A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

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Blue_2
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

Short answer to that, not a bloody chance! We'd be drilling off a billion rivets, and the internals of the wing are in good condition so don't need any attention other than preservative spraying in a way down the line. It'd be making work, while this is a pain we can manage.
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TonyC
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by TonyC »

Blue_2 wrote:
Thu 26 May 2022, 5:05 pm
Short answer to that, not a bloody chance!
Well, I did say it was a bloody silly question :grin: please carry on as you are and I'm looking forward to the next update and yet another stupid question from yours truely :rofl: .
...and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space cos there's bugger all down here on Earth!

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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

I was in yesterday for an hour after work, and did wonder if there was any point taking the wing section directly above the flaps off. That was a resounding no!
The data plates on the flaps tell me the starboard one has already been replaced in service with a 'previously enjoyed' NF.11 item though, interestingly...
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hunterxf382
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by hunterxf382 »

I've just been catching up on your recent updates Graham (I do follow them on facebook too of course), and it is encouraging to see the progress being made as always. I'm not sure how the Jaffa's influence your stamina for such things, but they seem to work, albeit producing some crazy fox moments when you're let loose on 963 it seems ;)

Will it be at RIAT...lol?
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Blue_2
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

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hunterxf382 wrote:
Sat 28 May 2022, 9:36 am
Will it be at RIAT...lol?
What, the fox..?!
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by hunterxf382 »

/quote]
What, the fox..?!
[/quote]

It was an attempt to reignite a popular phrase used on this very forum..... I don't expect this year - but one can only hope the fox could be secretly captured and appear on various photobombs tied to other airframes...lol ;)

I don't believe you intend flying 788 there Graham, and given the road transport costs it would be unlikely to make the trip.

I'll stick to wishing for a taxiable airframe at Elvington instead ;) No pressure.....
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

I know where you were going, but you got the wrong phrase; the correct refrain for the forums is...

"Will it be at Legends?"

:rofl:
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by hunterxf382 »

Well...... will it? :rofl:
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

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The fox might be doing a Flypast...!
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Spartabus »

Blue_2 wrote:
Sun 29 May 2022, 1:38 pm
I know where you were going, but you got the wrong phrase; the correct refrain for the forums is...

"Will it be at Legends?"

:rofl:
I'm so proud to have the honour of the first use of that on the FB page :D

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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

A proud feather in any cap!!
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by K5054NZ »

Thanks for another fascinating and in-depth update, Graham!
Blue_2 wrote:
Wed 25 May 2022, 8:26 pm
On to Sunday, and that Bad Man Monty had been busy with the zaps again!
Image
This makes me happy.
Zac in NZ
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

