Westland Wyvern Project Thread.

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Member for

18 years 2 months

Posts: 1,421

Very nice find but struggling to see how it could have come from VZ795? Doesnt tally with where something like that should be found in relation to the extent of the excavation i.e. at the bottom of the hole but the dig only went down to behind the cockpit.

Jon

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14 years 1 month

Posts: 5,088

Carry on like this, you'll have a complete Wyvern in no time! :)

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.

Jon H - If it is from VZ795 i can only assume it was shed on impact i.e. not quite a vertical entry. The point at which it has broken off is apparently a weak point as i have a pic of a crash landed Wyvern on deck that has broken at roughly the same point. And it does have quite severe distortion to the hub holes for the blades. Nice piece though.

charliehunt - Thanks Charlie. I can only envy you on actually watching Wyverns when they were active at Ford. But i don't know anything about steam catapults taking place there though. Stream take-offs certainly :)

Rob

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 365

Is this the same unit that was on display at the Tangmere museum about ten years ago?

Contra-rotating unit from the front of a Python engine, minus propeller blades. Just under five feet in length and weighing around a third of a ton, its said to of come from VZ795 and was acquired with the help of Mike Eastman.

From left to right it consists of propeller pitch piston and cylinder - front propeller hub - translation bearing - rear propeller hub - propeller brake housing - drive shafts and oil tube. The oil tube running through the centre of the drive shafts supplied oil to the pitch piston, to simultaneously change the pitch of both sets of propellers via the operating links and translation bearing.

Rob

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16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Yes i presume it is.

Would be nice to find at least one of the 'dinged' prop blades that were recovered as well, to display with it. The closest thing i have at the moment is about twelve inches of one propeller tip.

Rob

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Wyvern

To help me complete a mock-up of the left side instrument panel i'm looking for the following items if anyone can help?

Indicator undercarriage position type D 5CX/4204
Switch tumbler type B x 2 5CW/2497
" push pull Mk.3 5CW/4180 part no C1212Y
" ignition starter 5CW/4194 part no X.M.-C Dowty

Thanks,
Rob

Member for

16 years 7 months

Posts: 1,404

What a wonderful ,interesting Project and thread,Well done !!!

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Thanks for your kind words Martin :)

Rob

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Wyvern

As per post #47, a draw full of instruments gleaned from the schedule of spare parts and which were only gathering dust has prompted me to have a go at making a pattern of the left side panel whilst i continue looking for the real deal, but bear in mind this is my first ever attempt :o. Armed only with a copy of pilots notes and pictures from a reference book, and knowing i would make mistakes i decided on using a piece of 6mm MDF as a starting point as it appears a similar thickness to the original, and also meant i'm not out of pocket should i c*ck it up.

Rob

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16 years 7 months

Posts: 301

Hi Rob,

Panel looking good, to assist on the dimensions, could you not get access to the FAAM example or are the layouts completely different?

Regards,

Tim

Member for

13 years 5 months

Posts: 526

Rob that is a great idea....I used the same method...its useful
for making a mud map so ,if you have various cockpit photos(they dont seem
to ever be from the direct front) you can closely match up the various
angles for a pretty accurate representation.
Cheers Mike

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16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Hi Rob,

Panel looking good, to assist on the dimensions, could you not get access to the FAAM example or are the layouts completely different?

Regards,

Tim

Cheers Tim :). To be honest i'm not sure about the dimensions of the TF.1 panel but the layout is completely different to the S.4. And even if they were good enough to give me access to the cockpit of VR137 the other stumbling block is the 360 mile round trip to the FAAM and back again. But we will see.

Rob

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Rob that is a great idea....I used the same method...its useful
for making a mud map so ,if you have various cockpit photos(they dont seem
to ever be from the direct front) you can closely match up the various
angles for a pretty accurate representation.
Cheers Mike

Thanks Mike :). I had vowed to not go down the made-up panel route but as the instruments were just sitting there i thought why not.

But one things for sure though, as someone said to me recently your biggest critic will always be yourself. It took me ages to get the little ally bracket for the RATOG pushbutton to a standard that i was happy with.

Rob

Member for

20 years 3 months

Posts: 1,494

Cheers Tim :). To be honest i'm not sure about the dimensions of the TF.1 panel but the layout is completely different to the S.4. And even if they were good enough to give me access to the cockpit of VR137 the other stumbling block is the 360 mile round trip to the FAAM and back again. But we will see.

Rob

Hi Rob,

I can help with creating an instrument panel drawing for you.

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Check your PM's david.

Rob

Member for

16 years 7 months

Posts: 301

Hi Rob,

Come on that journeys not bad a round trip for my area of interest is some 1300 miles ;)

Tim

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24 years 2 months

Posts: 8,464

I've got a ID14/APN1 on the desk here.

Your Machmeter doesnt match the one in the picture - I can rememdy that too!

Drop me a PM!

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Hi Rob,

Come on that journeys not bad a round trip for my area of interest is some 1300 miles ;)

Tim

Point taken Tim ;).

I've got a ID14/APN1 on the desk here.

Your Machmeter doesnt match the one in the picture - I can rememdy that too!

Drop me a PM!

Bruce, i'm aware its different but its still relevent as the Wyvern used two different Machmeter's. Type MK1.A 6A/2194 as pictured and the MK2 6A/3384.
But yes i would still be interested in the latter if you have one reasonably priced as well as the radio altitude indicator.

Will PM you.

Rob

Member for

16 years 7 months

Posts: 10,647

Just thinking out aloud, was the Wyvern unique for a British prop driven aircraft in having a machmeter?

Travel costs are a major issue these days, no matter where you live - I think this is the first year that I haven't gone to any air shows or visited any museums.

Great project Rob, I remember suggesting a cockpit mock-up to you ages ago when you seemed less than enthused about the idea - glad that you have actually gone ahead with it.

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 5,999

Thanks James. Interesting point about British prop aircraft fitted with machmeters. With the Wyvern i think its a case in point of the era's transition from piston to jet engines and also its uniqueness at the time as a type and its intended use. According to the pilots notes its max diving speed for the release of bombs and RP's was 500mph which equates to mach 0.66 (considerably less with a torpedo). Although i'm sure i've seen it quoted somewhere with this figure being exceeded.

Rob