Aeronut

I'm hoping the family will include the W33 'Bremen'.

Anyone remember the issue of the BBC's 'Tomorrows World' (30 or so years ago) that described the RAE's experiments with turning a helicopter rotor into a radar scanner by fitting out a rotor blade with wave guides along the length of the blade. I'd love to read the report on that.

I doubt it has anything to do with spit and polish. Those spats are sat beneath radial engines and would catch any drips of oil. The 'Erks' would wipe the oil off the spats but it would still end up leaving a nice shine. Look at photos of the wheels of parked WW2 bombers and you will see the oil drips on the tyres or the tyres covered to keep the drips off the rubber. Aircraft engines had (still have) a total loss oil system. If they don't drip, its an indication they need filling up.

The one with the clear fuselage panels is a tanker used to refuel flying boats. The clear panels would allow the Hose Drum Unit operator to keep the receiver aircraft in view below the tanker (they did air to air refuelling slightly differently in the 30s). Rather than being white I'd suggest the fabric is 'fabric' colour ie an off-white. It would appear that instead of using a red shrinking dope, that would have soaked the fabric and made it look pinky-red, a clear dope has been used which has sealed the surface and so prevented the silver and colour dope layers showing through.

Oops, sorry Heather I forgot you were doing a civvie. My defence is that I spend far too much time at Middle Wallop where all Austers are military.

Heather I see you've followed the kit's instructions as regards to the 'rudder pedals'. The trouble is the instructions are wrong, those two big paddles are at the wrong end of the fuselage, they should be under the tailplane fixed horizontal(ish) as they are trimmers not rudders pedals.

This is a post just to bring this topic forward as the forum seems to be very busy these Covid lock-in days. Is there anyone else who can help Santiago and his father? My only interest in the Barracuda was the CUDA Floats and I've already supplied Santiago with the information (original source documents) I have on those.

Santiago, You shouldn't be surprised to learn that I have some photo-copied reports on the CUDA float trials. They are of no use as regards colour schemes but they do give some idea of the size and shape of the Cuda Floats which should help Raul. Incidentally the reports give the aircraft serial at P9795/G whereas your list shows P9597/G. Alastair

They look like something designed in early 30's France rather than Filton. Might be tempted.

You may like to consider 'The Wheezers and Dodgers' by Gerald Pawle, its the history of the RN Miscellaneous Weapons Development Department. It tells the story of the personalities (the author Neville Shute Norway was one) behind such developments as Mulberry harbour, Hedgehog, the Great Panjandrum (you even learn the name of the dog chasing it) and Plastic armour. For a serious subject I've never laughed so much.

Does your watch need a new battery? It might be running slow and warping your sense of time.

One of the two schemes I want to build, if only because NFM is the only Tiger Moth I've had a flight in.

Interestingly the official Rotabuggy report does not cover the final (and only circuit flown) flight which was also the fastest the Rotabuggy ever flew and probably the slowest a Whitley ever did a circuit at. The vibrations from the rotor were such that the Rotabuggy pilot had become physically exhausted fighting the vibration in the controls. Unsurprisingly it was endex for the Rotabuggy, D-day and Market Garden had happened and the gliders had done the job, even dropping Jeeps by parachute for the SAS had been successful and there was no need for the Rotabuggy. Also Hafner had been approached by a number of aircraft companies interested in his ideas for helicopters which could explain the lack of the last flight in the report which occurred after Hafner had written the report and left the AFEE for Bristol Aircraft. Hafner was indeed a man with much going on in his head and this is exemplified by the calculations for the Rotachute which he did during the 13 months that he was interred on the Isle of Man as an enemy alien, having been born in Austria. I did say I bore for England on the subject didn't I.

