With some real parts:

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/showthread.php/12672-Spitfire-IX-Project/page10
http://www.aerosimsolutions.com.au/spitfire.html

Sokol1

That is too cool, I love it!

Been quietly watching this one on the forum over there its really a remarkable pit!

More views of it here...
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/start-finish-builds/spitfire-ix-cockpit-1-1-a-17217-24.html
A lot of other nice pits going together as well.

Amazing Work!

Regards,

J. P. Kelly

Thankyou Gents, glad you like her.

Very soon now (when I finish these crazy work hours) she will get finished off. Still a bit of wiring, installing and an inside paint job (not happy with the current green which did not come mixed anything like the paint chip!!) to go, along with a couple of custom PRU bits and pieces.



Darryl H, AKA Killratio AKA Tony Hill

Hey mate,glad to see you here...Keep up the good work.Don,t stress on the "cockpit green" too much.Have an original throttle quadrant somewhere and the green comes in three shades on the front and back plates...
For best result I think Humbrol 66 is the best bet..

G'day mate!

Yeah, I know it is a bit of a dogs breakfast but I was hoping for something close. the paint I had mixed looked good on the chip but, oh boy, probably 1/2 to 1/3 of the tone when on the skin!

I got a new colour spray pack last night and gave one section a squirt...net result..TOO dark. BUT, at least it looks a bit better than too light. And I have seen a Spit XVI with a very similar toning that Tony Bianchi was flying, so I will go ahead with it I think. A bit more "manly" than the light green.

Cheers and glad to be here...



Darryl

At last a bit of progress. 3 full days work I had set aside turned into two half days..but never mind.

Before:


The completed Landing Lamp Unit:






I am half way through a respray of the interior to this new green colour..still not quite right but as close as I am going to try to get.


I spent a lot of extra time on the LLU because of the great pictures I had access to. Thanks mate!!

It is a nice looking unit and it looks great mounted under the panel. I just have to do a legend for it and finish the painting in the area and it can go back in. Pictures then!

The radiator shutter lever has been ditched and I have ordered another which will look spot on and work of a pot for controlling radiator shutters (or cowl flaps in GA aircraft Thunderbolt etc.)

More soon hopefully.


Darryl

OK, finally some photos of the Throttle (and you can see the new better green interior as well on the last two photos..the throttle pics washed out with the flash.).

1. Closed position, Prop Pitch full fine...as you would leave the aircraft.




2. Maximum weak mixture setting with the mixture lever (left) at its full travel. The throttle can be moved forward from here but will exceed the allowable boost if weak mixture is selected. When the throttle is closed from here it takes the mixture back with it to "rich" (fully back) position, so the engine can not be run at weak mixture and low power, which causes detonation if allowed to happen.



3. The warning horn switch (rear) and undercarriage indicator power switch(forward).



4. The label for the throttle...carved with an engraving dremel bit into the wood handle I made.



5. Full rated boost with the throttle at the forward stop...if moved a little left from here it can be pushed further forward to the takeoff setting (or to full boost if the boost override cutout is flipped. I've just noticed that this setting is NOT safe as the mixture is "weak"..it should be pulled back fully...Ill catch hell from the Mechanic for that!!




6. Top view..you can see the stop on the left for the mixture at half way...also the forward stop for Rated Boost and then the slip chanel of the gate to go sideways and a little further forward into Take off Boost.





And a couple of the monitor tray now ready to be installed after the wiring is finished.

Amazing work!

Love the work you are doing Darryl, true work of love
Like the throttle explanation, never fully had the understanding how the interaction of the throttle and mixture setting worked on a Spitfire quadrant.

Thanks guys!! Glad the throttle explaination helps.

I got a heap more done over the weekend. The plan WAS to do all the wiring and make her flyable.

I had been toying with a wiring plan, a while back, that hid most of the wires. The "electrical" equipment is easy...since wires are supposed to show..but the hydraulic, pneaumatic, mechanical functions obviously shouldn't have wires hanging off them!! I hit upon the idea of running the wiring through the hyd/pneu lines. Now this will look good but, of course, means ALL those lines need to be put in place before/during wiring.

This will slow things up considerably. However it should look a treat. The first one I have done is the Windscreen De-ice (just the pipe from the tap to the bottom of the panel. So there are no wires showing at all but a beautiful "brass" pipe that runs forward.

