David P Williams
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Everything posted by David P Williams
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As I should have my Slec/Apache Chipmunk kit finished before joining in the build I need two schemes, but a prime candidate is the first picture in the walk around photo reference posted by Tim - Royal Navy Chipmunk WK608. A quick look in my logbook shows I flew this aircraft on 21 July 1977 from Plymouth Roborough for 45 mins on the final check flight before my Final Handling Test for my Basic Flying Training at Dartmouth Royal Naval College. Went on to Bulldogs at RAF Leeming after that. Not sure if I would go for the mis-matched canopy and rudder though - I seem to remember them normally being the same grey as the fuselage on the RN Chipmunks. So - Maybe I'll do a Navy one and a white/grey/red RAF one. In more recent years while working at Spanhoe I came across quite a few Chipmunks that had been converted for glider towing by having a Lycoming engine fitted for a bit more grunt. In fact when I was there a few weeks ago there was a yellow and black example that had also had the canopy removed and turned into a single seater with a homemade canopy making it look a bit like a Pawnee or similar. Really enjoying this thread already, and looking forward to the building starting. David
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Ok now I feel stupid! Must have been in the settings area a dozen times and never found the 'nickname' bit - DOH. Thanks chaps - yes I'll change the stupid avatar when I can sort out comething suitable. David
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I've been lurking and occasionally posting on here for quite a while now, and wish I'd registered under my real name rather than as Captain Slog, I name I had previously used on other forums. Is it possible to change username and keep albums etc, or do I just have to re-register with a whole new identity? Thanks, David Williams
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Well, if it's an October start maybe I'll be able to join in. Meanwhile, to whet the appetites of the rivet counters, here's a few pics of one of the ex-Portuguese Air Force Chipmunks that I was involved in rebuilding. Chipmunks are not short of rivets, and not many of them are flush! The measuring strip in the pics is 1 inch squares. Worst job in the rebuilding was retrofitting spin strakes (a UK CAA requirement) to the rear of the fuselage. This involved me, as the slimmest, taking out the rear seat and sliding head first down the inside of the fuselage to hold the block on the inside of the rivets while the boss whacked them with the pneumatic rivet gun from the outside. Lying on cables, pulleys and fuselage formers while being deafened was pretty uncomfortable. I think I've also had the undercarriage legs out of the Canadian one with the RAF canopy in the header picture for it's periodic X-rays of the mounts. They're almost all cracked, and the cracks are allowed to grow to a certain size, then the wings are scrap. Happy Days, David
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Rats, would have loved to join in, but I'm halfway through a SLEC/Apache Chipmunk build. It's sort of 1/5 scale (well, stand-(way)-off scale that is) and I have too many other kits and plans waiting to do another Chipmunk, but I will be following with interest. I've flown a few full-sized Chipmunks and rebuilt/restored/maintained even more, so if I can help with photos or info let me know (although my access to them is less frequent now). David
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Noooo!!! Ali Machinchy Is Leaving!
David P Williams replied to Matthew Leese's topic in All Things Model Flying
Agree too. One of my best memories is flying on a buddy box with Ali at one of the Jet Modellers Association Rookie Days - lovely bloke. -
There's a clue here. Look for the 'Next Issue' (i.e. May) info David
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Hi all, I'm building a SLEC/Apache RAF Chipmunk. It's not superscale but good enough to make a bit of an effort with detailing etc. It comes with a nicely made fibreglass cowl that the instructions suggest fitting with a row of 10 self tappers around the periphery into the side of the 6mm ply firewall. This row of screws will be about 2/3 of the way along the side of the cowl and I think this will look a bit naff. I've done radial-type cowls in the past with internal fixings accessed with a looong allen key but this is a narrow in-line type cowl with a small front vent. I can't think of an alternative way of fixing to avoid a row of unsightly screwheads - any bright ideas please? Thanks, David
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Well it seemed as if it might be fixed last night, but it's misbehaving again today. "Remember passwords for sites" box and the "Remember me" boxes are still ticked. First site access of the day I had to log in. Navigated away to a few other sites, came back to this one and had to log in again. Irritating. David
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Thanks Pete - the "Remember passwords for sites" box was ticked and the "Remeber me" box also, hence the post. I've now cleared the cache, and it seems to be working. Not very intuitive, but thanks very much. David
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Help please - until recently I was using I.E. and all worked well, if a bit slow. I've switched to Firefox and it seems slicker, but whenever I navigate away from this site then come back, I have to log in again, even in the same session. I.E didn't do this, in fact It would keep me logged in for days. Is there a setting somewhere in Firefox (I can't find anything obvious) or is this a security feature that I have to live with. Doesn't seem to happen on other sites. Thanks, David
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plan protection?
