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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 29, 2018 12:09:38 GMT 12
It's so great to see the Avenger has headed home to Gisborne to join the now very go ahead museum there. It is a shame we did not get to see both Avengers (or all three if Plonky came up) running together though at Tauranga, that would have been quite a site but it's a wee while away till we have three running Avengers in NZ.
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Post by planewriting on Oct 29, 2018 15:22:01 GMT 12
A point of possible interest, its return to Gisborne overnight (for its third stint there) is almost exactly 75 years to the day after it originally landed there in 1943. For the record, it left Tauranga Airport at 2230 on Sunday 28 October 2018 and arrived at Gisborne Airport about 0500 this morning.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 29, 2018 17:03:47 GMT 12
That's a very cool piece of history Peter.
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Post by kiwi285 on Oct 31, 2018 20:38:22 GMT 12
Heard some really bad news this morning - on Sunday evening when 2505 was on its way south they managed to clip a folded wing onto a bridge abutment near Whakatane and have torn some of the sheet on the upper inboard area on the wing. I guess more info will become available soon so that we can gauge the extent of the damage. They carried on to Gisborne so the aircraft is back home again.
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Post by markrogers on Oct 31, 2018 21:25:14 GMT 12
Oh no, that's really disappointing to hear.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 31, 2018 21:41:27 GMT 12
Oh that is really sad news to hear Mike.
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Post by baz62 on Nov 1, 2018 9:54:45 GMT 12
Some truck drivers are hopeless. When Anthony Galbraith shipped some Gipsy Majors down from Tauranga the driver managed to knock a perfectly serviceable crankcase off the truck where it smashed part of it off. Hopefully the wing is still in alignment and it's just a straight forward sheetmetal repair.
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 1, 2018 13:15:05 GMT 12
Some truck drivers are hopeless. When Anthony Galbraith shipped some Gipsy Majors down from Tauranga the driver managed to knock a perfectly serviceable crankcase off the truck where it smashed part of it off. Hopefully the wing is still in alignment and it's just a straight forward sheetmetal repair. I have been told that it was the same driver who brought the aircraft up to Tauranga. Yes the alignment will be the big issue because the locking pin is very close to the leading edge and to the upper surface. If that or its mount structure has been moved there will be a problem.
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 2, 2018 14:22:26 GMT 12
Have had a look at another photo of the damage to 2505's wing and from what we can make out it appears that the structure supporting the locking block on the wing is not damaged which will be a BIG plus. The striker arm that switches off the hydraulic rams has been mangled and will need to be set up again as this is quite critical to saving the wing from damage if the pressure is still on. 291018 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 2, 2018 14:34:57 GMT 12
The team are still beavering away of the wing repairs but Des and I seem to have spent most of the day helping some other members to clean up hangar 3 in preparation for the arrival of the Meteor which is due before Christmas. A group are going up to Dairy Flats to have a look at the airframe and assess what we will need to do to accommodate it. Unfortunately I will miss that trip as I am heading south for a couple of weeks. Des found some info on the model (I thing an NF 11) and it is just under 50 feet long and a wingspan of just under 40 feet so will take up some space. 021118 001 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 021118 003 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr Does anyone know where we might find a piece of this material - it is the support arm for the Yagi aerial. It is steel and is an aerofoil section. It is about 3 inches wide and about 1 1/4 inches at its thickest point. The material isn't critical just the approximate shape. We would need about 1.4 metres of it in total. 021118 007 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
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Post by agalbraith on Nov 2, 2018 14:53:43 GMT 12
Hi Mike
Thanks for the update on '05' I had been checking in every few hours! Thank goodness it wasnt the locking block....
As for that aerofoil section, that looks to be VERY similar in size and profile to the lift strut on an Auster.... I am sure either Baz or I can help you there. I will measure one up either tonight or tomorrow and report back!
Cheers Anthony
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 2, 2018 15:19:37 GMT 12
Hi Mike Thanks for the update on '05' I had been checking in every few hours! Thank goodness it wasnt the locking block.... As for that aerofoil section, that looks to be VERY similar in size and profile to the lift strut on an Auster.... I am sure either Baz or I can help you there. I will measure one up either tonight or tomorrow and report back! Cheers Anthony Hi Anthony - that was my immediate thought but I went and asked a couple of firms on the airport and they all said that the lift struts on the aircraft they deal with are much bigger than that. If either of you good Samaritans could help it would be very much appreciated. A couple of us had thought that maybe we could make them out of wood and shape them to an aerofoil section. The shaft running down the centre rotates and that is what the antenna is attached to and why it is steerable. On the undersurface of the wing we can see that cover plate that hides the mount point for the aerial base.
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 2, 2018 15:22:54 GMT 12
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 3, 2018 10:50:37 GMT 12
Hi Mike Thanks for the update on '05' I had been checking in every few hours! Thank goodness it wasnt the locking block.... As for that aerofoil section, that looks to be VERY similar in size and profile to the lift strut on an Auster.... I am sure either Baz or I can help you there. I will measure one up either tonight or tomorrow and report back! Cheers Anthony Anthony, I have PM'd you re this.
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Post by agalbraith on Nov 3, 2018 14:10:03 GMT 12
Message recieved...email sent!
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Post by baz62 on Nov 3, 2018 17:28:05 GMT 12
[quote author=" kiwi285" source="/post/270116/thread" timestamp="1541125346" 291018 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr [/quote] Yikes! That was close. The structure is bent back in the vicinity if that fitting so lets hope it's still in alignment. The blast tube for the 0.50cal gun is a bit mangled too!
