Club 80-90 Forums

Wood?! Give the man some credit!

Thanks for digging this thread out Clive. Highly relevant to my situation.

Don't underestimate it... hardwood is perfect for spreading loads without crushing, and I seem to remember Doug amongst many other talents, is a carpenter of some degree.

anyway, the best plane of WWII was built almost entirely of wood, nuffin wrong with wood, if you know your onions

Hurricane?

HarryMann wrote:Don't underestimate it... hardwood is perfect for spreading loads without crushing, and I seem to remember Doug amongst many other talents, is a carpenter of some degree.

anyway, the best plane of WWII was built almost entirely of wood, nuffin wrong with wood, if you know your onions

Hmmm...wood appear to be steel anyway..

No the Hurricane was mixture of an old (Hart/demon style) wooden and steel tube fuselage with a metal wing

Just ask yourself what was the first true multi-role aircraft?

Even Goering eulogised over it...

Yes looks like a heavy channel section, the rust colour confused me...

Mosquito?

Ask yourself or ask google? No point asking myself..I don't know!

Right Al, famous enough usually not to need Google..

They all said it couldn't be done, it would cost too much, the skills long since gone, the wood quality unavailable today, the moulds couldn't be made, and who was groing to screw 6,000 brass screws into each wing half, let alone the rest of the plane... but 27/9 this year it flew.

and famous enough for an American to spend several million to have one built almost from scratch in New Zealand, the new home of historic aircraft construction

Well...learnt summat today..

Glyn Powell built the fuselage moulds (5 years), then a trial fuselage, then another for the Avspecs airworthy Mossie to go to Jerry Yagens' museum in the states.
the wings were another labour of love... http://www.mosquitorestoration.com/gallery05.shtml

In 1940 the aircraft was designed & built at Salisbury Hall (supposedly in secret), moved to Hatfield on low loader and first flew 11 months after work first started. It first flew in anger 11 months after that, setting a record for the fastest from drawing board into production as well as then becoming the fastest aircraft in the world for well over two years.

...the 2nd (fighter) protoype was flown out of a farmer's field at Salisbury Hall to save disassembly and rebuild at Hatfield, a fairly risking exercise, considering the value.

The original prototype W4050 was back at Salisbury Hall, St Albans, 70 years after it left on a lorry, now refurn refinished. It had a very hard life being used for all the war years and more I think for research, and so nearly got the chop circa 1950, was sent to Panshanger... to hide!



the only prototype of any wartime aircraft and a very rare bit of wood and metal.
Glyn is keen to build a fusleage and wing for the UK to have their own flying DH Mosquito, probably for the IWM at Duxford.

The fuselage of the Mosquito is built in two halves on wooden or concrete moulds. This is the only way you can get
the double curvature in the ply.

As the moulds had all been scrapped after production ceased in 1950 I was faced with the problem of building them.
I was told by people who knew about these things that it was impossible! Well they were nearly right! It certainly
was not easy.

PS. After far too many incidents at Shuttleworth (a real devil to fly), Old Warden, Biggleswade, the other 'most famous de Havilland aircraft', London to Sydney race winner 'Grosvenor House' , the dH Comet Racer is now as good as grounded, allowed only to taxi and hop I think...

Oh yeh, back to diesel gearboxes, I mean propbar hangers Patrick..

It was Pete who I first noticed had mentioned the brackets bend a bit too easily. I think the prop bars are only meant to rub & scrape rather than 'be bounced upon'. I've rocked on mine a few times without bending the brackets, Mark first rocked it at Llanfyllin, on the prop bender ridge, gently like. SyncroPete straightened my bars once, too. You really must have 'landed' on yours I think...