For small diameter pipe I used 4mm garden trickle with coat hanger wire put through it, primed with polyethelene primer (an EVIL brew which you should really use a respirator for!) and sprayed with a high gloss "gold" outdoor fitting paint.

The larger pipes will be half inch copper (which I may leave natural to develop a patina, seal with a metal protect coat or spray "gold" as well).

As soon as I find the camera charger I'll post pictures.

cheers



Darryl

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I battled the million little problems that always plague something that is “practically finished”. But all the frustration was worth it. By 23.30 I was ready and called my long suffering wife in. I had decided to give her first flight. It was actually more fun to watch I think. Unfortunately the video battery died but I was NOT postponing.

After a 10 minute briefing on procedures etc, she went through the startup drill (with minimal prodding) and that beautiful Merlin roared to life. Takeoff was “interesting” but basically safe. The U/C “up” was flawless, no Spitfire wobble at all….bi7ch!!!! 







There followed a 32 minute flight where she chased a few AI around Biggin Hill, beat up a small field nearby (not sure which, but they will have rung the authorities by now  ), tested the instruments and after an aborted first circuit made a very passable “wheeler” landing back at Biggin. The brakes unfortunately proved very effective at the end of the landing run .... but nothing a new prop won’t fix. 

She is definitely a fan now and I got the nod of approval on my building. Seeing the War Office get so excited about something like that is a rare privilege indeed!

So then it was on to the advanced air test. It all felt quite natural getting her started. The temps came up fairly quickly as the engine was still hot from Tracey’s flight, so a quick taxi was in order (thankfully the ground run tests had honed my skills on the brakes). Without much pre-flight (Fuel, mixture, prop pitch, elevator trim, temps and throttle ) I let off the brakes and eased the throttle forward at about the same rate as my right leg. A bit of right aileron as well. When the tail came up though she gave a kick to the left and I needed to boot in more right rudder. (I have read where some pilots use their feet rather than setting the rudder trim, as you have to retrim immediately after takeoff in any case and the rudder forces are not huge …I tried this and think it is probably the method I will adopt permanently…you just need to watch the kick as the tail comes up..standard tailwheel flying stuff really). In what seemed like a heartbeat she was airborne and it was time for the U/C. A little bit of porpoising (and a raised eyebrow from the War Office!) and we were off. +6 Boost and 2650 and she climbs like a homesick angel. Level off at 5,000 just under 2 minutes later. Time for a HASEL check. That done, into the test.

The controls are great. Full stop. The aircraft should be and is, VERY sensitive in pitch. Very small movements fore and aft are necessary OR in fact desirable. The total travel is only about 22deg full forward to full back. In tests they found that in a steep turn, a backwards pull of only ¾ of an inch is enough to induce pre stall buffet. The A2A model is not quite that severe but almost. Tight turns are a joy though.

Next came a couple of lazy slow rolls. For me as an aerobatic pilot, flying a roll without feet on the rudder pedals is counter-intuitive. But the Spitfire does this admirably. I could almost hear the “aaahhhhh’s” from people on the ground 

Then I tried some square rolls. WOW!!!!!! The first was spot on with perfect 90deg angles and a nice little “cough” while inverted. The next two I got cocky and missed the angles by 5-10 degrees….oh well. Not the aircraft’s fault.

On to the Cuban eights as a pre-requisite for a full loop. First one worked a charm and I used a normal half roll off the top of both halves. The second was also great and I threw in spirited square half rolls for good measure. The cockpit handles it all very nicely.

A loop was next and that went off without a hitch, although you need to be very careful on the pullout as the whole world gets grey pretty quickly. (note to self, rig a G Meter somewhere).

I left the Stall Turn until after all this, as they are not all that easy. I find that in the Spitfire there is a nasty surprise (the model, I wonder if the real one is the same?) The fact that the controls remain effective right down to the stall means that it hard to judge when to do the “turn” part of “stall turn”. The first one I fell into through too much rudder authority and was lucky to avoid a spin. The second I tail slid out of because I held on too long (…not a nice feeling in real life). The third was perfect.

I’ll leave the “Upward Charlies” until I get a better feel but want to get at least two in a row out of her.

Last but not least was a shallow dive at full boost reaching 390mph from 6,000ft. As fast as I wanted to go first up and ending at 1000ft. Then I dodged trees back to Biggin for a “run and break”.

The circuit was a bit wide but the speeds were spot on and she settled into a perfect three pointer at 65mph.

WHAT A BUZZ!!!!!!!!

A few shots, video asap.

The office.


