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

[hendie]

Well, you know how it is.. you spend hours studiously pouring over photograph after photograph interspersed with careful examination of the kit, then back to photographs.

Self 1 (looks at Photo)... oh, mmmmnnnn... wassat?  howszat work then

Self 1 (looks at more Photo's)... oh I see... I think.... does it?

Self 2 (looks at Kit)... mmmnnnnnnn

Self 1 (looks at Photo)... ah, that's how

Self 2 (looks at Kit)... oh!

Self 1 (looks at Photo)... ah, that doesn't look all that complicated... well, not really

Self 2 (looks at Kit)... ehrrr, really ?

Self 2 (looks at Kit)... nope, not gonna work. What were they thinking?

Self 1 (looks at Photo)... well how hard can it be?

Self 2 (looks at Kit)... well, it's just a couple of those, one o' them, and a couple of these and a little bit of fettling

 

Then the insidious little idea grub starts hatching in your brain.  Over hours and days the grub grows and starts taking over more and more thought bubbles, particularly during the drive to and from work and even those almost sacred moments of solemn contemplation in trap 1

How hard can it be... really ?  After all, it's just a hinge... and a bellcrank lever... and another hinge.... and some brackets...and a few other bits and pieces.   It's really not rocket science.  Can't be that difficult can it?  I mean, just to make a couple of hinges and a bellcrank lever and a couple of rods.  And if I can make those, I can make the other bits.   Stands to reason it can't be that difficult can it?   Can it?   Surely not. 

I mean Bill can make a fully functioning Buccaneer airbrake in one seventy small scale and here I am working in giganto-scale by comparison.  Surely I can make those bits... can't I ?  Somehow?

 

and so it begins again.  scope creep. 

 

[perdu]

 

Look out, he's going to be blaming me now

 

Tsssk task

 

 

😂

 

For what it is worth I have been delving, nay ferreting deep into my archival recesses

 

The pitch change seems ( only seems, there is no written bit in my archive) to be by virtue of a pair of cables inside the tail cone that operate the bell crank after the fold joint

 

Hendie if you want me to butt out I'll take this set of snaps away, like magic ( where's that Debbie when I needs her huh??)

 

This is the tailcone interior, cables sloping down to the pointy bit

 

The silvery bits in the middle, just above the elongated egg shaped hole must be the bellcranky bits

 

I have lots of inconclusive diagrams of the fold, which a certain emigree might want but none actually detail the pitch change very well for little old dummy me

https://s25.postimg.cc/ri9bhzn0f/image.jpg

 

I followed the line of the pylon link and it seems logical that the mystery rod is indeed the bottom of the pitch change link in the pylon

 

Somebody must have a tech drawing of the operating bits, mine is more structural framework centred

😩

[Wafu]

Hendie and Perdu, when I get home from work I’ll send you the drawings from the AP.

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

10 hours ago, hendie said:

scope creep. 

A terrible affliction indeed and there is no known cure. (Similar to another syndrome..too much research and no modelling prevalent in this household.)

It can only be contained and Bill's excellent drawings must only help

I really look forward to finding out if the 1/32 scale bolts,washers, nuts and split pin production process works as a therapy for the condition.

[matteo44]

Fantastic!!! 

[perdu]

I will be able to link one or two other drawings of the pylon. And the top end links, just not the actual piece in question

 

Hendie I will email what I have to you, if you are going to blame me you'd best have good references

 

My lawyers are vicious

 

 

Grrr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😂😂😂

😇

[hendie]

Bill, that shot of the folded tail is one of the best I have seen for clarity of the individual components.  That will be incredibly helpful, should I ever in a moment of madness deign to consider attempting to replicate said greeblies in a folding tail scenario.

 

 

 

Oh wait.... I already did! 

 

 

 

I'll need to check when I get back, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Fly omitted to include any greeblies of the folding tail  with the exception of some small lumps on the outer skin. 

 

 

Aim high I say!  That way you have plenty of time to consider your abject failures on the way down.

[hendie]

5 hours ago, Scimitar said:

I really look forward to finding out if the 1/32 scale bolts,washers, nuts and split pin production process works as a therapy for the condition.

 

I must admit to being tempted to model the necessary parts and have them 3D printed.  One good thing about that is that they would as accurate as I could get them, and also be available to anyone else wanting a set.   The downside is that I like a challenge!

 

I can't remember if I mentioned this but the last item on my list for the PE adventure finally arrived last night.  I can foresee some of the hingey stuff being regurgitated from the cauldron if things go well.

Unfortunately I am heading to the UK next week for the first time since 2009 so I have to get the Christmas shopping done and get everything ready, so it's unlikely I'll get a chance to perform any alchemy until my return.  I haven't seen dear old mater for several years now so the dutiful son in me has decided to make the trip.

