A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

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

Post by TEXANTOMCAT »

Ask the (Sea) Vixen obvs....

TT

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

Post by TonyC »

TEXANTOMCAT wrote:
Fri 23 Oct 2020, 9:00 am
Ask the (Sea) Vixen obvs....

TT
:slight_smile: Clever, very clever.... :sweat_smile:
...and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space cos there's bugger all down here on Earth!

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

Post by Spartabus »

TonyC wrote:
Thu 22 Oct 2020, 3:28 pm
Blue_2 wrote:
Thu 22 Oct 2020, 8:13 am
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Ahhh, bless, bet butter wouldn't melt him his mouth but just out of interest, how do you intend to test this particular fox, for paternity?

Great update as usual :thumbsup:
There has to be a joke about stuffing in there somewhere, I just value my forum membership too much to make it....

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

Post by Blue_2 »

Indeed. It is a family forum... but I like your style!
Meanwhile, written from my tablet again from the exotic surroundings of Exeter Services this time, I bring you...
27/10/2020 Update
Sunday was a fairly productive day. While we were a man down (Simon has done his knee in spectacular style; get better soon mate) we were also a man up as Scott was back with us. While he was busy on Bucc business for some of the day, his contribution was to prove invaluable. My mission for the day was to run the starboard side front rudder cables. This is an altogether more awkward job than the port ones, as access is pretty abysmal. Everything, including cable bundles, conspires against you! Do you ever get the feeling sometimes that a machine really doesn't want to be resurrected? Because that was 788's vibe on Sunday. Everything that was an easy job on the port side was a 2 man swearfest on the starboard. Even getting this fairlead out for example required Scott outside with a spanner working round the cable ducts, while I worked from the belly hatch with a second spanner
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2 bolts, lots of time and swearing. Once this was out the fun of feeding the cables through could commence, after Scott had done some Bucc jobs and I had looked after a VIP visitor (my little sister!) anyway. As he has smaller hands than I Scott elected to have the fun of feeding cables
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It's important not to cross the cables so we decided to run the inboard one all the way first. Scott would put it through the first rib with his paw through the last of those access hatches. Then it was down to me so stick my hand up where we deriveted last week, find the cable end, and feed it through the right holes in the next 2 ribs, before running it through between the pulley and its guard, then through one last rib, then out of the centre section access panel. Sounds simple? Nah. All this is done blind, with a skin edge trying to saw through your arm, and with the cable Hell bent on cuddling and snagging on every single obstruction in the way. At one point I had a rush of "Kris Kris Tofferson!" to the brain and ran the cable through the wrong rib hole, realising 2 ribs later and requiring a lot of backtracking, always guaranteed to brighten my mood. Then, we got to do it all again with the outboard cable, but with the added morale boost of the inboard cable already fitted and restricting access and all the little tiny holes the cable has to travel through even further! As you can see, I enjoyed this
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Especially the bit where for at least a full half hour the cable steadfastly refused to travel on the correct path under the pulley then up to the last rib hole. Eventually I had the (in hindsight obvious) brainwave of running a length of locking wire in through where I wanted the cable to emerge from, under the pulley, attaching it to the cable, then pulling the cable back through. This worked perfectly first time; it's easy to look back with 20:20 hindsight, but in the heat of the moment so to speak, and mounting anger and falling morale, the obvious solutions aren't always so obvious. We prevailed though, and for the first time since 1966 she has 2 pairs of rudder cables fitted, and ready to be fed through and linked to their rear fuselage brethren. All that remained now was to rivet the skin back down enough to hold it until next week as, with the museum now on winter opening time was running short to fully re-rivet the skins
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And that's a good job done! The pleasing sight of 2 bundles of rudder cable poised and ready to venture through the Meteor's centre section
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Huge thanks to Scott for his help with this. He's a handy lad in an awkward situation, and a proper asset to the YAM Engineering team as Sunday proved. Cheers mate!
"But what of Foxy Dave?" I hear you cry! I know you only come here for the fox news really.
Well, he was by prior agreement retrieved from the Safe Place I had stashed him in by the Nimrod Team's Mick Whittaker on Saturday. He is now enjoying the comforts of being locked securely aboard Nimrod XV250...
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The Nimrod guys have added their ransom demands to ours, requiring a box of Foxes finest biscuits and exactly 1000 orange Smarties to secure his release. Best cough up XV168, it's getting expensive Kelvin.....!
More next weekend...
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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

Post by Blue_2 »