David P Williams replied to Phil 9's topic in Building from Traditional Kits and Plans
Currently using SLEC Plan Protector as they included a pack in the SLEC/Apache Chipmunk kit I'm building. Seems to work very well indeed. David -
What do you recommend for a bench top
David P Williams replied to Spice Cat's topic in Hints and Tips
I like to build standing mostly. My old bench is the 'normal' 36 inches which was OK, and allowed me to use a bar-stool type seat if I needed to. With my new bench I've gone higher, around a metre, and I find it much better. No back problems despite all-day building sessions (Oh - I'm just under 6ft) David -
What do you recommend for a bench top
David P Williams replied to Spice Cat's topic in Hints and Tips
...or the Ikea ones are not too expensive, and they are heavy and solid and flat. David -
Did you snip the red wire or the blue? And how many seconds were left on the clock?
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I think if you check on the Sundeala website you are supposed to 'condition' it before use, by brushing water into the back of the sheet at a certain litres/square metre rate. I've used it in the past and done this, but I just let it rest on an already flat bench surface rather than glueing. Just use plasterboard now - MUCH cheaper and just as good. David
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Insulating new workshop
David P Williams replied to Martin Whybrow's topic in All Things Model Flying
When I did mine, I used 50mm kingspan (well actually it was some equivalent from seconds & co) in a 2x2 frame then plasterboarded and skimmed. 100mm would have lost me too much space, although I used 100mm in the roof. For the pillars I used the insulation backed plasterboard and just glued it to the pillars. Only 25mm insulation (you can get thicker stuff but that's what my local builder's merchant had when I needed it in a hurry), but better than nothing and didn't lose too much space. Seems to work OK, doesn't seem to be any colder than the rest. David -
I'm on the lookout for a small milling machine. I was watching this, but it's just sold for £30 more than a brand new one, listed on Ebay by the supplier themselves here. The postage is £15 more too! Are people mad, or just too lazy to do basic research? David
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Thanks chaps - it's taken me a long time to get here. I've had about 7 years when I've only been able to build simple ARTFs or helis. When we moved house 5 years ago the main criteria were large workshop (or space to build one) and large artists studio (or space to build one) for SWMBO. We both retired early (or dropped out really). She's got what was once the dining room - about 4m square - and I've got what was once a garage but the previous owner had divided it into a storage room plus a model railway room. It was cold and damp so I've opened it up into one space and insulated it so it's now a lovely 8m by 3.5m space. There's a connecting door to the studio so she can use my sink. It's just about a perfect setup, but I had to do all the renovation work on the house before I was allowed to sort the workshop out, hence the delay. The lathe is a chinese jobby - this one - a bit rough round the edges but a lot of lathe for the money. It's not a PC at the end - it's a TV and freesat box and DVD/HiFi, so no CNC. Will be adding a milling machine at some point. I've been accumulating kits in the loft over the years, buying them as I saw them come up for sale second hand but unstarted, so the builds I have to look forward to are a Skyshark Grumman Avenger, Flair Tiger Moth, Flair Stearman and TopFlite 1/5 Mustang. Getting back into the swing of building with a SLEC/Apache 1/5 Chipmunk - just finished the port wing. David
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I've just built a new build bench from bits left over from the house renovation work. This was the workshop a couple of months ago, so now I can finally get on with model building rather than building building. E Who's a lucky chap then? David
