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Wessex HC2 Crab Cabs Pt II (Fly Wessex - why on earth did I?)


hendie

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58 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I can think of several on this board alone...

Quite, and I'm sure all would be more than proud to be "tarred by the same brush"!

Exquisite detail work Hendie, love it!

 

Ian

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No splines on the Tail Rotor Drive shaft?  (I says tongue in cheek...)

 

I believe the correct colour for the Gearboxes on westland built helicopters is close to what the Americans call "Engine Grey" It's a blueish, dark grey color.

 

I may very well be wrong too.

 

(Superb workmanship, I'll go hide again now)

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From the BM walkaround section

 

SDC10688.jpg

 

SDC10547.jpg

 

P1090947.jpg

 

So, tail rotor gearbox colour and you can see the structure colour too.

Intermediate cog box oil sight glass and 'that' shade of grey.

All for your delectation. (And ours).

Plus it might stop you kicking yourself at a later date.

Lovely gubbins.

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10 hours ago, Winnie said:

I believe the correct colour for the Gearboxes on westland built helicopters is close to what the Americans call "Engine Grey" It's a blueish, dark grey color.

 

6 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Yep. Memory says those cog boxes are the same colour as the main gearbox. Grey.

 

Now you've got me all flummoxed.  I have a distinct memory of the main rotor gearbox being a pale/light green color.

 

The rotor head itself was a dark bluish color, but not the gearboxes.

 

I think I am going to go with a medium to dark grey for the gearboxes

 

6 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Inner skin was a flat grey colour? Medium sea grey?

 

that's what I'm going with (approximately!)

 

 

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1 hour ago, Scimitar said:

What are all those sticky up bits called again ? :wicked:

 

The pitch change rods ?

(though I have a sneaking suspicion that is not what you are meaning.. it's early and I've only had one coffee)

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On 25 November 2017 at 1:38 PM, hendie said:

 

Bill - you really think that there's more folks out there as daft as me ?   I find that hard to believe.

 

 

Oh no Hendie, you're not alone😂

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Today and yesterday was one of those let's take 8 steps back and a coupe of steps forward days. Overall, I believe we took a little step forward, though not without several hiccups.

 

Starting with the tail rotor gearbox which I now know to be the wrong color... I soldered a small piece of tube onto the end of the shaft.  This stops the shaft falling out but still allows it to rotate - so far so good.

 

PB250001.jpg

 

I then decided to make a cap for it so that it couldn't be pushed out the other end - seems simple enough. Oh, and I also stripped the paint off the gearbox in preparation for a more accurate color.

 

PB250002.jpg

 

and it worked, but I wasn't all that impressed with it.

 

PB250003.jpg

 

So I decided to make on in brass - just solder a small piece of sheet onto the end of a tube, trim it back then file around it...

 

PB250004.jpg

 

and hey presto - we have a cap!   The notch in the cap is for the downward pointing section of the gearbox.  This is where it all started going breasts upwards I'm afraid.

The bottom end of the gearbox was as simple as the rest of it - two pieces of tube of different lengths, cut and soldered into place, with the cap soldered onto the end. 

To be honest, it was all my fault - a combination of not paying enough attention and not taking enough care.

I soldered the bottom half of the gearbox in place without any issues, but when I soldered the cap in place, the bottom end of the gearbox fell off - I simply didn't wait long enough before trying to handle it.  Mea culpa.  Then, when I tried again, I applied so much heat that all the little webs fell off, or melted.  Trying to make new ones and put them back on was a nightmare - the other day, they almost fell into place.. This time around the CA just didn't want to play.  If super glue is so super - why won't it stick to itself ?

By the time I eventually had it all together, some solder had got inside and stopped the shaft rotating!  Arghhh.   Actually, it's not such a big deal.  It would have been nice to have an ackchul rotating shaft, but since I used a tube for the inner shaft I can still pin the tail rotor through the center, and have it rotate that way.  I'd like to say that my preparation and planning had allowed for such an eventuality, but as always, it was pure blind luck

 

PB250005.jpg

 

Anyway, to cut a long story short the gearbox now looks like this... anyone spot a problem ?

 

PB260007.jpg

 

Yup, after gluing the frame in position, I couldn't get the gearbox in place - some razor saw action was called for, and a deft couple of razorous swipes later we have a tail rotor gearbox in place.  Looks a lot better than the kit part I think.

 

PB260009.jpg

 

The filler point was added using a Meng nut. - I did test it and the nut is in the right place when the mesh goes on the top.  At least I got one thing right this weekend!

 

PB260011.jpg

 

A quick dry fit to see what will be visible once it all goes together... not much.

 

PB260008.jpg

 

Inside this pipe/tube/rod/shaft thing was added. along with the wire loop that always appears to hang down in that area.  I have no idea what that shaft thing is for in case anyone is thinking of asking.