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 3, 2018 18:11:26 GMT 12
Yes I am inclined to think they might be lucky enough to be able to unfold the wings. A bit of panel beating with see the blast tube as good as new. If I remember rightly we had to do that during the restoration.
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Post by emron on Nov 4, 2018 18:21:23 GMT 12
Have managed to photograph the scanned photo of the bomb aimers compartment in an Avenger. On the right by the number 9 are the two units used to steer the Yagi aerials for the radar. We have two of these units and the boys are keen to see what we can do with them. The panel I am working on has the instruments numbered 3,4 and 5 on it. The radio panel to its left is the items I am going to try and recreate next and is a radio panel of some sort. bombaimers compartment 001 by Mike Feisst, on Flickr Mike, the Yagi aerials are part of the ASB radar. The other components are the indicator (which is mounted on the floor to the right of the main radios) and the transmitter and receiver which I think are mounted on racks nearby on the right side of the fuselage. The CCT-23ABG control unit you have is for the ABK IFF radio. If I recall there’s a mounting plate labelled “ABK IFF CONTROL UNIT” that it fits on. Another component of this system is the BC-706A inertial/impact switch. There’s a bracket for it labelled “INERTIAL SWITCH’ on the cockpit floor behind the pilot’s seat. There are a couple of mounting plates on the floor nearby that could be where the BC-800 receiver/transmitter was located. However I wonder if this system was routinely installed in RNZAF TBF’s. Because it made up a lot of added weight and came with a thermite explosive charge that could be detonated and destroyed the radio circuitry to prevent capture by the enemy.
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 5, 2018 8:05:43 GMT 12
Hi Ron, Thanks for all of the info - it is very helpful. Yes I could imagine that most RNZAF aircraft would not have had all of the equipment fitted as they were low level bombing most of the time. It is amazing the number of pickup points there are in the aircraft for some of this equipment though.
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Post by davidd on Nov 5, 2018 10:34:31 GMT 12
I have to disagree with any comments doubting that this equipment was fitted to our TBFs in the forward area. Remember that these aircraft were all under the control of COMAIRNORSOLS (Commander, Air, Northern Solomons) which was a sub command of the United States South Pacific Forces. And he (or his technical staff officers) would have specified which operational equipment was appropriate to his theatre/command, and which was not. However our (TBF) aircraft had some of the crew arrangements modified to suit RNZAF flying trades. In the US Navy, carrier-based pilots also fulfilled the role of navigator, which is why all USN carrier-based aircraft (single engine) had the chart board mounted under the pilot's instrument panel, and could be slid backwards for use. RNZAF pilots were also trained as navigators, but if there was space available, a dedicated navigator was preferred, so the RNZAF borrowed a Royal Navy (FAA) modification and transferred the navigation instruments to the cockpit behind the pilot. Incidentally the means by which the ASB aerials were turned in flight (from "search" configuration to "homing" by swivelling them through about 90 degrees, or maybe a bit more than that) was by means of a British invention, the infamous "Exactor" hydraulic control system, as installed in Sunderlands, Empire flying boats, Stirlings (early models), Whirlwind twin-engined fighters, DH Flamingo, and AW Ensign airliners, amongst others, to manipulate engine and propeller controls, using a single lever and a single small diameter steel tube to each slave unit. At Wigram, many years ago, I was privileged to assist in cataloguing much technical equipment, and amongst other items processed were some Exactor hydraulic control units. Some were manufactured with pressed steel plate, welded, while others were made from castings. The first type were British originals, the second type manufactured by the American "Sperry" company, New York, under license from Exactor in the UK, so both were operationally the same, but looked quite different. RNZAF TBFs based at Gisborne were even used to search for a reported enemy submarine in the vicinity of Cook Strait in March 1944 after the crew of the WAHINE reckoned they saw torpedo tracks pass behind their ship at night off the Kaikoura coast. The TBFS would have been used because they were available, reasonably close to scene of search, and I presume fully equipped with operational ASB equipment, and depth charges. The RNZAF was expected to retain all fitted (and/or recommended) operational equipment in its American-type aircraft under US control, which included upgrading them in the field if feasible. Thus aircraft not so equipped with up-to-date equipment were required to have it fitted as quickly as possible, with such equipment provided from US in-theatre sources. This included the new and top secret "Fido" acoustic homing torpedo (carried by our PV-1s, and could be carried by TBFs if required) and also having our early PV-1s in the theatre being retrofitted with the also new and very secret radio altimeter. This latter installation was made fairly easy by the required wiring being already factory fitted. So, as can be seen, any peace-time notions of having obsolete equipment retained in service because it was too expensive to refit new items just do not stand up when the (American) theatre commander orders that the latest upgrades be incorporated in "his" fleets of aircraft, should he deem them useful or necessary. ABK IFF equipment (for instance, as mentioned in one of above posts) had a very high priority throughout Allied air forces in operational theatres, as did the "Fido" torpedoes, but these were probably not available in New Zealand as enemy submarines (apart from some rather "suspect" sightings) were considered not to be a threat around NZ unless events proved otherwise, or Intelligence provided information that enemy ships could be on the way. Latter was the case when a long-range U-boat cruised down east coast of NZ in January 1945, and previously it had been sinking ships off SE Australia (which obviously proved previous intelligence that this sub was in southern waters). David D
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