Kaeone57 Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Ummmmm, Yeah, WOW!!!!! Alfonso airscale, Derek B and Landrotten Highlander 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted December 23, 2023 Author Share Posted December 23, 2023 Seasons Greetings I figured before I finish the cockpit, I better start skinning some of the nose as there would be some hammering involved to get the metal to conform to the very curvy rocker cover blisters.. ..it all starts like this - a bit of ali sheet taped along one edge and worked & beaten to follow the shape.... it creases and buckles and really doesn't like it, but I will have my way in the end.. ..by now it's pretty much there, always working the creases away with thousands of taps of a tiny ball pein hammer.. ..then the surface is abraded to get it smooth (sorry for the crap pictures..).. ..and finally cut to shape allowing the bottom edges to flare under the panels that will sit on top of them.... ..and with those panels added and the exhaust ports.. lots more panels to go, and I need to complete the cockpit before I can do the rear of the blisters and add the cooling vents.. Happy Christmas everyone Peter Uncarina, denders, Starfighter and 32 others 34 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 It's like they say- nothing looks more like metal than actual metal. You are a true craftsman working with metal sheet to create these details Matt airscale, JayW, Derek B and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furie Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 Beautiful, simply beautiful! Fantastic work Peter and Merry Christmas to you too! Derek B, airscale and Martinnfb 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 Merry Christmas indeed Peter, what an amazing update. Those engine blisters look amazing! Regards. Andy Derek B, Martinnfb and airscale 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulpk Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 Always a pleasure Peter! Merry Christmas all. airscale, Martinnfb and Derek B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 Inspirational work as always Peter. Merry Christmas to you both as well Peter. Regards Derek airscale and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 That's just beautiful Peter! Iain airscale, Martinnfb and Derek B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted December 28, 2023 Share Posted December 28, 2023 (edited) Beautiful metal work Peter. A problem I have with the soft stuff is fastener punching with the awl. With the hard litho sheet or equivalent, which is always a flat panel or with gentle single curvature, I almost always add fastener markings after final trim but before bonding the panel to the airframe. This is done on a glass surface and results in a good crisp, but not too deep, depression for each fastener. On the soft severely contoured paneling, I almost always do the fastener marks after the panel is formed and trimmed and bonded. I see no other way. Obviously with a compound curved panel that underwent lots of hammering and burnishing and sanding, to go back to the flat glass to punch the depressions, the contour would be destroyed. So instead of hard glass backing, I have less hard plastic or resin backing with a thin layer of contact cement, which results in a deeper fastener depression. This depression typically doesn't match the depressions on the hard litho panels very well. I don't think I see that disparity with your work. What's the secret? Edited December 28, 2023 by JayW Martinnfb, Derek B and airscale 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted December 28, 2023 Share Posted December 28, 2023 Amazing work Peter! Simply amazing Martinnfb, Derek B and airscale 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 Well, well, your skills and attention to detail are outstanding. Have you ever thought of developing these into a business, making detailed parts for us mortals? No, wait... Oh yeah. Martinnfb, airscale, Derek B and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldbaldguy Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 On 12/21/2023 at 6:31 PM, europapete said: They had actually discovered electricy by the time this 'plane was built. But my question had nothing to do with the existence of electricity, did it? Since I’ve never seen this airplane, and likely never will, and know exactly nothing about it, I asked if anyone knew how they moved fuel from the main tank(s) in the floats to the header tank(s) in the fuselage in order to get it to the engine. The airplane is small with little room or weight allowance to spare for something as heavy and bulky as a complete electrical system so I assume - perhaps wrongly - that this airplane does not have one. Airplanes flew for decades without onboard electrical works. My first two airplanes, which I flew into the late 1980s, had no electrical components at all, short of the magnetos necessary to make the engine run. In these airplanes, fuel moved by gravity - simple, easy, cheap, reliable and light weight. But the fuel in the S6B sloshed about in tanks located on the center of gravity way down below the motor in the floats. It had quite a way to go to before it ever got to the header tank and from there back to the carb bowl. Mechanical, engine driven fuel pump? Electric fuel pumps powered by an engine driven generator? I have no idea, which is why I asked. Whatever Supermarine used, it worked. And they likely designed it under the glare of electric lights. Martinnfb and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Sorry, was just been flippant, hence the laughing emoji. No offence meant. The fuel most likely would have been moved up via electric pumps. I can find out for sure though and post the result here. Regards, Pete Oldbaldguy and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 The S series of racing seaplanes really were engineering marvels for their day. On the S6's the floats housed fuel and coolant, the right hand float containing more fuel to help counter the engine torque on takeoff. The left float less fuel but also coolant. The fuel was pumped up to a pressurised header tank behind the engine. This was neccessary because under the high forces encountered during near vertical banks in turns the pumps were unable to move the fuel and this tank kept the engine supplied until the 'plane levelled out again. The wings were double skinned, their surface acting as radiators and oil coolers were along the fuselage sides. The oil tanks were in the tailfin and spine. The engine was so highly tuned it only lasted just over an hour at full power. airscale, Derek B, Landrotten Highlander and 2 others 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldbaldguy Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 On 12/30/2023 at 10:07 AM, europapete said: The S series of racing seaplanes really were engineering marvels for their day. On the S6's the floats housed fuel and coolant, the right hand float containing more fuel to help counter the engine torque on takeoff. The left float less fuel but also coolant. The fuel was pumped up to a pressurised header tank behind the engine. This was neccessary because under the high forces encountered during near vertical banks in turns the pumps were unable to move the fuel and this tank kept the engine supplied until the 'plane levelled out again. The wings were double skinned, their surface acting as radiators and oil coolers were along the fuselage sides. The oil tanks were in the tailfin and spine. The engine was so highly tuned it only lasted just over an hour at full power. Wow! This tidbit of information is as interesting as Peter’s build. Thanks for that. What a complicated mess. I honestly don’t know whether to applaud the engineers who came up with all this or to chalk it up to traditional Brit plumbing practices. airscale, europapete and Derek B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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