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White Knight - Short Crusader


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Fuselage work to report. Time to fix on the tail fin & rudder. There’s no alignment holes, the only guide being the seam of the fuselage halves.  Holding the fin in place showed a less than perfect fit, but it wasn’t easy to be confident where to get to work, front or back, so a temporary fix:

 

Fin, rudder & tail cone

 

... the set-square helped hold the rudder hinge line vertical, then I could see where to target sanding back the underside of the fin to match the fuselage:

 

Fin, rudder & tail cone

 

That image above also shows an issue with the extreme end of the tail-cone: it is notably rounded, blunted, with each half of the fuselage having a tiny bit either not completely cast, or damaged. I can’t recall the former, can understand much more likely to be the latter!

 

So here we go with fin fitted ...

 

Fin, rudder & tail cone

 

... together with a ‘sting in the tail’ - a piece of resin from the kit beaching trolley .. I think an axle .. with a hefty dollop of CA glue to fix in place ...

 

Fin, rudder & tail cone

 

(also scribed the prominent tail-cone panel joint aligned with the rudder above)

 

Here it stands the day after, with the point suitably sharpened!

 

Tailcone

 

so it slowly goes...

 

 

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OK Greggles, I've looked at the opening posts and jumped to here page 10, and I'm in for a look at this. 

I have no idea what's been happening in the previous 9 pages or couple of years, but I will go back and have a read through. 

I've never heard of the kit or manufacturer, but this is a fabulous little plane from a great period of aviation development. 

And your build is looking good so far! 

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Quote

OK Greggles, I've looked at the opening posts and jumped to here page 10

Ditto.

 

Actually it looks awfully like a monoplane float version of the bulldog.... But then again a lot of interwar types look quite similar as design was drivenby sub=components like engines etc.

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17 hours ago, Marklo said:

Ditto.

 

Actually it looks awfully like a monoplane float version of the bulldog.... But then again a lot of interwar types look quite similar as design was drivenby sub=components like engines etc.

 

Thanks Marklo, quite true, as I understand it this machine was designed by a freelance designer - Bristow - but fabricated by a contractor - Short Brothers - specifically to showcase the potential of radial power - by Bristol.  So there is a link of sorts to the Bristol Bulldog.  If Wikipedia is to be believed (!!) the two machines had their first flights within a fortnight of each other in 1927.

 

Engine in both by Bristol, but interesting (if unfair) comparisons to be had: Bulldog w Jupiter v. Crusader w Mercury; BD 450-500hp v. CR 800hp; BD 180mph v. CR 270mph ...

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the Short-Bristow Crusader was designed by WG (George) Carter. He later became chief designer for Gloster, worked closely with Frank Whittle and designed Britain's first jet, the E.28/39, and Britain's first jet fighter, the Meteor.

 

He had been Sopwith's chief draughtsman immediately after WW1 and was chief designer at Hawker before Sydney Camm (Horsley, Hornbill). The de Havilland DH77 monoplane interceptor was his and he contributed to the design of the Avro Manchester.

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11 hours ago, TimK said:

the Short-Bristow Crusader was designed by WG (George) Carter.

Thanks Tim, yes you’re correct.

 

To clarify as per CH Barnes book ‘Shorts Aircraft since 1900’ (were there any before that??): “the Mercury-engined [Crusader] project was supervised by Col W. A. Bristow, a well-known consulting aeronautical engineer ... and he secured as designer W. G. Carter, formerly of Hawkers and soon to progress, via de Havillands, to become chief designer of the Gloster company”

 

Great pedigree!

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Wings are progressing too!  That issue with the hairline splits finally resolved by the last minute re-cementing.

 

The various sub assemblies - floats, fuselage, wings - are now in a relay from night to night in my (Tupperware) spray booth.  The wings have progressed to white primer!

 

Here briefly with fuselage gravity fit over ...

 

White wings meet grey fuselage!

 

White wings meet grey fuselage!

 

For the first time I’m starting to feel like this might have a chance of being finished soon.  So much so that I even wrote a list of tasks remaining!

 

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8 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looks like a dragonfly!

Agreed! Very much so .. 

