CAD design in Rhino 3D, Westland Wizard project

[mozart]

Looking forward to seeing your posts of the first print runs Tim, fingers crossed that all goes smoothly!

[thierry laurent]

On 2/3/2026 at 12:09 PM, geedubelyer said:

Another aeroplane I'd never even heard of until you began this thread Tim.

It does look rather sleek and elegant. 

Not surprising because as far as I know she just stayed a prototype (for whatever reason). I would not be surprised that plane simply arrived too early, when air forces were still relying on biplanes. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful airframe that somehow makes me think of an improved Fairey Fox biplane.

[wunwinglow]

[wunwinglow]

13 hours ago, thierry laurent said:

Not surprising because as far as I know she just stayed a prototype (for whatever reason). I would not be surprised that plane simply arrived too early, when air forces were still relying on biplanes. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful airframe that somehow makes me think of an improved Fairey Fox biplane.

Thierry, Westlands were developing a racer, but it was damaged, and they realised if they tweaked to design and replaced the engine, they would have the makings of a very good fighter, so the first prototype was built from the wrecked race plane. It performed very well, the RAF were interested and Westlands decided to 'improve' it, following another crash, by replacing the wing with a metal structure, narrower centre section and wider trailing edge cut out to improve the pilot's view, a newer supercharged Kestrel engine, and a number of other improvements. Unfortunately the performance actually suffered, and after some trials the RAF lost interest, partially because there was still some prejudice against monoplanes, and the project went no further. 

Edited February 8 by wunwinglow
clarity

[geedubelyer]

52 minutes ago, wunwinglow said:

Westlands were developing a racer

 

That certainly explains why she looks so sleek and elegant. 

[RadBaron]

Absolute stunner!!!

 

[wunwinglow]

Experiment...

Edited February 23 by wunwinglow

[wunwinglow]

Nother test....

[geedubelyer]

That all looks very promising Tim.

Are you content with the progress thus far?

[wunwinglow]

7 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

That all looks very promising Tim.

Are you content with the progress thus far?

Yes, I think I have captured the character of the beastie, even though I had to guess at quite a lot. New regime... Finish it, and not worry too much about the details. At 67, time is not for wasting! Plenty more projects in my head! Getting the bits to actually go together has been entertaining, the difference between the clinical precision of the CAD and actual real bits is entertaining! And then you realise you can't actually get this bit past that bit, or there is no way to get glue in that joint...  Great fun!

[geedubelyer]

2 minutes ago, wunwinglow said:

Getting the bits to actually go together has been entertaining, the difference between the clinical precision of the CAD and actual real bits is entertaining! And then you realise you can't actually get this bit past that bit, or there is no way to get glue in that joint...  Great fun!

 

Glad you're enjoying the process. I'm certainly enjoying following along. 

 

Can you elaborate on the challenges you've faced with tolerances please Tim?

Have the little issues taught you more about the design processes going forward?

[wunwinglow]

More to do with getting used to the output from this new printer, which so far, has performed faultlessly, if the orientation is OK, the parts are very smooth and crisp. I am now using 0.15 mm gaps between fitting parts, and this seems to be working well. The resin I am using, Elegoo 8K Space Grey makes fine prints but is a little brittle in small sections, so making sure supports are located where they can be easily snipped and cleaned up is another factor worth spending some time over, because the resin does scratch easily. I will try some of the Tough resins shortly, although not sure how stable they are under load, over time. Maybe a mix....

 

But the breakdown of the design is very like the T31 glider, and a couple of other commercial projects I did more recently, and Rhino has some most excellent tools for this sort of work! I can update the CAD on the fly as I discover things that need fixing from the assembly. I think I have done 5 sets of prints for the major parts so far! It is too easy, honestly! I can do a quick set up, save the slice file, print, and in a couple of hours I have the new parts. It takes longer to wash, dry and post cure them! But it means the design process cracks on at a pace. 

Edited February 25 by wunwinglow

[mozart]

That’s all Greek to me Tim, but the Westland Wizard is a really exciting project and I’m delighted to see it taking shape. Never mind the process (from an ignoramus’ point of view ) the outcome holds real promise! 

[wunwinglow]

[wunwinglow]