Percival Q6 G-AFFD

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24 years 2 months

Posts: 8,464

A big thanks to Rex for keeping us updated on this; its really appreciated I'm sure.

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13 years 1 month

Posts: 67

+ 1
This has got to be my favourite aircraft under restoration in the UK today.

Member for

16 years 6 months

Posts: 1,327

Thanks for the updates and for the clarification of the surviving Q6s in the 1960's.
I think it is fair to say that the really hard part of any vintage aircraft restoration is only over when the aircraft has been flown and certified then keeping them in the air is probably a little less full on but still time consuming and expensive.

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24 years 2 months

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I agree this had to be one of the most unique projects in the world...

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14 years 2 months

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all power to Rex's elbow an excellent display of dedication and professionalism in getting this
elderly lady back into the air. I note that in a previous post it shows FFD as with a college,one aircraft sold then promptly withdrawn and one burnt.What happened to the one withdrawn could its mortal remains be hidden away somewhere to one day appear to form the base for another project ???. stranger things have happened.

Mike E

www.aircraftrestorationgroup.org

www.whirlwindfighterproject.org

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24 years 2 months

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re;

you never know. But lets be patient and see this one fly first!

Member for

11 years 9 months

Posts: 23

Hi All

had some luck today when looking through the drawings. I found the original Percival military colour schemes and the civil colour schemes. In all 11 drawings with colour codes.
Been busy today fitting the engine cowl retainer clips/brackets and have fitted the main wheel fairings - just initial fits prior to final assembly.
We should be in a position to start on the new engine bay fire walls although I am still trying to find the drawings. It all fun !!!!!
Will post more pictures soon.
Rex

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24 years 2 months

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We will just have to be patient as to what those colour schemes are! Keep up the good work...

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16 years 9 months

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Thanks for the update Rex - great to hear this wonderful aeroplane creeping closer to flight with your hard work!

Member for

11 years 9 months

Posts: 23

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Google Q6 Photos to see photos of the aircraft on the I.O.M on it's wheel etc, looks great in that blue. The gent who owned her at that time did a lot of work. ( The Hard part. )

Can't wait to see it fly....!

These pictures show the quality of the "hard part" They speak for themselves. Quite sure that Barry thought and was paying with the expectation that the work was being done to an airworthy standard but the reality is far removed. The middle picture shows a repair in the tail-plane which has been done using balsa wood !!!!!!

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24 years 2 months

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You could frame the middle picture!

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24 years 2 months

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Free sidecutters - always a bonus. Its odd, but I've found a few tools in my time, and with one exception, they've always been sidecutters! Come to think of it, I've lost a few in my time too - not, I hasten to add in aeroplanes!

Unfinished projects are always the worst things to take on - I've seen some horrors in my time - such as serious exfoliation corrosion in a Spitfire wing - that had been covered over with plastic metal. That came out of one of the then best known shops in the UK.

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13 years 1 month

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Makes me wonder how some people manage to sleep at night - no conscience I guess.

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14 years 11 months

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Great to see you are carrying out a thorough review of previously carried out work. Standards vary widely in the industry, and in the end it's you who will be signing off the paperwork. One can never be too careful, and taking on an already partially completed project can sometimes present big surprises indeed. Found a piece of doorframe (paint and hing screw holes still in it!) being used as "airworthy" material in one of our previous rebuilds. Needless to say the aircraft was turned inside out, and revealed a lot more issues that needed to be resolved: a two-month maintenance job becoming a two-year restoration job.

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16 years 7 months

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There can't be any excuse for such work if it's been undertaken (a) in recent years and (b) on a commercial basis. But if it's a 'vintage' repair, perhaps it's fairer to judge it by the standards of the time at which it was undertaken rather than imposing a retrospective judgment founded on current standards - but in so saying, I'm not advocating the use of doorframes and balsa wood in aircraft that are to be flown! If regard is had to the manner in which 'home building', 'home repairing' and 'home restoration' was undertaken in the thirties (and probably also in the times of austerity in the immediate post WW2 years), nowadays such work would probably cause a competent airframe inspector to suffer a fainting fit! But at the time it was undertaken, probably it would have caused a great deal less concern - if any - than today and particularly if the only person to fly it was the person who undertook the work. Thus if considering a museum aircraft, such repairs might well be considered an integral part of its heritage and thus best left untouched. But if it's a restoration to flying condition, it's much better that such heritage is preserved only by way of photographic record - at least if someone asks me to fly in it!

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11 years 9 months

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Hi, If one looks at the picture on the right (my last post) you will see a date 1971. It is worth knowing that the upper surface of the tail-plane had been re-skinned and the picture attached (here) makes for interesting observation. For those who cannot see let me point out - the staples are on the inside which means the upper skin was off when this was done, the staples have been left in so have started to corrode and the tails have been cut off using side cutters. This before any comments on the number of staples or more to the point lack of.

The registration shown on the picture above was registered in the UK during the 1970 and was removed from the register in the 1980. This somewhat dates the repair.

Now to the balsa wood repair. This is not an approved repair by Percival (I have the drawings) it is not a repair I have seen in my time in the RAF nor have I seen any military approval for same. It is not an approved repair within UK (ARG & CAA) CAAIP's. A closer look at the quality of the corner joints leaves much to be desired or put another way it is rubbish just plain and simple.

the tail plane is being completely rebuilt using approved processes, materials and techniques

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Member for

18 years 11 months

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Your information on the bizarre types of repair would suggest that the original 'restoration' was not done for the purpose of returning the plane to flight?

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24 years 2 months

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I think the intention was always that it would fly again.

Even repairs to a static aircraft should be done with more care than this - otherwise what are we preserving?

Bruce

Member for

11 years 9 months

Posts: 23

Had a wonderful bag of goodies delivered. The good people at Great Oakley found a set of wing attachment brackets and having checked against the drawings these are for the Q6. These are a complete set for the centre sections and the outer wings - main and rear spars. A quite complex manufacturer which would be expensive if new needed to be manufactured. This is a major break-through for our project. Thank you Mike and John, its like all my Christmases in one go !!!!!!

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18 years 11 months

Posts: 8,847

Great news, sounds as though they are worth their weight in gold!