Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference. - Page 90

**wonwinglo** · 10-12-2006

86 boxes now filled,as at tonight,we cannot see out of the front window.

**wonwinglo** · 24-12-2006

In answer to what eventually happened to my 11 foot span Avro Lancaster model recently put up for sale on E-bay ? well she has found a new home as the centrepiece of a publishing house office in Devon.
The new owner proudly has a name associated with the great designer.
That was my third flying model of a Lancaster,the next one will be for electric power with lightweight construction.

**wonwinglo** · 01-01-2007

THE PETER FARRAR COLLECTION

A tribute to Peter Farrar (1920-October 1991)
Peter Farrar established a large collection of 1=72nd scale model aircraft,culminating in 1956-57 as the worlds biggest single collection of model aircraft he gave exhibitions up and down the country mostly in aid of charity,here are cuttings from my collection describing both him and his models.
I had the great pleasure in corresponding with him during the fifties when he lived at 107 Barton Road,Torbay,we used to exchange wooden aircraft recognition models to mutual advantage,my 1=72nd scale Avro Vulcan B.1,Vickers Valiant and tiny Auster A.O.P.6 came from his surplus stock,in return went recognition models of the Savoia Marchetti SM.84,Bristol Brigand which I discovered at Riddy's Army Surplus store in Coventry,all obtained at a remarkable 5/- yes five old shillings each !
Enjoy looking at the numerous examples in the pictures and see how many that you can identify ?
Peter Farrar inspired me as a youngster to build up a like collection of scale models which was eventually achieved and now eclipses several thousand models,Peter reached the 1,000 mark before his untimly and sudden death in 1991,but that was a lot for its time as they were mostly hand built from wood as solids,or converted from those black basic recognition models.

The 'Reveille' newspaper June 17th 1957 did a centre spread,here it is-

And the 'Flying Review' magazine November 1957 reported the collection like this-

Likewise the 'Aeromodeller' gave some excellent insights into this collection-

If you have any memories or cuttings or photographs of this historic collection then I would like to hear from you,thank you.

**wonwinglo** · 03-01-2007

http://www.vebeg.de/images/losbilder/70218.001.pdf

No less than six Panavia Tornado aircraft for sale ex Luftwaffe airframes 43+33,43+53,43+64,44+04,44+09,44+54
It does not seem like five minutes since I walked around the factory at Warton,looking at the machined from the solid components of this classic machine,that was on 26th November 1977,so some 29 years later these same aircraft having accumulated thousands of reliable flying hours come up for sale on the open market,they should find ready buyers from around the world.

**wonwinglo** · 07-01-2007

How to move thousands of books,tools and models.
First you get hold of as many boxes as you possibly can from local supermarkets,if it just happens to be before Christmas as in my case then the wine department will be your favourite port of call,soon you will begin to appreciate those stout whisky boxes and appreciate its drinkers !
Next the long and boring job of packing your chattels safely,rolls of bubble wrap,tape and hours of work ahead,this lot took 30 days so far that included dismantling five sheds into flat packs,the load will take two specialist removal company runs estimated at a 4 hour upload,and a three hour download time with three men and a 7 and a half ton articulated lorry,estimated time out of my life is one and a half years,will I ever find anything again ? well not in the immediate future and the unwrapping will take 24 times that of the packing,a sobering thought ? hardly.

Boxes

Curver type boxes

Every little bit of space filled with boxes

Materials have to be bundled together

Awkward sized items need sorting

Another room with boxes

Looking through a stark lounge at more boxes

A box is a box,whatever its shape and size

What was the entrance to my library now jammed with moving items

What was my workroom,packing those small fragile models is a real headache

One shed has been loosened off all ready for moving,but the contents need moving first,you have to plan,and then re-plan

Looking from the back of my old workroom towards the door

Tools need attention as well,really heavy stuff to pack,old shop drawers come in handy here

Thousands of files all ready to go

Dismantling sheds is time consuming,and hard work,you must label everything and order new screws for the re-assembly process

Christmas items all ready to go,not that we used any this year

Those old large kit boxes have been put to good use

**wonwinglo** · 13-01-2007

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against those freshly painted parts you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off of bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned guitar calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Ah, sh..."

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to further round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub you want the bearing race out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16" or 1/2" socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X6: Used for levering an automobile upward off of a trapped hydraulic jack handle.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters and wire wheel wires.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A misnomer. It is a tool ten times harder than any known drill bit that snaps off in removing bolts you couldn't use anyway.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the tensile strength on everything you forgot to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large prybar that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end opposite the handle.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The home mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, it's main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during the first few hours of Desert Storm. More often dark than light, its name is also somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under peanut jar lids and for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts which were last over tightened 50 years ago by someone at an auto manufacture, and neatly rounds off the heads.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts not far from the object targeted.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, fingers, palms and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while being worn.