01/11/2020 Update
...and I suspect that thanks to Uncle Boris, this'll be the last one for a while... Still, a productive day yesterday, with a good few loose ends tied up. You can guess what job 1 was...
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Yep, buttoning up the skins under the nose, starboard side. By lunchtime was done...
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But not without a casualty!
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Hey ho. Cheap Draper rubbish. It was replaced by a decades old one which finished the job admirably!
After lunch I returned to the hangar with the thought that, seeing as the still broken Simon has nearly finished fitting the rudder autostabiliser, I could refit the elevator control rod which we removed to ease access to the pulley on the autostab. This would mean that we once more have full elevator control from the cockpit, so I cracked on.
Then... the monsoon hit!
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For about 15-20 minutes we had an incredibly heavy downpour, which made its way in through the hangar doors and fire doors. Still, at least 788's nose got a wash!
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Then as soon as it started, it was gone, and we returned to sunshine. Sooo.... puddle shots!
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Then, mindful of getting used to the winter early closing times, I cracked on with the elevator rod. I got it dropped into the fin with little trouble, and the top bolt fitted
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Getting the lower bolt fitted was a bit more challenging though, but I shanghai'd our admissions officer Trish who picked a bad time to be just passing, and got her to adjust the elevator defletion angle until finally I got the bolt to agree to go back into its home.

So now we have full elevator control from the cockpit once more! One last job, refitting the internal brace to the tail structure you may remember we restored a couple of years back while changing the rudder lower mount.
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Before tidying everything away for the day, without an inkling that we were off into another lockdown...

So, that's it for now I guess, take care everyone, and I'll be back whenever we are allowed back out to play...
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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

Post by Blue_2 »

Today some homework arrived for during Diet Lockdown (I call it that as, while schools and workplaces are operating, it ain't a proper lockdown). I am still working at the day job as and when we have work in, but it's nice to have some aircraft stuff here to keep my hand in with too on those free days.

Hope you are all keeping safe and well out there.

I also hope someone remembered to feed the fox......
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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

Post by Ant.H »

Great to see those elevators moving, another milestone.

I am of course frankly disgusted that the government doesn't class working on '788 as essential...

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

Post by Blue_2 »

You'd think they would see the light wouldn't you! Joking aside, I have seen some fairly interesting discussion in other places suggesting or arguing the loophole of voluntary work still being allowed means aircraft can still be worked on; personally I think this is intended for those caring for other human beings in a voluntary role rather than restoring aircraft, and trying to argue that getting a day's work done on your aircraft under this 'flag of convenience' is OK is a pretty poor show. The aircraft aren't going anywhere, it's only for a month, yes it's frustrating but just wait it out...

Anyway, to business... One other thing I didn't mention in last weekend's update was the bugler who visited us to be recorded playing the Last Post in front of the Halifax to help mark this rather unconventional Remembrance season.
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The video is now up on the Museum's social media and I assume website, I would urge you to go take a look. The sound of the bugle echoing around the hangar was quite eerie, and the video has picked this up very well indeed.
Closer to home, I haven't been stood down from the day job, work is still trickling in, but for those days in between jobs I have a little side project of my own under way at home...
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Yes, you guessed it, an abstract art installation using the medium of randomly arranged aircraft instruments! I may call it "Clockhenge"...
I have been collecting Meteor NF instruments for a while now, both out of my own pocket for 788 and for a little idea I had after replicating the F.8's panel a while ago. This whole idea became a lot more realistic after the Blackburne boys borrowed and refurbished 788's panel, measuring it and copying it as they did so. The plan? Make one of these...
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An NF front panel. Idea being, I can use this, the stick top I have and the rear cockpit electrical control panel I have nearly finished restoring
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as a kind of WS788 "travelling exhibit". All being well, it'll be ready for whenever such events as cockpitfest are able to restart, circa 2027 I expect. Anyway, once I have the panel I'll chuck another update on here, I won't bore you by documenting restoring another series of instruments as we've not long been through that process with 788's instruments. Huge thanks to St. Bruce of Norwich for seeing me right with some of the panel components, and of course the Blackburne boys from whom I await the panel blank!
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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

Post by Spartabus »

Cracking work, chap. I do agree, using loopholes in the current situation is certainly against the spirt of things.

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

Post by Blue_2 »

Cheers Spartabus; I was starting to wonder if anyone was still out there!!
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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hunterxf382
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by hunterxf382 »

Well there was me thinking you might have deserved a months rest from activities around 788, but it seems not if you intend to build that panel. At least access is about 100% easier than on the aircraft this time - so in theory it should be therapeutic to complete this? Well one can live in hope ;)

I do always read the updates Graham, with a keen interest all the time - so I imagine many others do without always responding, so don't think we're all ignoring you! Far from it!
Pete Buckingham
Volunteer in Aviation
Former RAF Engineer
http://hunterxf382.weebly.com/

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

Post by goldilocks »

Seconded - compulsive reading

Goldilocks

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

Post by LaurenceG »

And me. Don't worry, we are lapping up every word.