From rear starboard quarter


Panel



Pipe detailing, right hand side.



Landing Lamp Unit and Compass


Helmet and Masks

Congratulations with the first test flight!

Congrates on the maiden flight. It's a work of art.

Too bloody perfect Darry....I applaud you sir.

Falstar, nice sentiment...but not quite right....here we go:

Congrats on it all coming together so well! I think I've looked at these pics of your Spitfire pit 3 times today. Great work!
Derek

Thanks all for your comments. The encouragement and motivation I have been given right along has been fantastic.It has been an interesting project and I will post some video on Youtube as soon as i can work it all out.

There are a few cosmetic bits left to do and any changes that need to be made when the Accusim pack comes out.

It has been a wild ride...now I just have to find some time to fly her!!

Fly Her?! You mean all that stuff works j/k! It's an impressive work of art and a unique simpit, truly one of a kind.

What a fantastic work you have done. congratulation
And you have a wife , willing to climb into the cockpit, nice.

WOW, thats all I can say right now!!!!

Thanks guys. We've had some more fun flying her over the weekend. I'll have some video on youtube directly.

Well, no video yet but a whole lot of fun. A mate has an Irvin Jacket, so we just couldn’t resist…. It makes the whole cockpit shrink VERY quickly and you start to get a feeling for what it must have been like to sit squeezed into the Spitfire for hours. It also explains some of the “put the Spitfire on“ rather than “get into the Spitfire” which many pilots describe.

Unfortunately even in mid winter, as it is here now, the jacket is intolerably hot, so I just couldn’t wear it for long periods. In summer you would literally boil your brain.


I now have a whole new understanding of some of what Spitfire pilots faced. Maps on knees and trying to stay on course whilst barely having room to move and heaven only knows how the hell you look over your shoulder to see behind!!


Video as soon as possible, probably on Sunday.


When they will see the pig half-man:
Noise, song, battle, fighting in the sky perceived,
Nostradamus

Ready to go.


Chocks away



Easy turns.


Throwing her around


Hanging in the straps



Pre landing checks


Turning final


Short final


Having a ball flying this baby. It’s a pity I have to work during the day!!

Awesome pit. Almost too good for just FSX need to figure out a way to get it working with Storm of War when it's released...

That is just fantastic! After all the hard work you've put into project I am glad to hear your having this much fun. Thanks for posting the updated photos!
Derek

Thanks guys!!!!

Yes, SOW or IL2 is on the list of "wants" but I have no computer skills to speak of. I know there is one guy doing an interface with FI gauges and IL2. Even if the panel doesn't work, I will still fly it using the stick, rudders throttle and any switches that can be assigned.

BUT the big "wish" is for the A2A Spitfire Accusimmed....managing that big Merlin with kid gloves really appeals.

It is fun just haring around for now. You have to love an aircraft that you can set at 4lb boost, 2650rpm (about 2/3 throttle!!!) and do any aerobatics you like. The real aircraft generates about 100hp per 1/2" of throttle and as the throttle on the sim was built off Supermarine drawings, it is very close to that also.

I just have to beat this video software and I will post some video of the controls, visuals and the gauges all working. Hopefully by the weekend I will also have the Undercarriage lights and Low Volt Light working.


Cheers again for the comments and encouragement!!!

Nice job!! Damn, I bet you that it took a complete afternoon to hang the pit on the cealing haha

Thanks J.A.K. And no, we cheated and put the ceiling UNDER the pit!!

Now that's innovative thinking!



Bloody awesome 'pit Darryl.

Thanks mate! She did come up a treat I think!

beautiful cockpit!

Needs the gunsight.

8)

Thanks, appreciated.

and yes, I have a sight...but with the sight model on screen and the real thing doubling up, it is intensely annoying whilst flying. So the sight is just for display. AND the reticle is useless (read "invisible") against the bright screens of the LED.

First rough video. A lot of room to grow with the new video software but this is my first attempt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVfeiBX7Aww

Concentrates on visuals and a few gauges rather than an overall view of the pit.

Brilliant pit and pretty good flying too

Bunbury hey! are you from Western Oz?
Regards Bob

Bofman,

thanks! The Spitfire takes some getting used to but if you "fly the numbers" she sets down right every time.
In the air of course she is a pussycat.

And affirm, Sandgroper.

The latest video guys.....this time just the instruments and the cockpit.