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Sadly, you get him back in September Zac!
Well, it's been an interesting few days off. I hope all the UK based readers have had a good time over the Platinum Jubilee weekend, you'll be surprised to read that of the 4 days off I spent 2 3/4 days in the hangar working on 788. the 3/4 comes in because I knocked early today, I decided I'd had enough and deserved some downtime! When you read what we've been up to, I hope you'll agree... Snoopy got in on the fun too...
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That union flag he's holding is from my Mrs' collection of random eclectic things, and is from the Queen's Coronation! Seemed only right for 788 to fly the flag for the duration of the weekend
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05/06/2022 Update
There was Meteor business earlier in the week too; May 31st saw the anniversary of the first flight of the prototype NF.11
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On that day in 1950, the NF.11 took to the skies for the first time
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And for the next 2 decades members of the NF family became a staple part of most spotter's notebooks.
On to the weekend just gone, and I was in on the Friday, Saturday and today, with the company of Scott for the first 2 days. He proved invaluable, especially on the Friday as you'll see. We had decided to attack the second flap, which promised to be every bit as fun and fulfilling an experience as the port flap had been. We doused it with penetrating oil and left it to consider its options while I did some lighting work. We had been sent 2 of the 3 cockpit lamp bodies we were short of (cheers John!), to which I soon added suitably cut NOS shades
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I couldn't resist cluttering Monty's far too tidy avionics bay with them!
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These were soon fitted, in their new homes in the front cockpit, starboard side, lighting where the VHF controllers will go. The first one can just be seen behind the UV lamp and the already fitted main IP lamp
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The second was far easier to fit
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I then found enough parts in stock to make up the third and final missing lamp, the one which illuminates the trimmer box. So, lamp made and fitted!
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Lots of fun, wiring it up and then assembling it blind under that shield...
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Job done though! We would have tested it... but Monty had flatted our 24v battery. So, we banged that on charge and got on with the next jobs. Scott started on the starboard flap removal process, while I addressed the task of salvaging the flap brackets off the port flap. After much arguement, and cutting the clevis pins in the outboard hinges, I saved the 3 brackets, plus the special hinge bolt from the centre bracket
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You can probably tell from the state of the metalwork how much fun this process wasn't. The old flap was less than happy...
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Very happy not to be having to bother restoring that!
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It was at this point Scott carried on with the starboard flap battle, while I headed for the workshop to clean up the hardware off the port flap...
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Prior to priming it all
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Which translated as skiving in the Yorkshire sun...
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...and watching a stray Tiger Moth passing by, always nice to see!
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My skive was rudely interrupted by a radio call from Gary, needing our help to remove the Harrier's new ejection seat from his van, fitting it to the servicing trolley, then positioning it by the jet pending restoration and fitting
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Variety is the spice of life and all that! Then, yes, you guessed it, we were back to the drudge and hard graft of getting the flap off. It was a very, very similar tale of woe to that which I told you on the port side of the jet...
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Access is nigh impossible, as testified by Scott's (photobombing) fingers
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The jet fought and fought us all afternoon. But, as we were about to be kicked out of the hangar having snuck past locking up time...
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Success!
We then literally downed tools, leaving them where they fell until next day, and went home. Fortunately on our way out I remembered to shut the lid on the bunting-tastic F.8, which had been airing all afternoon
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The next morning, we were back for the next part of the flap saga. The 2 outer flap brackets had to again have the clevis pins cut (no point wasting time messing with them)
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But the centre hinge wanted a bit more time and care lavishing as it is essential to save the special bolt if at all possible
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After a battle (everything has been a battle with that jet this weekend, every little task. Cow...) I had all 3 brackets off, and had again saved the special bolt!
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In a bit of deja vu, it was over to the workshop to clean these parts up, and in another bit of deja vu that Tiger trundled over again!
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Then they went into primer while the previous days' components received silver topcoat
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The flap, stripped of anything we'll need, was taken out of the way. Again, you can see it needed repair or replacement
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Fortuitously we have the much easier "replace" option! Our nice NOS flaps should be with us in a couple of weeks, so these have been consigned to the container to await their fate
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They are not beyond repair, and depending what 168's are like they may well find their way onto that jet at some point. It's just restoring them is one job less to do! Scott then went off to do some Buccaneer stuff, so I got on with tidying and sorting some wiring in the cockpit. We have had hanging (fortunately labelled) wires under both upper coaming panels for a while now, for such things as the engine fire warning lights and buttons, heated screen control, etc. I decided it was time to put them right.
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As you can see some of the wiring has to be cut back to good where it has been exposed and the UV has done its worst. So I started making new sections of wiring and fitting them, suitably shielded from the light with a modern green fabric loom wrap
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The new wiring will be spliced in next time. I temporarily refitted the coaming panels, looking much better without wires and luggage labels dangling everywhere, then got one of those small time consuming jobs seen off. The bracket for the heated screen switch disintegrated when we took the coamings apart originally, so I made a new one...
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...which proved to be a perfect fit!
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A much, much tidier front cockpit
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You may have spotted an instrument panel light running in the shot of the now fitted heated screen switch? Yes, the battery was charged so we decided to hook it up to the busbars in the 2 JB's, and run all the cockpit lights for the first time. This one, for the air pressure for the wheel brakes (critical. Conveniently situated behind your left shoulder. Can't miss it...) is running its original bulb and lit without any problem after a quick terminal clean for the first time since 1966!
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The other lights we fitted I unfortunately only had white bulbs for, this will be rectified next trip when the correct red ones will be substituted. Trimmer box...
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VHF selectors (well, where they will be fitted...)
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And of course the main panel
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I then dimmed the reds off, leaving the instrumentation lit by only the UV lamps
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The rear cockpit was of course running lights at the time too!
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Both offices...
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...everything lit!
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Here might be, if I get the tech to work, a little video of the lit front cockpit. You'll see just how poorly placed that air pressure gauge is!

