Well the year is almost at an end.Not the best of years by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully a better one ahead.On the firewall all the washers and mounts for the top fuel tank armour plate have been made and pinned up.Also the pilots seat armour plate has been made off an original scrapped example.Fitment of the instrument panel to the display cockpit section has been started but need instruments in any condition to finish it off.Also a chance loan has netted us an original throttle quadrant that will be carefully dissasembled and redrawn up.Then it will be restored and returned to it,s owner.
On the fuselage jig nearly all the frames are on now and the fitment of the intercostal brackets has commenced.With the lower longerons with us now these to will be joined up to the frames to give a skeleton finally.
Work on the cockpit door has continued to finish it off with the forward zed section being worked out as the curve at the instrument panel is different to the curve at frame 11 where the rear of the door sits.Nothing simple.Same as the coaming angles which reinforce the skin under the front windscreen.these have been especially tricky to make and hats off to the original tinbashers.
Also at the back of frame 11 is the brackets which hold the elevator bellcrank.This has been assembled and put in place.
Sorry about the biiiig delay in updates but hopefully things will settle down over the holiday and i can get on with a "normal" life...