JESUS CLIP: Also known as circlips, e-rings and by other technical descriptions, they are nearly impossible to remove even with the proper tools, and immediately create lift and fly into the unknown zone when they're about 3/4 of the way off. For Jesus Clip reinstallation, see HAMMER above.

DAMMIT TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "DAMMIT" at the top of your lungs. It is also the next tool that you will need.

**wonwinglo** · 17-02-2007

AIRFIX MASSEY HARRIS TRACTOR
The first kit made by Airfix was this little grey tractor,the kit was initially made to promote tractor sales,it proved so popular that a bagged kit appeared,here is a rare example still in existance.
Thanks to the person who has sent in this material for you all to enjoy.

The instruction sheet with AIRFIX,Haldane Place instructions.

**wonwinglo** · 25-02-2007

Still utilising material stored on my hard drive, due to everything still packed and ready to go ( delays with house move,it is like a builders yard at the moment and I do not think for one moment that I shall be moving for a few weeks yet,you just cannot get the staff these days ! ) anyway it has been a while since I put up a model re-enactment so found and worked on this one,it is a very old Airmodel vac-form kit,a few humps and bumps but where else can you get a Sea Prince even these days ? so here goes-

The Small Air Force

PERCIVAL SEA PRINCE
The Sea Prince first flew on the 24th of March 1948. Two variants were ordered by the Fleet Air Arm - one version was to be used for communication and the other as a training aircraft. The first Sea Prince C1 entered service in February 1953. It was soon followed into service by the trainer version which was given the annotation of Sea Prince T1. Sea Prince aircraft were based upon the civilian Percival Prince. The first order for the Sea Prince was placed in 1949 and consisted of twenty one aircraft, three for communications and eighteen to be used in the training role. An improved version of the C1 was produced as the Sea Prince C.2. This first flew on the 1st of April 1953 with the final aircraft being delivered in September 1953.

The Sea Prince C.1. continued in service until 1965 when it was replaced by the Sea Devon and Sea Dove aircraft. However it wasn't until 1970 that the Sea Prince C.2. was retired from service. A further two orders for the T.1. were placed, one order in early 1951 for an additional eight aircraft followed later that year by a second order for another fifteen.

Some Sea Prince T.1.'s were scrapped in the 1960's when the RNVR (Air Divisions) were disbanded, but other Sea Prince T.1.'s continued in service for many years. For those that continued, their airframe fatigue life was enhanced by being re-sparred in the early 1970's. They were finally retired from service in 1979 when the Jetstream was introduced to replace them.

The Sea Prince was used in two roles. The first was as a communications aircraft. In this role one flew the Atlantic ocean to Washington D.C. for use by the Joint Services Mission. Another was fitted out as an "Admirals barge". The second role was to train navigators and radar operators. For this role the Sea Prince T.1. was fitted with ASV 19a as its primary search radar for training radar operators and observers.

Hunting Percival Purpose: Royal Navy Navigation and anti-submarine training Crew 2 PILOTS, 1 INSTRUCTOR and 3 PUPILS Max Speed (sea level): 194 knots (359 Km/h) Cruising speed: Approx 159 knots (294Km/h) Dimensions Wing Span 56ft: Length 46ft 4ins: Height 16ft 1ins Cruising speed: Approx 159 knots (294Km/h) Engines: Two Alvis Leonides 125 Service ceiling: Approx 22,000ft (6,700m) All-up weight: 11,850 lb (5,375 Kg) Weapons: None Range: 400 nautical miles (741 Km)

**wonwinglo** · 28-02-2007

The Small Air Force

NORTH AMERICAN F-86 SABRE

More than 6,000 F-86s were manufactured by North American's Los Angeles, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio, divisions.
The first swept-wing airplane in the U.S. fighter inventory, the F-86 scored consistent victories over Russian-built MiG fighters during the Korean War, accounting for a final ratio of 10-to-1. All 39 United Nations jet aces won their laurels in Sabres.
Four models of the craft (F-86A, E, F and H) were day fighters or fighter bombers, while the F-86D, K and L versions were all-weather interceptors.
Successive models of the daylight versions -- all designed to destroy hostile aircraft in flight or on the ground -- were equipped with more powerful engines and armament systems that ranged from bombs and rockets to machine guns and cannon. All are rated in the 650-mph class with a 600-mile combat radius and a service ceiling of over 45,000 feet.
The three interceptor versions sported black radome noses, replacing the yawning jet intakes of the other models. The K model, manufactured in Turin, Italy, by Fiat, was flown by NATO forces. The F-86L had added equipment for use in conjunction with the U.S. SAGE (semi-automatic ground environment) defense system.
Forerunner of the operational Sabre was the XF-86, first flown Oct. 1, 1947, by North American test pilot George Welch. A few months later Welch became the first pilot to fly the plane at Mach 1 (the speed of sound) in routine flight. Although technically rated as subsonic, the Sabre is no stranger to supersonic speeds.
Various models of the Sabre held world's speed records for six consecutive years, setting five official records and winning several National Aircraft Show Bendix Trophies.
In September 1948, an F-86A set the Sabre's first official world speed record of 570 mph. This mark was bettered in 1952 by an F-86D that flew at 698 mph. The "D" became the first model of a fighter to better its own record, in 1953, with a run of 715 mph.
The F-86E and subsequent models incorporated a unique control system, developed by North American, called the "all-flying tail." Where the F-86A contained a booster control system that called for the pilot to do part of the work of controlling the aircraft, the newer system added full power-operated control for better maneuverability at high speeds. An "artificial feel" was built into the aircraft's controls to give the pilot forces on the stick that were still conventional, but light enough for superior combat control.
U.S. production of the Sabre Jet ended in December 1956.
F-86E Specifications