[TheBaron]

It's nice to see the Britmodeller ethos ('send the unfortunate over the top with an armful of references before sitting back to watch the ensuing struggle') is fully operative...

 

Having received such 'encouragement' myself in the past (mentioning no names @perdu)  it is a pleasure to recline here  in comfort and watch what I'm sure will be another bravura piece of hendaciousness emerge to acclaim.

 

19 minutes ago, hendie said:

Unfortunately I am heading to the UK next week for the first time since 2009

Dinnae forget that haggis and Indian restaurant binge you promised yourself!

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

26 minutes ago, hendie said:

Unfortunately I am heading to the UK next week

Unfortunately??  Staying in England then.

Look on the bright side. You'll see mum and ..well..you'll see your mum,that's it folks,move along nothing to see here.

[Pete in Lincs]

IIRC, the cables down the tailcone connect to a large

springloaded device called something like an equalizer?

This then transmits the input via a rod to that bellcrank.

 

As an SAC in the late 70's I wasn't supposed to be involved 

in the aircraft control system that much, but I have memories

of adjusting the tension on those cables with the turnbuckles,

and of working on that 'equalizer' jobby.

I will not be too surprised if there is another bellcrank just inside

the pylon to allow for it being folded.

 

And, I was looking at the HC2 in the walkaround section. There are 

shots of main rotor gearboxes. They don't have much, if any, paint on them,

but there are traces of green on one. I do have a memory of the hydraulic

reservoirs being green too. My best guess is something like Humbrol 

interior/cockpit green.

 

Enjoy your time in the UK. I take it you'll be bringing an empty suitcase

to stock up on certain food & modelling products.

[Wafu]

28 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

IIRC, the cables down the tailcone connect to a large

springloaded device called something like an equalizer?

This then transmits the input via a rod to that bellcrank.

Aft Quadrant, Tension Regulator but I know what you mean.

28 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

 

As an SAC in the late 70's I wasn't supposed to be involved 

in the aircraft control system that much, but I have memories

of adjusting the tension on those cables with the turnbuckles,

and of working on that 'equalizer' jobby.

I will not be too surprised if there is another bellcrank just inside

the pylon to allow for it being folded.

You're spot on, as a young, thin plane captain I used to be involved in the tail rotor tension adjustment, the pointer was visible through the square hole in the tail boom, just above the step. The bellcrank below the step is the fold mechanism. the fork end painted yellow depicts a disconnect when the Pylon is removed from the airframe, nothing more embarrassing than popping the pylon bolts only to find something still attached. 

On the picture above of the Mk2, XR525, the 'TAIL FOLD' flag is down due to the ratchet pins being in the spread configuration (fully extended)

28 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

 

And, I was looking at the HC2 in the walkaround section. There are 

shots of main rotor gearboxes. They don't have much, if any, paint on them,

but there are traces of green on one. I do have a memory of the hydraulic

reservoirs being green too. My best guess is something like Humbrol 

interior/cockpit green.

 

Enjoy your time in the UK. I take it you'll be bringing an empty suitcase

to stock up on certain food & modelling products.

Again Pete your spot on, the Main Gearbox and a load of other components are painted in interior green, RAF light grey or RAF Sea Blue, depends on the paint post overhaul.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I know next to nothing about the Wessex, but the whole design [cables & bell-crank / pin-out flag activated mechanically by ratchet /  lock to stop windmilling folded tail rotor] is exactly the same as the Sea King equivalent.  I had to study it in obsessive detail so it’s etched on my mind; even the shape of the fold brackets is the same.

 

Hendie, I now expect your model to have a tail rotor gust lock tossed casually inside the tail cone!

[Wafu]

2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I know next to nothing about the Wessex, but the whole design [cables & bell-crank / pin-out flag activated mechanically by ratchet /  lock to stop windmilling folded tail rotor] is exactly the same as the Sea King equivalent.  I had to study it in obsessive detail so it’s etched on my mind; even the shape of the fold brackets is the same.

Yes shipmate you're spot on, the only differance is the Sea King has it upside down, GRENADE💣

Quote

 

Hendie, I now expect your model to have a tail rotor gust lock tossed casually inside the tail cone!

Of course Hendie was going to do that, weren't you Hendie😉.???

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

12 minutes ago, Wafu said:

...the only differance is the Sea King has it upside down...

As you would expect from the vastly more versatile aircraft...

 

TRUCE

[perdu]

2 hours ago, Wafu said:

Yes shipmate you're spot on, the only differance is the Sea King has it upside down, GRENADE💣

Of course Hendie was going to do that, weren't you Hendie😉.???

Oh

 

I thought he'd be fitting it to the tail rotor...

