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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 3, 2017 20:49:50 GMT 12
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bae
Flying Officer
Posts: 67
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Post by bae on Jun 3, 2017 21:33:39 GMT 12
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Post by mikedereeper on Jun 6, 2017 14:43:08 GMT 12
Thank you for the compliment. As stated in the newspaper article I have never tried anything like this before. I blame Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear fame and that saying of his "How hard can it be?" for getting me into this. On my first attempt I was working of photographs and did not take into account the distortion of the lens, end result, the frame scale was completely wrong so I had to scrap it and start again. I then started hand filing blocks of aluminium in an attempt to make the first gauges. It did not take me long to realise that this was going to take far too long so I bought a mill drill lathe 3 in one machine. Thats when the fun started as I had never even seen a milling machine in use yet alone tried to use one. After months of turning large hunks of scrap into small metal filings I finally started to turn out some parts. This was a great learning experiance and I now know how important it is to have items SECURLY clamped down when machining as several items of my spitfire have already successfully flown across the workshop. I have taught myself how to use Autocad and solidworks the 3d drawing programs (damn Clarkson and his how hard can it be) and have a complete spitfire built in 3d which has helped me in getting measurements that are missing from the blueprints. The simulator is still in its mock up stage which is why the throttle quadrant and the chassis controls are not complete. The rest of the parts for these units have been built and once the fuselage skins are in place theses items will be fitted out and installed as completed units. Way back in 1987 I had an accident which resulted in the cutting of triceps, biceps and ulnar nerve in my right arm. This has left me with partial use of my right arm and any use of a hammer for periods of longer than 15 minutes results in my arm going dead for a couple of hours. This is the main reason I have used pop rivets instead of the original rivets, the only concession to what I see as my own life challenge. According to OSH regulations I am a hazard in the workplace, which I believe is wrong. The only time I could be seen as a hazard would be if someone tells me I am disabled, that would be very hazardous. I am a firm believer in the power of positive thinking and if I can't get employment I'll make my own. I am happy to answer any questions and would encourage anyone to follow their dreams. I have spent a lifetime of driving truck and trailers around the lower South Island and all my experiance has been in this field as you can probably tell by my spelling. If I can build my dream with no experiance so can you. Have a great day everybody and remember, smile at your boss, it will drive them crazy wondering what your up to. Mike
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Post by planecrazy on Jun 6, 2017 14:58:16 GMT 12
Well done to you Mike, in the spirit of another achiever from
Invercargill, Burt Munro, just pin your ears back and have a go!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 6, 2017 15:11:10 GMT 12
Welcome to the forum Mike. I hope you'll post occasional updates for us to follow the project.
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Jun 6, 2017 18:30:48 GMT 12
Yeah, ditto to the above, welcome and good on ya mate, what a trooper!
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Post by mikedereeper on Jun 7, 2017 14:07:33 GMT 12
Thanks, as this is the very first Forum I've ever joined and posted on I have yet to learn how to post pics or where to post them. I'll figure it out and will keep you updated. The overall plan is to have it ready for electronics by the end of spring this year. I had to change the seat location in order to support the back frame. All the springs for the flight controls will be connected to a subframe located between frames 11 and 12. Frame 11 being the one the seat is mounted on. I need the gunsight, which I'm working on now, to confirm my line of sight.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 7, 2017 16:58:24 GMT 12
I'd recommend all further updates should be posted into this thread Mike,to keep it all together. If you want I can change the thread title for you if you think another title will suit the project better. And as for photos, there's a guide of how to do it here: rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/21596/post-photos-forum-2014-versionBut if you have any problems and questions with the photos, feel fee to ask and someone will come to help. We're a very friendly and helpful bunch here. Cheers. |
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Post by mikedereeper on Jun 7, 2017 17:44:22 GMT 12
Thanks Dave. I'll use this thread for updates, titles just fine. Link is very helpfull.
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Post by thebrads on Jun 7, 2017 22:03:38 GMT 12
Mike, just curious, do you use Paul Monforten book as a reference? I'm a (pretty poor) aeromodeller, and to me it's fantastic, but just curious how it translates to 1:1 scale modelling?
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Post by mikedereeper on Jun 7, 2017 23:41:35 GMT 12
I bought a set of blueprints on dvd and then I modeled it in 3d max, later translating it into autocad. It helped me understand how they originally built them, which helped me in solidworks. It would have been easier doing it the other way but I got there in the end. Changeing the scale of the spitfire inside a 3d programe would effectavily (I'm not the best speller?) change the size in the 3d world. If I had a printer big enough I could print a spitfire out at a 1:1 scale. If I reduced the spitfires scale in a 3d program by 50% and hit print I would have a spitfire at half size.
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