After this triumph, back to the mundane. I painted the rest of the flap bracketry
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Before leaving Snoopy to spend the evening playing hangar pilots and heading home
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Today has been a bit of a wet miserable cold day by comparison. I had already decided to leave early and have a bit of downtime (which appears to have somehow morphed into compiling this drivel. Oh well...) so I just got on with making a start on cleaning the flap bays, getting rid of surface corrosion, and priming and painting. I decided to start on the starboard side, mainly because that's the side my chair and work lamp were still at! Battle commenced on the back of the bay, working in one bay at a time. Getting it clean and the corrosion sent on its way is time consuming. By lunch I had the outer 2 bays of the back wall done and primed...
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Working inboard during the early afternoon
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It was soon ready for the silver topcoat
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This I applied with a brush for the first coat to ensure I got all the nooks and crannies, rollering the flat panels for a better finish off the second coat
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Leaving it to dry, I then got on with clearing up 3 working days' worth of tools, debris and detritus from around the jet, breaking out the sweeping brush once the new paint was touch dry
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The difference that little bit of new paint has made is quite noticeable
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The other end, just before I put the cockpit cover on...
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A different view of 788. At 43ft wingspan, and nearly 50ft length with the nose on, she's a bigger jet than many seem to realise
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The new paint cured. Happy with that
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Area cleaned, jet put to bed for the week.
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More next time folks!
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by TonyC »

Blimey, you must have been busy, not a mention of a Jaffa Cake during the entire post :grin:

Seriously though, what another great update and with every battle won against those wicked nuts, the end moves nearer :thumbsup:
...and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space cos there's bugger all down here on Earth!

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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by hunterxf382 »

There's nothing more satisfying than seeing 788's cockpits all lit up again after lying dormant Graham! Seeing that positive kinda overrules those troublesome flaps, but against adversity you've finally got them off! Another cracking update well worth a hearty pat on the back for you and all the others who assist in this riveting restoration thread. I take back my previous incorrect reference to 788's first appearance at whatever show springs to mind - I'll be more than happy to visit Elvington and watch her fire up and taxi there at the end of this mammoth project :)
Jaffa's most certainly are in order when that happens!
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by K5054NZ »

hunterxf382 wrote:
Sun 05 Jun 2022, 9:04 pm
There's nothing more satisfying than seeing 788's cockpits all lit up again after lying dormant Graham!
Hear hear, those photos brought a big smile to my face!
Zac in NZ
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Blue_2
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