It starts with a general look around, preflight check of the switches, levers etc then moves on to startup, warm up checks (the radiator temp needs to get to 60 or 70 which gives time to check the flaps, adjust the elevator trim and set the Altimeter to airfield height). Next is the preflight mag check, CSU, idle check (very important in the Spitfire, as excessive idle RPM can make it VERY difficult to land) and then, as temps are getting warm, takeoff. The video ends with gear up and set 0 boost 2400 RPM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFJHBSX9Ps0

Hope you enjoy it. Next will be a video that combines "in cockpit" and "on screen" views.

Bring it on....I had the headphones on when I clicked the link. The sound quality blew me away. Make some more vids PLEASE

Some of the latest work:



















Swaging work was new to me, so very interesting and challenging. The Droptank gear was built by Aerosim Solutions and is a masterwork

Work still progressing on the final detailing and some new conversions/PRU equipment.


When A2A releases the Mk V she will form the basis of the sim.

Pretty damn cool. Love the Spitfire

It really doesn't get much better than that.

Thanks Gents!


And...I left out the photo of the completed Slipper Tank Control....the sim and the real thing (just painting to go now.






Have just put her all back together after having a running battle with the rudder freezing up(now won I hope) so this weekend there will be pics of her at the current stage, assembled. The conversion to Mk V is almost complete and the PRU gear should be fitted within weeks, Camera Selector by right foot, Type 35 Controller where the gunsight would go and even a Mudflap Release Lever by the right shoulder.

The only thing holding "finished" up now is the door mechanism which I am having a delay in getting the last parts for.

That is a Beautiful pit Congrats

WARNING......long, many pictures


OK, a two yearly!!! update for anybody interested who hasn't been following on the ww2aircraft


Vent Control added under starboard coaming, Oxygen Stopc ock added, (also added a "Cockpit Heat" control which actually controls oxygen flow height) and an undercarriage warning horn cancell switch...all functional. The wires for these are all hidden in the pipework so everything mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic or cabled appears to work like that and not by electrical toggles, pots, encoders or limit switches as they actually do.

Relasered some gauges (notably the AH) , added all the pipework (mostly from aluminium but some polyethelene and some brass), added proper gun button (thanks again Tony!!) all to tighten up on the details...

Added a couple of PRU specific items (mudflap release on starboard , Amp and OAT gauges next Landing Lamp Control)


And also some general tidy up work, fuse boxes and the start of the Mk V modifications..(fuel pump switch, Oil Dilution Pushbutton and guard)

I have a ground/air switch here but I am still trying to confirm whether they were actually on the Mk V originally or have been added to the modern restorations.

Anyway, enjoy...





























Also awaiting the final work on the door mechanism (hopefully soon) so that I can build the door and finish the whole thing.

I wanted to maintain the "constantly upgraded/converted" theme and so I have left the Landing Lamp control in place, along with the Reflector sight switch and labels....but the sight is gone (impossible to see the reticle against a bright screen anyhow) whilst retaining the gunsight bulbs. Also, I added a gun camera footage unit as yet another "left behind" item. This gives the feel that a quick bit of work turns her into a fighter recon.

Now added are a fake seat adjustment handle (right of seat), Gwyn's marvellous Drop Tank Valve/Release unit, the heavey silver braided radio control (TR 1143) cable.

The lights are all now functioning...Undecarriage, Low Volts, Fuel Pressure Warning and the PRU control lights...2 on the Type 35 and 3 on the Camera Selector. (unfortunately most are too hard to see in the photo as the flash washed them out) The Type 35 has also moved forward to the more "traditional" upfront mounting.

Another real item has been received, this time a Magneto Switch pair.






Two views of the whole thing. Camera Selector Box prominant low and left.







The view "in the door"





The view from the pilot's seat:





Left wall froward from the seat.







Low on the panel, the twin "deviation" cards (with slipper tank and without) and the compass which now has a whisky compass inset ... at some stage I may hack this up to build a better representation of a P8 but lots to do first.






The Type 35 in place:








Camera Selector





The Drop Tank Control (and a good idea of as close as I could get to the seat colour)








Right, right rear and seat









Left rear, Seat and Fuse Boxes





Fake Seat adjustment handle and right wall detail.





