bigbadbadge Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Nice work and this is coming together well. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 17 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said: Nice work and this is coming together well. Chris Thanks, Chris !! Hopefully I can attack the ailerons later today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 (edited) Time for a messy photo. The ailerons have been cut, and the pieces fixed into place. Waiting for every thing to set up, prior to sanding. The leading edges also got another coat of filler and more sanding. Edited June 14, 2021 by Longbow 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 Cut and cleaned up. Joints filled and sanded. Ailerons setting. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 I wasn’t happy with the aileron joints, on both sides. So I removed them, and removed a little material. Much happier, now. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 I fabricated the Coffman starter bulge. It’s a little (LOT) over-scale, right now, and has to be sanded down once cured. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 And sanded to shape. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Nice work but I hate to say it but the VIII did not have the Coffman starter bulge, another Edgar posts states that for 2 stage Mrlin powered Spitfires the bulge was present on: "Only" the Mk.IX, powered by the Merlin 61 & 64, plus the Spitfire VII I'll shut up now ! Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 1 hour ago, spitfire said: Nice work but I hate to say it but the VIII did not have the Coffman starter bulge, another Edgar posts states that for 2 stage Mrlin powered Spitfires the bulge was present on: "Only" the Mk.IX, powered by the Merlin 61 & 64, plus the Spitfire VII I'll shut up now ! Cheers Dennis Well, you could have informed me of that before all the work So are these guys using old stock engine cowelling ? Looks as though I do have to reduce the size, so more, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 Maybe it won't be too big, with a little more sanding ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 2 hours ago, spitfire said: Nice work but I hate to say it but the VIII did not have the Coffman starter bulge, another Edgar posts states that for 2 stage Mrlin powered Spitfires the bulge was present on: "Only" the Mk.IX, powered by the Merlin 61 & 64, plus the Spitfire VII I'll shut up now ! Cheers Dennis Okay, Dennis, I did a little digging and found a post relating to the starter bulge. The bulge apparently remains on all Supermarine built Spits (All of the Mk VIII’s), despite having no Coffman starter fitted. Quote... The fairing is related to the Coffman starter but used in a different way. It was only necessary if the Spitfire was fitted with a Merlin 61 or 63A. The Merlin 61 was developed as a high-altitude engine and the Spitfire variant fitted with it, that is the Mk VII, would have a pressurised cockpit. This required a cabin blower to feed air to the cockpit at higher pressure than outside. In order to save excessive design the blower drive was a modification of the Coffman starter gear but driven by the engine instead of cranking it. Later on an improved version of the Merlin 61, the Merlin 63, was fitted to Spitfire F.IXs. The Merlin 63 did not have the pressurising drive gear. There were two varieties of the Merlin 63, the Merlin 63 itself and the Merlin 63A. The Merlin 63’s crankcase did not have a Coffman casing but the Merlin 63A used the crankcase of the Merlin 64 (an improved variant for the pressurised MK VII) and this had the protruding casing but not the drive gear itself. The bulge is found on every MK VI and Mk VII. Photographs show that it is usually found on Supermarine-built and Rolls Royce-converted F.IXs. It appears on virtually all Mk VIIIs (all built by Supermarine). It is also found on two-seat trainers converted by the factory after the war. This suggests that there was one standard type of cowling panel fitted regardless of the engine variant. CBAF-built Mk IXs did not feature this bulge as standard as it is only found on a few aircraft fitted with Merlin 61 or 63A engines. Link...,, http://spitfireforums.com/index.php?topic=172.0 The bulge remains 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Phew, thought I had made work for you, glad to hear that you got it right and more Spitfire info for me. Cheers Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 Okay then. Much happier with the size and shape of this one. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Great job on the Ailerons and Starter bulge. This looks fab. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 20 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said: Great job on the Ailerons and Starter bulge. This looks fab. Chris Thanks, Chris !! Im plugging away at it, slowly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 A little cockpit detail. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 More cockpit bits. Hoping to get this wrapped up tomorrow, and ready for primer. Everyone stay safe, and have a good night 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Coming together nicely now Lee, looking forward to more now! Stay safe Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 1 minute ago, Hamden said: Coming together nicely now Lee, looking forward to more now! Stay safe Roger Thanks, Roger.... Hopefully I'll be able to get more done later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 All of the cockpit detail is done, except the control column, and access door. Everything had a coat of Mr. Surfacer, 1500. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 Awesome level of work and detail here! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 1 minute ago, Thom216 said: Awesome level of work and detail here! Thank you !! I’m just hoping everything will fit, once it’s painted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 Working on the access door. Crow bar tomorrow. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 And the crowbar is out of the way. Time for the lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbow Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 I’m glad that bit’s done !! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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