Thanks for your comments gents; this week's update should make you smile then as it commences with more red light action!
14/06/2022 Update
I was back in on Saturday, on what should have been our day off, but my better half was in at work helping things go smoothly for a memorial dedication for one of the last wartime "Shiny" 10 Squadron Halifax men. Sadly, like all that amazing generation, the guys it used to be our pleasure and privilege to show their old warhorse one last time are getting very few and far between these days. I went in too, to continue getting jobs ticked off the list. First, I had found my stash of 24v red bulbs...
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...so I swapped 3 in to the lights we got running on whites last week. It would have been a pretty poor show to have not then tested them!
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Much better. Next job was to remove the cable running through the starboard flap bay, prior to continuing last week's prep prime and paint fun and games. But first... we had a flypast from the BBMF's Hurricame II and Spitfire IX to enjoy on their way to the Teeside airshow
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About 1/2 hour later the Spit came back through. Great to see and hear!
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On with removing that cable. These little screws were so eager to cooperate, they were virtually jumping off the aircraft... :rolling_eyes:
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possibly a smidge of sarcasm there. Many, many bad words were used. Eventually I got the cable drawn through out of the way though
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There then began the tedious filthy job of rubbing back the roof of the bay, scrubbing out and eliminating corrosion, and finally priming and painting. These data plates give a good idea of the condition of the section
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Fortunately the rot was just surface though. Nice to confirm it's still the Meteor 14 I'm working on!
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After a number of hours (yes, this tedium does take that long when being done properly. I'm not exaggerating) I was finally in a position to prime the section
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I went for a brew to give it chance to cure, then came back and began brush painting it all silver
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Yes the finish isn't the best with a brush, but it ensures everything has a good thick coating. I don't have a sprayable high speed silver (and it wouldn't get a thick enough coat for my liking) and the roller can't get in there, so the brush will suffice. You can see the difference between the (starboard) done side and the (port) not done side very plainly now
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That was enough for one day. We'll be in this coming weekend for more fun and frolics, then the weekend after we'll be at Newark for cockpitfest with this little beastie
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A Meteor NF rear cockpit electrical panel in case you were wondering... and another slightly bigger A-W built item! Come say hello if you're planning on visiting! We don't need any more jaffa cakes right now as we have quite a stash, but beer, gin (as my better half is attending too), bits of Meteor all gratefully accepted!
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Spartabus »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jaffa-Cake-Gin ... B086W9NRZ9
I believe that this will help your good lady wife feel more involved in the process?

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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by TonyC »

Spartabus wrote:
Wed 15 Jun 2022, 7:09 am
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jaffa-Cake-Gin ... B086W9NRZ9
I believe that this will help your good lady wife feel more involved in the process?
I can't quite make up my mind if that is so wrong or so right? :grin:
...and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space cos there's bugger all down here on Earth!

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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

We've already sampled that. It failed to impress...
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by K5054NZ »

Another excellent update Graham! And lovely photos of the aeroplanes with fans up front.
Zac in NZ
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

Cheers Zac!
Suppose while I'm here I may as well do it, hadn't I...
21/06/2022 Update
It's an extended 2 1/2 day update from this weekend. I was at the museum on Friday afternoon, and before I could get stuck in on 788 was given one of those little "can you just" jobs. We received a couple of weeks ago a Harrier ejection seat, as you may recall. It needs restoring then will be going in our GR.3 as the current seat is not correct for her.
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The nature of the "can you just" was to remove the harness so it could go through a damn good washing cycle or 2 in someone's unsuspecting washing machine (not mine!), remove the headrest pads so they could be re-covered as the leather has dried, shrunk and gone brittle, and while I was at it take the soft top off the head box as it was growing its own garden (I'll show you that in a minute, be patient!). First job was to vacuum out the seat pan, as it had loads of accumulated soil, garbage and dead things in it. That done, the harness was the next challenge. The top fixings gave up easily, the lower fixings not so. It seemed the rest of the harness release mechanism was OK, after partly dismantling it to test it section by section only the lower release lugs were frozen, so I removed the lower rear set pan cover. Amazingly after some gentle persuasion, WD40, re-cutting of the screw head slots and patience all 8 screws undid. Revealing more soil and dead things for Henry Hoover's lunch...
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Not what I would consider a fine lunch; sorry Henry old mate...
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After this, I was able to access the release mechanisms, and eventually...
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Success! (Henry vomiting quietly in the corner...) The harness is pretty good, considering it's had probably 30 years exposed to the elements
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I've seen it after its wash and it has actually come up like new. Not got any pics yet though, sorry. It's 1988 dated too
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Nice to be working on aircraft parts younger than me for a change! Next I moved up to the head box. That garden I mentioned...?
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Isn't that lovely! I started removing it, pausing part way as I had cleared access to the screws holding the 2 halves of the headrest in
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88 and 89 dated; again, nice to be working on something younger than me! Close of play saw the herb garden nearly removed from the seat
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The rest of its fabric seems in good nick; that's encouraging for its' rehabilitation.