Finally, the dual scale ASI. (and the altimeter and new Gyro laser cut) This took some serious brainwork and gearing by Gwyn but with 944 steps on the stepper motor, there was adequate room to add a second 290 degrees to give the second revolution. The gauge now functions exactly as the real thing, outside circle read the first revolution and then as you pass into the second revolution, you read the inside circle of numbers. It takes a little getting used to, particularly diving from altuitude when you are not always sure which "lap" you are on





The compass. The spider is mounted on a stepper motor and board hacked from a Flight illusion cessna compass that used to just be mounted in the main compass body. That compass was a whisky type and so the spider needed to be made to fit on top and the compass card had to be removed altogether.

The outer ring rotates to set course, the stepper turns the spider and it all works just like the original...which is NO compliment, I assure you!!!



Cockpit and new screen also the extra Navigation Panel with ADF and the "second engine" panel on the right (detachable for when just flying as the Spitfire.






A nice aquisition , the rare and, in this case still fully functional, Harness Recoil Reel. This will make the Sutton Harness fully functional and allow for the extra cockpit check on takeoff and landing.






A small detail but it all helps..the Cabin heat label now on (this encoder actually controls oxygen flow altitude/rate)




The Primer mechanism...a slide pot which will use FSUIPC to send "open", "pump" and "close" codes to the sim via FSUIPC at different points on the axis. (now ditched in favour of a magnetic proximity switch which will send a signal when pump handle is pulled out.)




The hardest job so far, really, the door latch. The latch handle and rods were made for me (swapped for some laser work) but I've finished them from the rough blanks. The latches themselves were a lathe/mill combination job,my very first!!! with the square hole of the latch guide being hand finished. The claws are made from round and square steel stock and threaded together (saving me using an independant 4 jaw chuck to turn them and mill them from a single square piece.

I'm quite happy for a first try at "fitting". Making things "mate" is not at all easy

The whole assembly so far:




The (front) claw and guide assembled... square holes are fun!! The finish is reasonable but not perfect..it does look a bit better "in person", the light of the flash does emphasise the ares that are not perfectly smooth....still, no excuses.






The claw of the rear latch..the second guide is still to be machined when I get some time.





Some very rough work on the door. This has proved to be a real challenge in that the factory drawings were inaccurate in the cockpit area so the whole sim is an inch too long. I have managed to "make" the door latch stretch but the proportions look a little off..never mind.

The real door is quite a work of art, very thin and strong and with a beautiful piano hinge base that pivots the whole thing out. It also fits snuggly into a designed recess, which was beyond me whilst using a wooden frame and plastic skin. It took me a wasted wooden blank, a small sheet of ali and about an hour to work out I was NEVER going to get it made like it really is!! So I settled on an "outside" fit of the skin, along the edge of the door "hole" in the sim and will use two or three ordinary door hinges. I wanted the door to "look" thin from the inside of the cockpit, so I made it thick enough to be strong but then made an inner skin which makes the whole thing LOOK thin when viewed from each side (and also gave me a useful cavity to hide all my dodgy joins, crossbraces and gluing!!)


I also found that to "look" square, the thing actually had to be made "out of plum" which was REALLY annoying until the outside skin went on and then it all LOOKED square...amazing and I can't explain it...just don't put a set square near it!!


So....The door itself, outside view.





And inside.





The Door latch, now attached to the top spar and complete except for fitting the aft latch claw and guide. The latch claw is made but the guide is this weekend's problem (hopefully).











The way it works..pivot point in the centre and rotates away, retracting the claw.










The door with more detail and the bottom rail and hinge fitted. Tomorrow I will paint it after finishing the last latch guide.




Why I haven't finished the last latch guide...

Not sure whether it is "completion anxiety" or attention to detail (let's call it attention to detail, eh??) but I decided today that I didn't like the nice chromed head nuts that I had used on 1/4 bolts to secure the links in the door latch...so I spent the time available designing making and installing four brass cotter pins, as per the original.


These are 20mm long, to fit 4.6mm diameter hole and the end hole for the split pin is 2mm!! Obviously I am not going to win any machining contests just yet but I am pleased with the way they came up and all four are machined pretty much identical specs.








Temp fitted....






Oh well......


I guess I will just have to admit it is "completion anxiety" after all. After a late night and, um, a single drink (or maybe two) which went to my head I couldn't face the guide today....

But I DID notice that the cupscrew that is the axle for the door latch did not look right...so I turned a faux locking cap for the axle and it came up quite well.
I did manage to break my parting tool in the process (on aluminium no more/less!!) but that was not wholey uexpected as it was never quite "right" for my lathe. I will now search for a new one.







The real thing:




And a quick start to the paint jo for the door:







Will it never end???????


