Enough of this stuff from the far workshop, time for an update from Mossie world. The big fuselage repair continues to take up time without generating visual progress, so we'll leave that for now. In the meantime I have been slowly chipping away at the rear fuselage. Here are a few before and after shots:
Looking forward from the rear fuselage hatch:
What it looks like now:
A. Bracket for A.1275 beam approach amplifier. Still hunting for one of these.
B. Telephone/Mic cables for the TR1143 VHF radio
C. and D. Mounts for the TR1143 VHF radio crate. We have the radio but need the crate
E. Rudder trim cables.
F. Cover for Graviner crash switch and red downward ID lamp.
G. Elevator differential and rudder layshaft:
A. Brackets for pneumatic reservoirs. One of these is now installed but of course I forgot to photograph it.
B. Compartment lamp
C. Bracket for aneroid switch controlling the engine superchargers. We are still after the actual switch.
D. Location of the pneumatic and hydraulic panel. We have gradually been acquiring components for this panel, we'll probably have to manufacture the panel itself.
E. Insulator for TR1143 VHF radio aerial element
Pneumatic reservoirs waiting to be installed. Note stencil, which George has painstakingly hand cut based upon the original. Most of the stencils we have found inside the aircraft were originally hand-cut according to RNZAF Museum expert Barf:
Looking aft from the fuselage hatch before:
...and now.
A. Water drain trap on pitot presure line.
B. Insulator for TR1143 VHF radio aerial earth element.
C. Cables for R.3078 (top) and R.3121 (bottom) IFF aerials. The aerials for the earlier R.3078 were mounted in the tailplanes with separate aerial leads running either side of the fuselage, this was superseded by the R.3121 with a single type 90/93 blade aerial mounted in the top of the fuselage aft of bulkhead 5. We are still looking for one of these aerials.
D. Bracket and connector for the TR1143 VHF radio. The aerial elements run forward, aft and downward from this bracket.
E. Pressure venting lines. The pressure venting system uses air from the pressure side of the engine-driven vaccum pumps to pressurise the drop tanks and fuselage fuel tanks. Excess pressure is vented through the bottom of the fuselage via these pipes.
F. Openings for green and amber downward ID lamps.
Looking forward towards the aft hatch:
A. ARI. 5083 "Gee" Aerial loading unit.
B. Opening for F24 camera
C. Flow control valve for tailwheel retraction hydraulics
D. Pulley(s) for rudder cables. We are still short one pulley/bracket set.
E. Elevator trim cables - currently coiled up at this bulkhead.
F. Rudder trim cables
G. Insulator for TR1143 VHF radio aerial element.
H. Mount for the beam approach aerial. Still hunting for one of these.
J. Cables for R.3078 (top) and R.3121 (bottom) IFF aerials.
Elsewhere the instrument panel wiring is complete and the panels are now stored pending reinstallation. The last parts we were missing from the port instrument panel was the radiator temp gauges. These were obtained thanks to this forum a few months back. The remaining holes are for boost, oil temp and oil pressure gauges which we have but which will go in when the panel is installed:
We recently obtained a (super rare) Mk VIIIC Oxygen regulator to complete the lower centre instrument panel. The wartime Mossie had separate regulators for the pilot (in this panel) and the nav (in the floor beside the nav's seat). Post war they were modified to a single regulator of the later pattern on this panel. We are still afer a second regulator if anyone has one laying around:
George has been working on restoring the two firewalls. Here is a couple of shots of what he started with:
The long thin rectangular doodad in the centre of this shot is the Graviner flame switch. The wartime (and RNZAF) Mossie had two each side, this was later modified to 6(!) per side. The ladder-like bracket on the right is the bracket for the Graviner fire extinguisher bottle, and the meaty electrical connector is for the starter motor (I'm looking for a couple of the socket to match this). Note the damage at top right of the shot (the firewall is upside down in these photos).
Here's what it looks like now. It has been almost entirely de-rivetted, had extensive repairs and painting, as well as fabrcation of new seals around all the openings and the perimeter.
Finally a nice little curiosity. Here is the panel for the bay under the 4 .303 Browning Machine Guns. Held on by 5 Dzus fasteners - note the red alignment marks. We're fairly sure this came off NZ2328 (TE758).
This is the inside of that panel:
We're fairly sure the panel originally belonged to HJ896, which according to
this link had a career ending whoops at High Ercall on 12/1/1944, and presumably was reduced to produce and the panel recycled into TE758, which was built in 1945.
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A