On to Saturday morning, and the day began with the arrival of new bits, transported in by our mate Kelvin.
Brand new, never fitted to an aircraft flaps for starters...
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Also a NOS rudder pedal, and a map pocket!
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lots of useful. Closer inspection of the flaps revealed they were actually not just brand new old stock generic Meteor flaps, oh no, they were brand new old stock Meteor NF flaps! One is tagged as Meteor XI
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The other as Meteor XI to XIV...
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They've only been waiting since November 1955 (3rd November to be precise) to actually get anywhere near an aircraft!
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With all these bits seen safely into stock, while Monty was chasing electrics and others were getting on with finishing the new, better modded canopy motor access panel, I got back on with the Harrier seat. Getting the remains of the leg restraints off...
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Then continuing with removing that herbaceous border from the top of the seat
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On my way back from delivering these delicious specimens to the office for Gary, we got Tiger Moth'ed again!
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It does make a lovely sound, very distinctive from the run of the mill stuff we get over

The afternoon was largely taken up with the human side of what we do. We had a couple visit us, daughter of the late Flt Lt. Brian Long and her partner. They brought with them his logbooks, his pilots notes, and one other very special item which I'll share later. Reading through his logbook, a well loved book as you can see, was fascinating
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As a selection of pilots notes goes, this is pretty hard to beat.
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and it should give you a clue as to his career path! Notice the serial pencilled on the NF.14 set?
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WS791. 3 along the production line from our old girl! He started out on Prentice, then Harvard, before getting onto the Meteor. he flew the 7, 8, 11, 12 and 14, before moving on to Javelins. Sadly, his Meteor career path of 205AFS (Middleton St George), 228OCU(Leeming), 264Sqn (Linton on Ouse), 238OCU(North Luffenham) never seems to have brought him into contact with 788. It did mean he flew at least WS832 (preserved Solway Aviation Museum) and WS774 (preserved Malta) though
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As we have been permitted to copy this fascinating logbook, I will in due course check which if any other survivors he flew. Also in the logbook were many little asides and photographs, such as this group photo taken in front of an NF.11 of 264Sqn at Linton
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And this fantastic F.8 gunnery cartoon, from his course at the Fighter Weapons School at Leconfield
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The "other item" I mentioned which Sarah brought for us was very special. His flying coveralls
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Still proudly bearing the 264 Squadron patch from when he was flying Meteor NF's in the skies right above 788's home today
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These will be going for cleaning and conservation, before being put on permanent display with WS788 along with a summary of Flt.Lt Long's career. As Sarah said, what he would have wanted and far better than disappearing into a private collection never to be seen again!
I think from this photo it's safe to say he enjoyed his time as a Meteor pilot...
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A chap I would have loved to have met, and have had sign the JB door his old comrades have made their mark on.
Back in the workshop, after a tour of the jet including the 'office' I bid farewell to our visitors and cracked on with a few last jobs. The new canopy motor access panel had earlier been clamped to the original and drilled...
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It was then countersunk, and test fitted
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Success! It went to have the frame for the inner small access panel fitted, then to be primed and painted. Monty was still doing clever stuff
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And it seems marking his territiory!
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I went to scratch an itch the Harrier seat had given me. No, I hadn't caught something nasty off the incumbent vegetation, but a biut of the seat didn't work and it bugged me because it should! On the right hand side of the seat is a Rocket Pack Pitch Control Unit. Basically the pilot dials his weight into it and the seat does some magic to avoid hurting him when it wangs him out of the jet on ejection. Anyway, the Pie-o-meter as we dubbed it was seized solid, so I removed it for some TLC.
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I soon had it apart
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The innards were in lovely condition, apart from being seized solid!
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So I threw some WD40 in it and left it to think about things overnight. I then fitted the new access panel...
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While Scott and Monty appeared to have either a dance-off or a very animated conversation in the fuel tank bay!
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Doesn't beat "row, row, row your jet" though... (If you know, you know...)