First flight:

Sept. 23, 1950

First delivery:

Feb. 9, 1951

Span:

37 feet

Length:

37 feet

Height:

14 feet

Wings:

Spar, ribs and covering: aluminum

Speed:

565 knots (650 mph) Class

Range:

Approx. 870 nautical miles (1,000 statute miles)

Service ceiling:

Over 45,000 feet

Power plant:

General Electric 5,200-pound thrust J-47-13 turbojet

Combat weight:

14,000 pounds

Armament:

Six .50-caliber machine guns, 16 five-inch HVAR rockets or 2,000 pound max. bomb load

Special features:

Swept-back wing and tail

Electrically operated flaps

Hydraulically operated speed brakes

Automatic wing leading-edge slats

Hydraulic-power-operated irreversible controls with artificial feel for the all-movable horizontal tail and ailerons

The re-enactment model was made from the old Frog kit,finished in hand painted Luftwaffe scheme.

**wonwinglo** · 04-03-2007

The Small Air Force

VICKERS WELLINGTON

The Wellington was a twin-engined medium bomber of geodetic construction. Affectionately nicknamed 'The Wimpey' after the character 'J Wellington Wimpy' in the Popeye cartoons, it was the main British bomber during the first part of WWII, but the RAF was soon forced to abandon daylight attacks because of its vulnerability. It was used until the end of the war. After its replacement in Bomber Command by the new four-engined bombers it was flown on numerous other duties, and some were used until the 1950s. 11461 were built, with Pegasus, Hercules, Merlin or Twin Wasp engines.
The Wellington was notable for the amount of damage it could sustain and still remain airborne. This was due in no small part to the geodetic form of lattice-work construction invented by Dr Barnes Wallis, which gave the aircraft great strength and rigidity.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________

SAUNDERS ROE SR.53

Like the Messerschmitt Me163 'Komet' , the SR53 interceptor used a rocket motor to climb rapidly to high altitudes, but it was also fitted with an Armstrong-Siddeley Viper jet engine, allowing it to remain at altitude with lower fuel consumption.

One of several projects designed to meet an Operational Requirement for a rocket interceptor, work on the SR53 started in 1952. However, due to development delays the first prototype, which is the aircraft shown here, did not fly until 16 May 1957. In trials the SR53 reached Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) at high altitude.

In December 1957 a setback occurred when the second prototype crashed and exploded at the end of RAF Boscombe Down's runway in mysterious circumstances, after failing to take-off. The test pilot, Squadron Leader John Booth RAF, was killed.

It became clear before the SR53's first flight that the aircraft was too small to carry the radar and missiles required in modern interceptors and a more powerful derivative was designed, the SR177. This project was developed for the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm but fell victim to the notorious 1957 Defence White Paper, which led to numerous aircraft projects being scrapped. Development continued for a possible German order, but when this fell through the SR177 project was dropped and the surviving SR53 retired, marking the end of fixed-wing aircraft development at Saunders-Roe.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________________________

FAIRCHILD C-119 FLYING BOXCAR (PACKET)

C-119 Flying Boxcar, developed from the Fairchild C-82 Packet was a twin-engine, twin-boom, twin-tail transport designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute (utilizing its "clamshell" cargo doors in the rear cockpit). The first C-119 made its maiden flight in November 1947 and by the time production ceased in 1955, more than 1,150 C-119s had been built. The USAF used the airplane extensively during the Korean Conflict as a transport. In South Vietnam, the airplane once again entered combat, this time in the ground support role as the AC-119G "Shadow" and AC-119K "Stinger" gunships mounting side-firing weapons capable of unleashing up to 6,000 rounds per minute per gun.
When acting as a transport, the C-119 could carry up to 62 fully-equipped troops or a 30,000 pound cargo load.
Perhaps the Boxcar's most notable feat happened when it made the world's first mid-air recovery of a capsule returning from outer space. This occurred southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii on 19 August 1960 when it snagged the chute attached to the Discovery XIV satellite at an altitude of 8,000 feet.