have a wand with many small holes drilled at angles to each other to set up a thick mist of oil. Others have a spinning end fitting that revolves at a high rpm to do the same thing. The spark plug is then replaced by a dessicant filled plug that should attract and absorb moisture from then on. It is important that the engine isn't turned after inhibiting because the movement of the piston soon destroys the film of preservative. Depending on the type of preservative, it is important to follow up the internal treatment of cylinders because it is only effective for a certain period of time. With ZK-CPT, I was surprised that the engines were in such good condition because they were last inhibited in 1990 and the props had been turned by curious visitors many times over the years. I am going to find a way of immobilising the engines after they have been treated to give the preservative the best possible chance of doing its job.
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timj41
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 3
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Post by timj41 on Nov 16, 2008 22:00:59 GMT 12
thanks for the reply, I went to school with a guy that used to fly to the chathams and back in a 170 for his school holidays back in the early 70's which would have been a trip and a half, what sort of condition is she in? I see a couple of people on Youtube asking if she will ever fly again, obviously that would require a serious amount of money (I wonder if mr jackson is fond of bristol freighters?) LOL. It is a shame that the Argosy down the road is not in such good condition eh? keep up the great work,
Regards,
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Post by Radialicious on Nov 17, 2008 22:15:12 GMT 12
I think she is remarkable condition for a machine that would have spent a precious few months in a hangar in her 55 odd years of existence. A lot of people are asking about the possibility of her flying. I have to say that it has taken the events of the last eight months to make these questions surface. Before March, she was like any B.170 in the world on static display. The chances of her flying again are remote. Not impossible, but remote. Many of us would love to see it happen and I refuse to rule it out forever. However, it would take a miracle to find the cash although, in Marlborough, the ways and means are still in place. For now I am more than happy to let her show all who are interested just how happy she is to be alive again even with clipped wings. I've had a busy few days away relieving Whangarei and Keri Keri and enjoying Def Leppard up close and loud in Auckland. Today I got back to Bristolville and set to repairing the port starter motor that failed last week. A mate of mine was visiting from Wellington and shelled out some notes just to see and hear her in action. It was a shame that after the hour or so of prepping her for a run (and pouring his gas into the wing) that the port starter failed. A bit of troubleshooting led me to suspect the starter rather than the aircraft electrical system. In our stash of goodies in storage was a couple of spares and from the two, I managed to build up a replacement which runs quite nicely on both 12 and 24 VDC. Tomorrows job is to get the old one off the engine and see if the starter was in fact at fault. It is the one that has always made the amusing, if not puzzling, rattle at the point of finally cranking the engine over. I am already looking forward to the task in the familiar darkness and awkwardness that is the Bristol nacelle. From reading the manual on these puzzling bits of kit, they are tested on a dyno to ensure they can pump out approximately 675 ftlb of torque. No wonder they were snapped up all across Marlborough for boat winches!
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Post by Kereru on Nov 18, 2008 14:01:15 GMT 12
Awhitu Bristol Freighter fuselage only, ex ZK-EPA, NZ5902. Colin PS I think Marcus(hairy) has some shots somewhere too but couldn't find em.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 18, 2008 15:31:53 GMT 12
Blimey, I've never seen that one before. Where is Awhitu?
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