Saturday night we had a team outing, long delayed and overdue thanks to that there pandemic. Some beers, feed, and then a certain inevitable film...
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We felt the need. The need for speed!

Sunday we were back at it. It was a busy day on site, with the Daimler and Lanchester Owners' Club hosting a meet at YAM
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I soon had the Pie-o-meter freed, lubricated, reassembled and working...

So next, simply re-lockwire...
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...then fit back to seat!
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The seat is now going to one of our Thursday team to clean up and sympathetically repaint as required. Then it'll likely get chucked back to me to simply reassemble, so you've probably not seen the last of it on here.
Back on to the Meteor, and we have used one of the fire bottle mounts to temporarily install a big flourescent light in the rear fuselage for Monty
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I gave the new flaps a proper looking at.
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NOS they may be, but they are still 67 years old and there are signs of surface corrosion which are best dealt with sooner rather than later. This is the worst I found...
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...but it's better than the best areas of the flaps we took off 788! So off I went to get some primer from the container. After doing a lot of painstaking rubbing back on the 2 flaps' inner structure and skins, I fired up the compressor and used that to blow off the dust from the many nooks and crannies in the flap structure. While the compressor was charged, we had had an ADEN gunpack trolley for a Hunter arrive in the week from our friends at LAHC. It had been dropped in the car park but got no further due to a flat tyre. I banged a load of air in the offending tyre, then with the air whistling back out rapidly pushed it at a brisk pace to a far more out of the way and appropriate location where it could then deflate to its heart's content!
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Then, to get a coat of primer on the areas of recently evicted corrosion on the flaps' structures
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After a brew break to let the primer dry, during which some minor extinction may or may not have happened...
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I turned the flaps over, and broke out a roller and my favourite green etch primer!
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This stuff really is a treat to work with. I can't recommend it highly enough. Covers well, offers a great surface to key the topcoat to, dries quickly, dead easy to work.
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While I was doing this Monty was still doing his wizardry in the bay.
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I wish I could properly explain what he is doing, but the best I can do is painstakingly working off the the basis of what Rich Woods previously achieved to try and undo the many cut wires in the jet. I did decide that given the proximity of the elevator layshaft to his light...
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...fitting the control locks in the cockpit was probably wise.
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And that's probably just about all the use I've been to him I'm afraid! So, a busy long weekend here, there and everywhere on site getting stuff of all sorts done. This weekend coming is a busman's holiday, as mentioned we'll be at Newark Air Museum supporting cockpitfest with an exhibit both days and scouring the 'jumble for things Meteor to acquire. If you're heading there, come say hello!

More next time folks.
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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TEXANTOMCAT
Posts: 357
Joined: Sat 09 Aug 2014, 5:40 pm

Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by TEXANTOMCAT »

Splendid update as ever chap - see you sat!

TT

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TonyC
Posts: 367
Joined: Sat 02 Nov 2019, 3:01 pm
Location: Lost, if you find me, please let me know...

Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by TonyC »

Agree with TT, an excellent update and while not Meteor shaped, interesting work on the Harrier seat :thumbsup:
...and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space cos there's bugger all down here on Earth!

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Blue_2
Posts: 895
Joined: Thu 13 Jan 2011, 10:29 am

Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

Cheers gents! Yes TT, see you at the weekend. Follow your nose to the jaffa cakes!
Tony, a change is as good as a rest. Harrier seat, Hunter GSE, Meteor jobs, it's been a pretty varied busy old weekend!
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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