 

PB260006.jpg

 

But it can be seen though the mesh on the tail quite clearly in most photo's.  I also opened up the intermediate gearbox sight window with a tapered file - very gently!

I forgot to test but I think the intermediate gearbox lines up reasonably well with the sight window... almost!

 

PB260010.jpg

 

Of course, after I had glued those parts into position, I remembered that there was another frame visible through the tail so decided to add it - to the wrong side.  If I had added it to the starboard side, I could simply have slipped it over the previously mentioned shaft, but oh no, I had to add it to the port side...

 

PB260012.jpg

 

...which in turn meant I had to remove the shaft and swap it over to the port side...

A little bit of interior green was slapped around the opening to add a splash of color (I saw it on a 1:1 - honest!)

 

PB260013.jpg

 

However, despite this weekends setbacks it is still coming together, albeit slowly - several times.

 

The only thing stopping me from putting the tail together now is the panel which faces you as you open the tail. The brass panel I made isn't too bad but I want to have a go at this PE malarkey, and I think that panel would be a good opportunity - and I have several ideas I want to try out with it.  Unfortunately, it seems the very last  piece of kit I need for the PE etching of is on a very slow boat from China - very slow!

So, until that arrives, I can't be doing any PE'ery stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I always thought that little rod, down in the hole behind the lower grille was part of the pitch change machinery for the tail rotor

 

Because it is so visible I usually try to fit it in even my 72th scale Walters

 

Oh yes stuporgoo not sticking to itself, probably a good job it doesn't or we'd never get it out of the tubes and bottles  :)

 

The top end looking great H

Edited by perdu
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10 hours ago, perdu said:

I always thought that little rod, down in the hole behind the lower grille was part of the pitch change machinery for the tail rotor

I think you are right; it’s in the right place and I can’t really think of anything else that would need articulated rods in that part of the aircraft.  No idea what the loop is, though, Hendie.  Despite your detours, you have ended up in a great place; all looking excellent.

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17 hours ago, perdu said:

I always thought that little rod, down in the hole behind the lower grille was part of the pitch change machinery for the tail rotor

 

6 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I think you are right; it’s in the right place and I can’t really think of anything else that would need articulated rods in that part of the aircraft.

 

While it sounds like a plausible explanation.  Though I'm still a bit confused... take a look at these two photo's from the walkround section

 

wes3.JPG

XV733%2005.JPG

 

The only mechanism I see connecting the tail and the fuselage (aside from hinges) is the splined gear at the top end.   That rod/shaft we're discussing appears to go almost to the bottom of the tail section.  The intermediate and tail rotor gearboxes are at the top of the fuselage and front end of the tail.

I don't see anything protruding from the back end here which connects to, or would be able to actuate the pitch controls. 

   

At the risk of  sounding like a numptie...  does that "hinge" about halfway up/down act as a bellcrank lever when the tail is closed - I think I can see a shaft heading from that hinge/lever further down into the tail.  I can't see anything else which would be able to transfer movement from up front to down back

(30+ years is a long time to try and remember something to which I paid very little attention to at the time)

 

 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, limeypilot said:

If that is connected, could the rod in the tail simply be a lock for the tail rotor to stop it turning when the tail is folded?

Many moons ago whilst on a jolly in Walter we stopped overnight and I assisted in folding the tail.

I remember one of the groundcrew turning the main rotor by hand until the tail rotor aligned with marks painted on the tail so that we could unlock the tail pylon. (see last photo in this link..the black line near the top. http://www.drivearchive.co.uk/xplanes/sarwe.htm

I don't remember this marking though

westland-wessex-helicopter-raf-manston-r

Hopefully some of those more in the know will be along soon

 

Hendie..note the sticky out bits again :D

 

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The bellcrank is the pitch change connection and on the ORANGE! tail

a rod can be seen disappearing from it & into the depths of the tail.

The 'shaft' you made, I always thought it was a conduit for wiring?

I think it was held in place by a couple of P clips. Maybe there is a

picture somewhere in the walkarounds?

 

Limeypilot. The tail rotor lock can be seen on the ORANGE! tail.

On the Left side you see the driveshaft has a cog arrangement.

There is a piece of metal on the Right side stopping the cog rotating

when it is folded. When the two parts of the driveshaft come together

part of the mechanism is spring loaded and disengages that piece of metal from the cog.

 

I just noticed that the Pin Out! warning flag is actually in with the tail folded!

It should be sticking out to warn all and sundry of the dangers of aviating half cocked!

Museums eh? tsk!

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The bellcrank is certain to be the pitch control

 

Looks to me, in the picture of the Queen;'s Walter that the connection from it goes lower into the folded tail section

 

Later this evening I will delve deeper into my photos of 525 when she was ground bound in Cosford to see whether i have any that can help

 

I also have copies of a AP for a HAS3 that may cast some light into the darkness

 

A research evening beckons, yeehaw!

 

:)

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