The Rotatank proposal was for Valentine which would have been towed by a Halifax which in turn would be towed by a Dakota! I have a copy of Hafner's proposal document along with the reports on the Rotachute and Rotabuggy, and I 'Bore for England' about Hafner when I give guided tours of the Army Flying Museum. Having proved his Rotaplane concept with the Rotachute Hafner wanted to go large and suggested that an Airborne Lifeboat, two-man submarine or a tank should be next, the authorities gave him a Jeep to experiment with. In developing the Rotabuggy Hafner built a rotor test rig mounted on a vehicle too heavy to take off or roll over if the vibration got too much - a Diamond T wrecker. The Rotabuggy report has one photograph and a drawing of this vehicle, just enough to allow a model to be built, - its been on my shelf of doom for a year or two.

There is a good period photograph of an RAF C30a in that scheme in the book 'Les autogiros La Cierva' ISBN 2-915205-04-3. Although black and white the photo appears to confirm the demarcation line and Dark Earth undercarriage as per HM580. However, the photo shows a complicated arrangement of masts and antenna wires missing from the kit.

Parapack fairings was the US method and was well suited to their (soft) parapack method of crating loads. On the other hand the RAF had got into Airborne Forces (in a serious way) before the US and had developed the rigid CLE containers which were sized after 500 b GP bombs as they had to fit the bomb bays of redundant bombers whose bomb bays had been designed around said bombs. As a result RAF Dakotas carried CLE containers on six externally mounted bomb slips as the CLE containers were not considered to be suitable with the US Parapack fairings. However, when it was realised that British troops would have to be dropped by US aircraft trials were conducted that showed that with the lower half of the Parapack fairing removed CLE containers could be carried and dropped.

I wonder if your father met my Grandfather? He was Jig and Tool Foreman at AVRO's Newton Heath and travelled to Leeds to help set up the Yeadon production line. Mind you he is more famous in our family for the work he did in altering the Manchester wing Jig drawings to produced Lancaster wings, something he did on his own kitchen table after his shift was over.

If you mean the Garden Tiger Moth (Artica Caja), then yes, I do get them occasionally in my garden. If you meant the dh 82 Tiger Moth, that's also a yes but I have to travel a few miles to get to the one I'm helping to restore. (Guess what scheme I'll be finishing my kit in?)

Ced, for the education of those who are following this masterclass the "thingies" are multi-plate friction dampers just like those fitted to cars in the 1920 and 30's.

Just a thought about the cockpit glazing. The Bristol 173 was basically two Bristol 171 Sycamores joined by a fuselage tube. The 173 evolved into the Belvedere mainly by exchanging piston engines for gas turbines and lengthening the undercarriage to allow the Navy to fit torpedoes under the fuselage - the Navy promptly decide they didn’t want leaving the RAF with a cargo door sill way too high off the ground to be practical. Anyway back to my random ( and rambling) thought. Would the cockpit glazing from the S and M Sycamore kit fit the Belvedere?

Is it just me or does that virus look like it’s been knitted? Probably the daftest subject for a soft toy at the moment.

It was a struggle to mount that front wing when I built the Aeroclub 1:72 Flea, I hardly dare watch you try it in 1:144, but I will.

I like that. You obviously spent more time detailing the building than I did.

Ced, dare I say you visited the HAAF a day too early. Today the Sioux has her second post Major ground run, starting on the first turn of the key. The slight sleep of fuel we had last week has gone, a rubber something having soaked In the fuel and swollen sealing the leak (as expected). However the highlight for me was acting as ballast in the Chippie for her first ground run in 6 months. 😊 We are still learning the ‘trick’ with the combination of priming the cylinders and throttle setting and as such the starting took several attempts. Revs and mag drop well within limits, the only snag was an erratic engine temp reading at low revs which is a common problem (apparently) with the connector on the sensor bulb. ( a quick check of my log books shows it’s only 49 years since I last sat in the back of a Chippie.) The Auster did a quick bit of pilot training resulting in a first solo on type whilst the Beaver had its brake pads changed and a seep on the hydraulic pump for the flaps fixed with new old stock O rings made in 1962. 😳

Just to be clear, the AOP 9 had a tubular steel frame fuselage covered in fabric just like other Austers. The wings were metal covered in fabric, so externally they looked like other Austers even though the internal structure didn't. Where the AOP 9 differed most was the tail feathers which were all metal and not the fabric covered framework of its predecessors.