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Post by kiwi285 on Jan 10, 2018 14:59:14 GMT 12
Last month Des had a go at making a form block for the outer rib of the tailplane as they have been mangled on both halves. He wasn't very happy with the result of the first rib he tried and had put it aside. I pulled it out today and after some messing around and a few modifications I managed to get a decent rib from it, so have managed to get most of the end section completed. Its a case of working away at it and taking some advice from other wise heads. We have put a reinforcing sheet over the whole chord of the tailplane as, when locking the elevator in place they had drilled half inch holes right through the top and bottom skins and bolted steel plates in place and the corrosion took hold. Apart from this the bottom skin was kept in place. 100118 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 100118 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by kiwi285 on Jan 12, 2018 14:06:37 GMT 12
Having a look round the old girl before I came away and I noticed that the mount ring for the turret is now bolted in place. Still a lot of metal work to do around the support frame but its in. The Gisborne aircraft didn't have any of this frame so the made mount brackets and bolted it in place. I have been told that the owner has another turret so between to two we should be able to get one good turret. We will strip this one down and sandblast it and then rebuild it on the main support frame. It is amazing how much of the mechanism is still there. A couple of the team are talking about getting the amplidyne motors running and operating the turret so that will be fantastic to see. 040917 (6) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 040917 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 120118 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 120118 (8) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 120118 (11) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by agalbraith on Jan 17, 2018 9:56:29 GMT 12
Another great update guys.....as always! Is that turret going back in? Thank goodness you chaps got to her when you did, I doubt she had much longer for this world had you not!
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Post by kiwi285 on Jan 17, 2018 16:28:08 GMT 12
Thanks for the positive comments Alan. I agree, some of the rot in the structure would make you cry. I guess that quite frequently that is the way with saving old aircraft or vehicles - you never get them until the last possible moment. Still we have it in our hangar and we are giving it a birthday. Here are a couple of photos from today. There is some talk about pulling it out of the hangar on Saturday for the airshow but with the forecast I am not sure that will happen. Anyway you could go up to hangar 3 and have a look yourself. 170118 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 170118 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 170118 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 170118 (4) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 170118 (5) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by Mustang51 on Jan 18, 2018 7:05:40 GMT 12
Aluminium is an amazing material. Just think about how much weight a 1/8" rivet can support before it shears.
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Post by kiwi285 on Jan 24, 2018 18:41:01 GMT 12
The two Avengers were out on display at the Airshow at Classic Flyers on Saturday. They were positioned side by side and apparently created quite a bit of interest and comment. Today a couple of the team put the turret up on the bench and started removing one of the amplidyne motor/generators from the body of the turret and before they packed up for the day had removed one of the end covers to have a look inside and see what state they were in. Time will tell what we can do with them. It will be interesting to see what state the other turret is in when we receive it. 240118 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 240118 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 240118 (6) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 240118 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 240118 (9) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 3, 2018 8:08:12 GMT 12
A bit of a messy week this one with cleanup from the airshow and finding all of our 'stuff' after the aircraft were removed and then put back into the hangar. The centre section is getting closer to completion and we have gone as far as we can on the port tailplane without the new hinge attach points so we have removed it from the jig. The starboard tailplane is in the jig and we have started drilling off the upper skin because the ribs on this side have been crushed as well. As we were drilling all of the rivets out, the skin, being under tension all this time, has sprung back to where it should have been. Looks like all of the ribs, bar one, have some induced deformation that will need to be repaired, so we will be busy for some weeks. 020218 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 020218 (8) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 020218 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 020218 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 020218 (5) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by chbessexboy on Feb 3, 2018 15:20:23 GMT 12
I have just seen a very good photo of '39 at Havelock North in the October 2017 issue of NZ Aviation News. Contributed by Murray Kirkus of Brisbane, it would be good if it could be reproduced here.
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Post by agalbraith on Feb 4, 2018 10:31:53 GMT 12
Thanks for another great update Mike!
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 5, 2018 15:01:41 GMT 12
Just looking through some of the photos I am surprised at just how well the paint work has stood up to the ravages of time. I know the insides of the tailplanes were out of the direct weather but it has well done its job considering it is 75 years old.
Thanks Alan - I must admit I am enjoying putting it up on site and seeing the number of people who stop by to have a look.