Alright, anybody who has done a million metalwork jobs, gets bored easily or thinks I just like to hear myself type, tune out now....long post, large number of pictures alert!!!

Having said that...I have now finished the door, its associated locks and the door pier and slots for the fitting. I confess that until recently (last year) I really ahd NO idea how solid chunks of metal became"things". I guess there are not THAT many people who have been living under rocks or exclusively in an office, (like I have) for 30- 40 years but for those who have, I thought I would post somee shots of the door latch guide making process.

To start I drilled the 16mm hole in the end of the bar stock, which hole will eventually become the square hole in
the guide.I did this first as last time I learned that the cut down guide is not very stable in the vice, after
large portions of material have been removed. Then I began to carve away the centre of the latch guide.

You can just see the edge of the hole in the right of the picture as the cutting beins.








As material "disappears" the shape starts to look vaguely familiar.







The first (front) side finished, now time to start carving out the rear part.








(The middle swathe will be taken out last. On the front latch guide I used a 20mm cutter twice which caused some
vibration etc..so this time I used a 16mm with a slower speed and that worked better..but meant three sections had
to be cut instead of two. Time vs tool vs material..there is quite a bit to get your head around with this milling lark!!)












The job starts to look even more like a latch guide. (about an hour and a half to here with setting up, measuring and cutting)


Next, testing size, position and general comparison to the front guide.






Domed rear end of guide started (at this point there is still over 1mm finishing cut to be taken off one side, you
can see the hole is not central) This just fit with the bar stock size and not having to trim BOTH sides of the
bar (another simple thing I had to learn LAST time!!)




The small cutter machining and fine hand filing begin to convert the round 16mm hole into an 18mm x 16mm rectangular hole with squared corners.




An hour, some fine hand filing and two broken 4mm cutters later, the claw starts to get close to fitting into the
(only now) "squaring" hole.




Finished, fitted and painted. The door on half lock.




And full...




A very snug (MUCH to my relief!) fitting door and latch.




And the view from afar....








(if you don't mention that the door is a different colour, even though from the same tin of paint, due to the main body floor seal coating fading over time, then I won't..

A lot has been happening here, none of it really sim related..but I did get some time a couple of weeks ago to start the Throttle Upgrade.
This will be the last major work on the Spitfire, bringing her up to full Mk I/II converted to Mk V converted to PR IV "ish" standard.

All of the bits made so far, fitted and ready to wire and paint.





The throttle grip:



This has an integral switch (camera button) which took a bit of brainwork for a non tradie such as me!! It was turned on the lathe in three parts..main body, end cap, recessed to take and retain button..and the button itself. Having had a bit of a play now, I decided to make the button concave to accept the finger endand this turned out OK.









The undercarriage warning horn switching unit:

Tony's (Rocketeer) marvellous casting milled out to accept the switches and buttons. The milling is a little untidy as I was getting used to the resin..very different to metal or plastic.






The switch and buttons. The top button was made in the lathe, the horn cancel button on the milling machine





And finally, the first coat on the main throttle grip body.It should finish up with a high gloss black sheen.



I put back on the original mixture lever handle Gwyn made me as well..looks better with the black throttle than my wood one I made to match the wooden handle ..the old ones;










The next job will take more time as I need to remove the throttle altogether from the wall and pull it apart to add Tony's Chassis Indicator Horn Control unit to a newly made bracket and I will need to remake the UC Indicator switch housing to the fore as well.







The real thing, it will look like this eventually but with the black PRU throttle grip I've just made.

Amazing! Museun quality.

Thank you Henk!!!

That is a really impressive work. Have you ever considered restoring an actual one?

It´s brilliant ...fantastic and stunning....my deeply respect.... very very very good work...
Hammerhart genial und einfach unglaublich

This is one of those times SimHQ needs a drooling smiley! Beautiful work!

Thanks for the great comments guys!

I wouldn't trust my workmanship on the real thing but she has been a blast to build. I'm almost sorry to be nearly finished..but teh f-16 needs a heap to finish it off, so I am sure I won't get bored any time soon. I'm looking forward to working on something more modern again too.

cheers

Darryl

When are you going to build the rest of it

I'd love to..but it wouldn't fit in the computer room!

Wow, I absolutely admire your skills and work! Thank you for sharing this. How much of the instrumentation and controlls are actually working and interacting with the computer?

Thank you Sir!