 

I thought of you a day or two ago Adrian - I follow the daily updates to ‘this day in aviation’ website, & it noted a milestone for the Fairey Long Range Monoplane:

 

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/24-27-april-1929/

 

... have I overlooked an update to your version? Where have you got to with that one?

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One step f’ward, one back ..

 

I noticed that when transitioning to white primer for the wings, the spray white wasn’t effectively entering the aileron panel line joint. So for the floats a decided to do as I see done by those painting houses - cut in’ the panel lines in advance with a brush.  Like an inverse pre-shading?  Does anyone else do this?

 

Oops

 

As I began layering up the white coats, it seemed to be working, so that’s fine...

 

Oops

 

... & then I dropped one! Standing height to the floor .. see that strut-to-float junction there in the foreground:

 

Oops

 

Snap.

 

Oh well.  Painting on hold for the floats then, while that goes back into traction on the jig, for the fracture to be re-set.

 

.. sigh!

 

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  • 1 month later...

Tailplanes!

 

A moment of opportunity at the bench ...

 

Tailplanes provided with locating pins & holes ...

 

Tailplanes

 

But the resultant location was not quite right - the rudder & elevator hinge lines & the fuselage panel joint should all align ...

 

Tailplanes

 

.. but not quite here, and less so other side.  So tip of the blade to elongate the holes ...

 

Tailplanes

 

While I was at it I scribed a fairly deep trench there to aid glue keying.  I’ve seen others drill into the chord of the tailplanes & insert lengths of brass rod in place of resin locating pins .. but I just didn’t judge myself capable of that task .. so this is my substitute effort to improve the strength of the joint.  We shall see ..

 

Next, whatever to hand enlisted to fix alignment: pen (green?) & set square; some card offcuts; marble sample disk salvaged from the office studio; an upside down bonsai pot ... assembled into a single-use jig ...

 

Tailplanes

 

happily the geometry of the junction is a simple cruciform, with no an- or dihedral to account for ...

 

A dry test fit:

 

Tailplanes

 

Tailplanes

 

.. joint lines aligned, planes perpendicular!

 

Tailplanes

 

Perhaps I ought to feed the kids dinner ... if I succeed with their bedtime, I might be able to glue in place tonight!

 

p.s edit:

 

Cooperative kids, so the glue  has been applied!  Will leave in the jig overnight just to be sure .. g’night!

 

Tail

 

Edited by greggles.w
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I have just read the entire build from start to finish, and it’s a stunning example of perseverance, engineering, new techniques and simply great modelling.... all on a machine whose name I had heard but of which I think I’d only ever seen a single photo.

 

Brilliant, inspiring work; thanks!

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I have just read the entire build from start to finish, and it’s a stunning example of perseverance,

... I agree - to do that, yes, your endurance efforts are heroic! 😉

 

I jest to mask embarrassment.  I’m largely following the example & enthusiasm set by so many here on this forum.

 

Seriously though, thanks, as any & all encouragement is most appreciated!

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1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I have just read the entire build from start to finish, and it’s a stunning example of perseverance,

... I agree - to do that, yes, your endurance efforts are heroic! 😉

 

I jest to mask embarrassment.  I’m largely following the example & enthusiasm set by so many here on this forum.

 

Seriously though, thanks, as any & all encouragement is most appreciated!

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8 hours ago, greggles.w said:

back it goes,

Amazing, such organisation and discipline.

 

Dennis

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Thanks for your interest gents,

 

A little time to tinker, finalising the tailplanes: minor filling & pre-priming (if there is such a thing?) of joint lines in white...

 

Tailplanes

 

Here as it stands from below ...

 

Tailplanes

 

Looking at it now I see

I just need to even up & round off those inner elevator to fuselage gaps to be like so ...

 

Tailplanes

 

As an aside, these backlit photos show one quality of the Karaya kit to be credited: very dense, hard resin allows for wafer thin trailing edges, translucent against the light.

 

Here from above ...

 

Tailplanes

 

Harder to see here are my efforts on the tailfin.  This was apparently an asymmetrical airfoil in plan, to counteract the torque of the engine: flatter face to starboard (left in the above image) and curved to port.  The Karaya part was pretty much symmetrical, so I’ve been tentatively sanding what curve I can into the leading edge, as best I can on such a thin part ..

 

Responsibilities call, more when I can ...

 

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