Laurence

RAF4EVER
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by RAF4EVER »

Also enjoy reading this. I work as a volunteer in a museum,here in The Netherlands,keep up the good work.

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

Post by Dr_Q »

Love the updates. Half the time I'm not sure what or where I'm supposed to be looking at a certain flange or bracket, but it is fascinating. Thanks for the work you are doing in restoring '788 and keeping us informed. Sadly, I've lived in Yorkshire 12 years and still not made it over to YAM. Will address that shortcoming as soon as these crazy times have subsided.
2022

RIAT (Mach 2)
Wings over Houston

er, that's about it this year I reckon.

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

Post by Blue_2 »

Good to know you are all still out there, and keeping an eye on what we are trying to continue achieving...

Pete, it's always good to have some aircraft bits kicking around to tinker with. Seeing as the second lockdown caught me by surprise ( I didn't expect Uncle Boris to go with it quite so quickly as he did), unlike last time I didn't have any bits off 788 ready to bring home to work on. I like to keep my hand in though!

Dr_Q, what are you messing about at?! :)

The instruments have mostly been given a bit of love and tlc now; they have all had a good clean, the transport gags removed from the gyro compass, the rate of climb indicator has had it's glass off and the needle refitted, so it's all good to go. I'm just needing another new fuel gauge ( I thought I had one in, turns out I don't) so the NOS pair can go in 788, then all I'll be missing from the NF panel will be an undercarriage indicator as that's one thing I don't have a spare of sadly...
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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

Post by PeterVerney »

Don't worry, I still keep a close eye on you. As I tell people, my middle name is 'Impatience", and I can't wait to see the old crate at least taxi under its own steam.

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K5054NZ
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by K5054NZ »

Blue_2 wrote:
Thu 12 Nov 2020, 7:08 am
Good to know you are all still out there, and keeping an eye on what we are trying to continue achieving...
I'm still watching from NZ! I just struggle to add ever more encouraging superlatives so I don't post.
Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG"
https://linktr.ee/zacyates

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

Post by Blue_2 »

Peter, when the day comes for her to make some noise, as one of her former crew it is my intention for you to be there come Hell or high water!

K5054 just keep saying nice things... :joy:
In all seriousness chaps (and chapesses I assume) it's nice to get some feedback. That way I have a better idea what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong, and it all helps to bring you better coverage of what we are doing. For example, Dr_Q raised the very valid point he's not always sure what component in the images I'm referring to. Now like anyone in full time employment, with relationship/real life commitments etc, my free time I can spend compiling these updates is a little limited but I shall look at indicating more clearly in some photos the exact component I'm jabbering on about, or try to describe its appearance in the text a little better. It's these little tweaks which, if you guys tell me about them, I can incorporate and hopefully make this a more enjoyable and maybe in some cases educational read for you...
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

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

Post by HAVAVSOC »

Hi Graham

Just let us know the taxi date and we will be there to see our old friend.
All the best
J
www.havavsoc.org.uk

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

Post by richardgtb »

Another quiet reader here, I have read every post and look forward to the updates. It's one the highlights of my day :)

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

Post by Domvickery »

Keep the updates coming Graham, I love a proper engineering update, yours & BPAGs updates are a personal highlight on here
Free straws available to clutch at - PM me. Inventor of the baguette scale

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K5054NZ
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by K5054NZ »

Speaking of updates, has there been anything to report on Le Pou?
Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG"
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Blue_2
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by Blue_2 »

Thanks guys for the comments and feedback. Dom, at least we had somewhere to host our project diary when "The Other Place" went rather less than optimal...

As to le Pou, she is stored safely for now. I suspect some time over winter I'll be spending a day on her to get her display ready for next year...
Meteor WS788/ Chippy WK640 Restoration Project, YAM
Shack WR963, Coventry
Other types meddled with by request!

baz1962
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Re: A-W Meteor NF.14 WS788 Restoration Project

Post by baz1962 »

Another Kiwi here enjoying the updates. I tend to leave it for a while then dive back in so had to start around page 14 I think it was so a nice time spent learning about the love you have for feeding in rudder cables and hiding Fox mascots!
With my Auster project I got this electrical panel.
ImageIMG_3018 by Barry Tod, on Flickr

ImageIMG_3019 by Barry Tod, on Flickr

Thinking Score! :grinning: But as the project progressed I realised my Auster didn't even have an electrical system! :rolling_eyes: No radio, no lights of any kind not even wing tip lights. As the previous owner had been collecting parts for over 20 years the feeling is this was scooped up with other Auster parts as useful for either his plans or possible trading for parts. As it turns out an Auster restoration at HARS rebuilding a J5G in Royal Australian Navy colours was seeking just such a panel so off it went.
As Rotax make starter motors I think its to do with that...but no such luxury for me. :pensive:

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