The main panel is almost completely live. The only guages that do not work are the rectangular oil pressure gauge (there is a small round, non scale, dual fuel and oil pressure gauge mounted above it) and the oxygen regulator gauge.
All other gauges and indicators function as per the original.

The switches are all live (some that are not functional, like the gunsight power switch, can be used for other functions.) as are all the flying controls. The emergency gear bottle and oxygen tap are both functional, as is the deice panel. On the left wall all the trims and the throttle functions work.

The radiator shutter lever works on a pot. I plan to put an encoder on teh seat raise handle to simulate raising/lowering the seat.

Basically the whole flight from startup to shutdown can be made from the cockpit without a keyboard or mouse.

regards


Darryl

To demonstrate the kind of fun that can be had with this...here is a repost of an eventful flight a while back involving a gear failure.......please skip if you've read it elsewhere.

For those who are not familiar with A2A's Accu-Sim concept...it takes the engine and some other calcs out of FSX, redoes them and then forces FSX to use the outside figures. This delivers an incredible level of realism and means that the aircraft MUST be flown properly or you are in for trouble. Random failures also happen but rarely.


I believe that one of the most valuable possessions (if you like) that a pilot has is his "currency".

If you are not "current" in general or "on type" you are already one step behind the
play. That can, in real life, cost you that life but thankfully in a Sim, it usually just
leaves you red faced. Accu-Sim brings this all in to play.

And so to the whole sad story.......

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Monday 12th July 2011.

The previous flight in the Spitfire Mk II had been low level aerobatics and I had run
her hard...but she seemed to be in good shape nonetheless (Factor 1). I managed to implement Alex Henshaw's technique and can now roll at hanger height, using the fuselage as an extra "wing area" for parts of the roll. Great fun but stressfull for the normally aspirated Merlin. One feature of Accu-Sim is that the aircraft are "persistent " that is, next time you load up, the aircraft is in exactly the same state as you left it last flight, mechanically, fuel, setup, damage, wear etc.

After a lay off of a few weeks, I met up with Ron for some aerobatics practice and
formation flying out of Busselton. The warm ups took longer than expected for various reasons (but all checks properly done) and so by takeoff the Radiator was right on 120C. (Factor 2). Any higher (ANY!!) and it would have required a shut down.

Ron had drawn a fair way ahead and above me, so I expedited my takeoff and went gear
up, then immediately concentrated on closing the distance whilst still keeping her at
or below max temps (Factor 3).


Despite battling with the temps the gap was closed but, unusually, I did use the
rudder trim to keep me straight in the climb, something I never do as the rudder
forces on climb are not that great anyway and only have to be used sporadically and
only in a very steep climb. (Factor 4).

When it came time to form up on Ron's starboard wing, we exchanged temps, rpm, boost
setting and airspeed, as per normal. (in this case 2300rpm at +2 and Ron had 232mph
indicated). Ron was running Radiator at 113C and I had mine down to 100C but my oil
temp was 5 or 6C higher than his and not too far south of 90C).

I quickly found that at these settings, I could not maintain formation. I put this
down to the previous low level aeros having pushed the engine a bit hard, a suspicion
that seemed to be confirmed by the RPM surging a little more than usual. Or perhaps
having strained the govenor?? Any how, Accu-sim models things differently, so my
Monday Morning Spitfire was just being difficult, obviously.

After that the formation took our attention for a while and the lower boost and cruise
speed let the temps fall back a bit. Our radiators pretty much syncronised at 100C but
my oil temp was still 5-6 higher. By this time I was watching the temps intently on a
regular basis, looking for early signs of trouble. (Factor 5).

When the fuel level dictated, we turned back to Busselton, by this time some 40-50nm
away. It was at this time that we decided on Ron forming up on me. He saw it immediately.

NOW all the pieces fell in to place: Sitting there, nicely perched about six to eight inches
from closed, was the port undercarriage leg, just open enough to disrupt the airflow into
the oil cooler!

Damn that Undercarriage Indicator "UP" Light, it shouldn't be on!!! Go to tap glass
(my standard response to any instrument problem).....it ISN'T on.

You know that sick feeling when you realise that you have done something REALLY stupid
and obviously so??.... I realised that in my haste to "get off", I had not actually
VISUALLY confirmed that the "UP" light had come on.