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 5, 2018 15:25:40 GMT 12
I have just seen a very good photo of '39 at Havelock North in the October 2017 issue of NZ Aviation News. Contributed by Murray Kirkus of Brisbane, it would be good if it could be reproduced here. I managed to contact Murray Kirkus through Aviation News and he was very helpful in sending a digital copy of his photo for our records. I thought that I had already posted it up but maybe not. Whilst I am at it I will include three photos of NZ 2539 when it was at Bennett Aviation in Te Kuiti. My beautiful picture by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 2539 at Bennetts 2 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 2539 at Bennett's 1 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 2539 at Bennett's in Te Kuiti by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by chbessexboy on Feb 6, 2018 5:26:29 GMT 12
I have just seen a very good photo of '39 at Havelock North in the October 2017 issue of NZ Aviation News. Contributed by Murray Kirkus of Brisbane, it would be good if it could be reproduced here. I managed to contact Murray Kirkus through Aviation News and he was very helpful in sending a digital copy of his photo for our records. Brilliant, many thanks! This is exactly how I remember her. It appears to be towards the end of her playground duty judging by the deterioration of the paintwork.
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Post by baz62 on Feb 6, 2018 10:33:44 GMT 12
Just noticed on this view of 2539 that there seems to be an extra piece to the rear canopy that's not on the other TBF tug photos I've seen. Possibly something put over the end to cover it in storage perhaps? Normally the last section of canopy ends about where the rear end of the dingy compartment door is but there appears to be a small section carrying on towards the rear stopping just by the circular patch where the turret was.
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 7, 2018 16:05:10 GMT 12
Des and I had one of those more productive days today. Within 3 and 1/2 hours we had the upper skins off and all 11 crushed ribs panel beaten relatively straight and we have started putting in the re-inforcing channels to hold the ribs flat. Makes you feel great when the plan works as it should. Pity it isn't always like that. 070218 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 070218 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 7, 2018 16:07:20 GMT 12
Just noticed on this view of 2539 that there seems to be an extra piece to the rear canopy that's not on the other TBF tug photos I've seen. Possibly something put over the end to cover it in storage perhaps? Normally the last section of canopy ends about where the rear end of the dingy compartment door is but there appears to be a small section carrying on towards the rear stopping just by the circular patch where the turret was. Must admit I hadn't seen that either. All of the photos I remember seeing there was a vertical Perspex panel across where the front of the turret would have sat and the hole skinned over.
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 9, 2018 14:59:18 GMT 12
All of the ribs have now received the panel beating treatment and all of the re-inforcing channels attached. More progress. They have removed a couple of cylinders from the engine of 2505 and the prognosis is not good. 090218 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 090218 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 090218 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by baz62 on Feb 9, 2018 20:57:43 GMT 12
They have removed a couple of cylinders from the engine of 2505 and the prognosis is not good. Oh dear what did they find?
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 10, 2018 8:45:58 GMT 12
[/quote]Oh dear what did they find?[/quote]
At this time it appears that the bearing in the rear master rod has failed. They have started taking the engine out and will strip it down to assess the situation. That will allow them to make any decisions after a complete dis-assembly.
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Post by baz62 on Feb 10, 2018 15:11:29 GMT 12
Bugger, so that's two TBFs in New Zealand with crook engines. At least you guys are cracking on to see if it can be repaired. Would have to be a master rod. For those wondering what this is in a radial engine: As the cylinders are arranged in a circle there is only one "throw" of the crankshaft which has, in the case of a single row of cylinders, a single master rod which the crankshaft imparts the up and down motion as in any engine but the other conrods attach round the lower part of the master rod. So as the bottom of the master rod goes up and down in a circular manner it also causes these con rods to also go up and down. In these pictures the master rod is for a 9 cylinder radial (One master and 8 slaves). In the case of the Avenger's Wright Cyclone R2600 there are two rows of cylinder, front and rear. So the crank has two "throws" and two master rods and 18 slaves. Sounds like it's the bearing which sits in the large hole is the issue. image009 by Barry Tod, on Flickr Radial engine by Barry Tod, on Flickr The bearing will be some kind of plain copper lead bearing. If it's only damaged the bearing and not the journal then a new bearing which should be readily available in the US would see it fixed. If it's dmaged the journel that opens up another can of worms. Fingers crossed!
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Post by kiwi285 on Feb 11, 2018 14:41:46 GMT 12
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