The cowling progresses

The last post showed the first phase of the process of getting it to the right sort of shape.  So here it is in its (more or less) final glory.  Some of you may wonder whether the frontal view is right or not.

But here are some photos from the period that suggest we could be on the right lines:

The trouble, of course, is the need for a longer cowling to cover the Rotec engine and the need to follow the curve of the lower longerons..  Apart from which there's a reasonable airflow over the cyclinders!

The slow march of progress



Almost a month since the last post and what do we have to show for it? A cowling, for a start; one finished top wing (wood only); and a start at covering the ailerons. There is an ad here about cheese: "All good things take time". Not that cheese features anywhere in the construction of course -unless you count lunches in that bracket!

So here is the cowling, well the start of the process anyway.  This was merely to get an idea of just how much needed to be cut off the full round and where it needed to be aligned with the fuselage to get the right curves (not necessarily those belonging to our two 'ladies').

Here is Dan Frew, our welder extraordinaire, putting it in place after some more surgery.  Unfortunately because the Rotec has a deeper depth than the Gnome rotary, the cowling has to be longer than the original.  Which tends to make it look a bit like the FW190 D series compared with the A series.  However perhaps some judicious paintwork may help to disguise it just a tiny bit.  Why the comparison with a FW190? Well, it just so happens that sitting in an adjacent hangar is a FW190 A series........

A companion aircraft in the form of a Sopwith Pup took to the air for the first time last week so the Omaka WW1 fleet is starting to grow.  It is also an impetus to make sure we don't slack off during the winter months!

Passing a Milestone

..or perhaps that should read 'Reaching a Milestone' -we had the first inspection of the fuselage to determine what still needed to be done and what I'd messed up with.  Fortunately it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated.  Whether that was down to Good Management or Good Luck, I'll leave you to decide. The seat  harness has finally arrived so that once that is in place we can start thinking about fabric covering.  Another new job to get my head around!

Meanwhile Rex is making good progress on the upper wings and has now retrieved the lower wing ribs so he is obviously getting ready to start on them.  We do however need to cut out the spaces for the spar so he's working on trying to find a local who can do that with precision (don't really want the ribs to all over the place, do we?).

As for the ROTEC engine, our friends next door on the N11, have started assembling theirs and found that there are some bits'n'pieces that need to be fabricated so they are going to do two sets, one for us.  How's that for co-operation?

I also managed to source a location for the lace lugs which hold the top panel in place.  The minimum order is for far more than we'll need but fortunately there are other projects on the airfield that will need them so that will help defray costs.  A bit.

Clear the Decks for Action!!

Having cluttered up Rex'a lovely table for the past few months with bits of spars, ribs, packets of nuts'n'bolts (appropriately marked whence they came), tins of paint, paint brushes and the odd tool or three, while we waited for the appropriate sheet of metal to be delivered from which to make the compresion ribs, the day has now arrived when Rex can get to work on doing what he has been champing at the bit to do for so long -get on with the job of building those ribs and getting the wings into shape. (Sorry about the long sentence but I think that is what Rex has been feeling for the past few months.) Must really find time to take some photos of the fittings he'd had made - they really are quite pretty.

Our friends at Rotec who supplied the engine have graciously allowed our project to head their list of projects on their own website. (The only reason we're heading it is because we're the latest and least completed -but, what the heck - we have a moment of fame.)

I know these blogs are somewhat irregular but they'll be even more irregular come next month as I head off to the Northern hemisphere to attend my youngest's wedding in Sussex. Not by the Sea but underneath a tree.  There must be something in the blood as a grandfatehr of mine was a carpenter by trade, I've dabbled a bit on carving and said son is carrying on the tradition.  My current wood project is to build a replica Lewis Gun for our mentor's N11. If I ask nicely he might arrange for the Moreau mounting to be made for ours as well as his......