So, humbled, I flew back towards Busselton and thought long and hard about
undercarriage failure drills, visual indicators, the unfairness of it all and how I
was going to stop Ron broadcasting my stupidity to the world

In the end, we diverted to Bunbury, as that was closer and, as my home field, I am
very familiar with how everything should "look and feel" on approach. Once near the
field, I attempted to lock the wheel back up by inverting the Spitfire. No good. So
next I lowered the gear to see if it would go down and lock. The right gear deployed
normally but the left wouldn't budge. So next I tried the Emergency Undercarriage
Cylinder...no joy either. At least the right gear still retracted, that was something.
So, resigned to a belly landing, I checked the gear lever WAS in the UP position (in
case the right leg extended for some reason on approach, it would at least collapse on
landing), established a normal circuit but a couple of hundred feet high and aiming,
eventually, at 1/3 down the strip, opened the canopy and when turning onto final, shut
off the fuel and electrics, checked the Sutton was tight and disconnected the R/T
leads. At 100 feet I realised that I had been so intent on lining up for 1/3 of the
runway, that I was still aiming for the bitumen, not for the grass to the side, which
was my intended target.So I eased the nose over a bit and made a very good belly
landing (as adjudged by Ron) pulling up quickly and doing hardly any damage apart from
the airscrew and radiator.

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So...what went wrong? Well, as usual, no single problem leads to an aviation
"incident", there is always a chain of events that conspire. My assessment is
below

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1. Whilst past events MUST be taken into account, current problems should be judged on
their merits and without preconception. (assumed substandard performance because
engine tired)

2. The lack of recent flying makes everything much more of an effort and therefore
effectively multiplies any normal workload. Should there be a problem occur (high
temps, lateness ) this can lead to "standard" procedures being skipped or missed (Not
checking U/C Light).

3. Attention needs to be paid to the WHOLE panel, not just a segment of it.
(concentrating on engine instruments on the right to "catch up" without overheating..effectively ignoring the left of the panel where the U/C Light SHOULD have been showing). The Spitfire has the U/C Light AND physical indicators in the wings and yet because my attention was on the gauges to the right, I missed the leck of UP light AND the small portion of red U/C indicator pin still protruding through the wing.

4. Currency builds consistency. The rudder trim, once dialed in, was left there, effectively concealing the drag caused by the protruding U/C leg. This went unnoticed as I "never use it".

5. Persistent unexplained rise in oil temp should have raised questions as to what other possible causes there could be, rather than an assumption of "bad day"...particularly as radiator temp was around normal. Watching for things to get worse is all very fine but it should NOT preclude further checking for the source of the problem.

What went right....?

1. Practice emergency procedures, have them burned into your brain so that they become automatic. At least once things WERE discovered, the solutions/precautions were pretty much automatic to me.

2. Know your aircraft.... glide approach speeds, where everything is in the cockpit to shut down quickly, what you can and can't turn off or the order that it should be turned off (no good shutting down electrics if your flaps are electric and you need them..etc etc).

3. Burn off fuel. Easy in this case as we were RTB because of fuel anyway...but don't belly land with full tanks.




Ron gives me the "good news"



Attempting to lower my gear.



Barely visible here but all too obvious AFTER the gear problem was found..the U/C tab extended a fraction above the wing.



The U/C leg still in jammed position after the belly landing.



Darryl

Fitting the sutton harness tension/recoil unit in a decidedly NON standard way. I just don't have six feet of frames behind the seat to run the cable. This meant fixing the unit to the rear bulkhead and running the cable around wheels to take up the slack. The original cable broke the first time I used it, so I sourced a motorcycle clutch cable and took the WHOLE thing apart to fit that. In the end it came up well and functions perfectly...but unfortunately it is NOT a Spitifre unit, or at least if it is, it is from the rear seat of a two seater..you can see this from the frame being welded at 90 degrees from where a normalk Spit unit is..necessitating an angled block being mounted to make the handle travel through the "normal" arc...no matter, it was still a very good pickup. Remembering to disengage the lock before leaning forward will be a task but the hard edges of the Sutton Harness are a very good reminder, cutting in as they do to near the collar bone and leaving bruises when you forget (ask me how I know!! )


The real "run"




The main unit fitted and the home turned rollers to guide the cable.




The roller unit made from scratch with 3mm aluminium, bent in the vice, a turned brass axle and turned roller. For the first time my wife, on seeing this, asked where I found it and how much it cost!!! My machine work must have improved!




The handle/trigger unit fitted in the cockpit. The tensioning makes it quite a job to pull it down to release the lock, just like in the real thing.

For some updates on Darryls Spitpit.
https://www.facebook.com/SpitfireK9817/