A final message for the year?

I know we're not quite at the end of the year yet, but it looks like there won't be much more progress until the New Year.  However!  Good news on the engine mount front as you can see - all painted up and fitted in place ready for the next phase of trying the engine for size.  (NB. The oil tank is there just for show - need to drill a few holes in the appropriate places.) We also need to work out where all the extra bits'n'bobs fit and whether the whole lot will slip into place without further surgery.  We know some will be required for the engine instrumentation cables to flow through to their appropriate gauges.

Rex meanwhile is making good progress on the wing and we're hoping that once it is completed the next one will go much faster now that he has all the necessary jigs available.

So finally I'd like to wish all my readers (all 2 of them) a very Merry Xmas and a satisfying New Year.

Cheers,

Eric

Progress?

Well, I thought we had made some but, no, our technical advisor tells us differently.  It seems the original constructor's idea of attaching the engine mount to the frame by bolts a threaded into part of the frame is not up to scratch: we have to have a bolt going all the way through with a castellated nut on t'other end.  Which is no problem for the lower region but the top ones foul the forward cabane struts. Bugger!  Not only that but if we were to put the nut behind the frame (as would be the obvious way) those struts would not be able to go through the very nice sleeve that holds them in place. So the bolt is going to have to enter from the rear which means more surgery is required in a very awkward place.  So we are going to call in the experts!
And in rigging up the rudder cables the rear pulleys are canted at a very odd angle so, like a bad leg fracture, we are going to have to break it and reposition it in such a way that there is a nice even flow through for the cables. More expertise required!
I know Life was never meant to be easy but, hey, the occasional nice break wouldn't go amiss!

On the Home Front, the Other Half managed to get a dose of this infamous Swine Flu, the swine (the bug that is, not her)! It didn't help that it took two weeks before the right medicine was prescribed and within a couple of days she was coming right.  Why won't doctors LISTEN???  (Touch wood, I've managed to escape the bug which I hope will continue as, a) I have a pregnant daughter to visit on my way to, b) my youngest son's forthcoming wedding in deepest Sussex next month.)

In the UK I hope to visit the Imperial War Museum to try to track down the names of places and people we have photographs of in the AHC and also the National Archives to track down service history of both my grandfathers plus another fellow's photo in the AHC.  We have his NZ Army history and his RFC medical records (such as they are) but no actual history of which squadron and what type of aircraft he might have flown. That'll take my mind of Nieuports for a bit.