 

As you do

 

 

[hendie]

Now that all the PE sorcery components have finally arrived (though I may have mislaid one!) I thought I had better start laying out the plan.

That began with removing some of the surface detail on the parts so that they would lay flat in the scanner, then you guessed it... scanning them along with the obligatory cat hair.

As you can see here, the quality of the parts is not that great.  Nothing is really square, and detail is a bit soft - but it's a starting point.

 

 

Next step was to import the image into Draftsight (free software), and a true vertical line was drawn over the image.  That allowed me to pick a reference point and rotate the image until I had the part vertical - or as close as I could get it.

Once that was done, it was simply a case of tracing over the part to add the detail I intend to etch.  I used a spline to trace the curvature of the panel on the left hand side of the vertical line I drew earlier, then mirrored it once complete.  You'll notice that the part is not truly symmetrical. - My choice here is to trace the other side so that my etch matches the part exactly, or use the mirror and adjust the part (e.g. filing and fettling) once it is etched.  I chose to go the latter route.

 

 

The asymmetry can be seen to better effect in this shot

 

 

Then an hour or so in Draftsight and I have my basic building blocks

 

 

I fully expect to have to do some tweaking to these parts - the two tail frames have not been properly scaled yet. That's a simple case of measuring the length of the part and scaling the frame accordingly - just a couple of button clicks.

I reckon it will take one set of etch to just see what the parts look like on the kit, then a bit of tweaking to get the final dimensions to produce a second, hopefully successful set.

There's plenty more potential etch parts to be made but I reckon this is a good set for a first attempt

 

Now I just have to find where I put all those etching supplies....

 

 

 

[perdu]

This looks quite exciting, I wonder if, since Steve had some issues with the masking it might not be interesting to duplicate a couple of those little plates in a different colour to test the density of the masking colour too?

 

Maybe a couple of those hinge plate looking thingies in a deep yellow too if you will be masking in red

 

These are negatives of the etch items?

 

You do need to lose the black bits I think, but I am entirely out of my zone with this 

[hendie]

Bill the black is just the CAD background and doesn't print.  Colors are immaterial at this point. In CAD I can use one color on screen yet have it print in a different color or line width using the pen tables.  

I'm using a mixture of positive and negative detailing to get the detail I want - that's why some of the rivets are negative and some positive

Testing the properties of different colors is a good idea. Thanks

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Ooh, rivets!

 

[Nice CAD-ery, Hendie!]

[hendie]

2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Ooh, rivets!

 

[Nice CAD-ery, Hendie!]

 

I was a CAD Monkey in a former life Crisp.

 

 

Okey Dokey, here we go.... my first etch fret.  In this fret we have the two tail panels, one rib,  two fuel filler points, the tail open flag, and the a couple of blade fold attachment brackets.  Enough to be going on with I think.

There are a couple of parts I have my doubts about but we'll see what happens.  After all, it's only time, money, materials, effort etc. 

A little bit of resolution is lost here just because it's a screen shot and resized, but should be okay - provided I can get the print heads on my printer cleaned.  I don't use the printer a lot so the heads have got a bit jammed up over the last year or so.  Out with the Windowlene and rags....

 

 

I really don't think I am going to have spare enough time before I head off on my jaunt to try this out. We'll see.

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2017 by hendie
Edited: noticed the hatch in original screen shot hadn't formed properly. Replaced screenshot

[TheBaron]

Today on Britetcher...

Despite the functional intent of those designs hendie they look particularly beautiful just as images in that last photo.

Art and craft and aircraft make for a heady combination here.

[Pete in Lincs]

It's well beyond my pay grade.

I wish you well and bon voyage.

 

Speaking of French, I saw a sign on a gate today,

Chien Bizzare. Which I translate as mad dog.

I wonder how many of the locals know that...

[JosephLalor]

Janey mac tonight! I looked in on this for the first time in ages and it's clearly well on it's way to being a splendid replica of a machine which I remember from a 30+ year old Flight International as being described as soldier-proof.  Great stuff.  Hope I get to see it at one of the shows.

 

P.S. I also remember the article quoting someone as saying that the Wessex fizzed on contact with the South China Sea.

Edited December 4, 2017 by JosephLalor

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Can’t speak for the South China Sea, but I was serving in HMS Fearless in January 1982 when she crossed the North Atlantic with 2 Wessex HU5s on deck (bearing in mind that she had no hangar).  We got caught by a hurricane and encountered some monstrously big seas - I vividly recall looking UP at the crest of a wave from the bridge, which was >70” above the water line.

 

Thise 2 Wessexes certainly fizzed; magnesium alloy + salt water under pressure = bad news.  I think I am right in saying that one of them never flew again.