Ya gotta go the beer can route.....

At least my Spar is a KNOWN ERROR. I really hate the ones that get pointed out to me. Makes me think I wasn't observant enough. At least this way, I can 'splain just why i did it that way

As for the markings, I really don't have a clue yet. Open to suggestions.

Thanks Terri.

Regards
Steve

Okay i'll send what I have so check your e-mail . I'll send it this afternoon .

OK, my latest update. The Good and the Bad......

Worked on the Instrument panel today. Photo of that. Not a finished product.........the paint is still wet and the glue is drying. More fiddleys due along with wash.



Fuselage fits into the now slightly shaved lower wing-set. The lower wings are sitting in a jig right now to get rid of a twist and a sag in the dihedral. Am contemplating incorporating a stiffening tube, kinda like a wing spar. This is the BAD.........the most severe hurdle so far.

I'm still trying to determine IF I can use the MasterCasters resin cockpit. The "Issues" are,

1) Slight shrinkage front to back and the width of the rear section. I can fix the for/aft by adding a thin styrene section to the firewall.

2. I HOPE I can just either "stretch" the kit fuselage to fit and/or use some putty.

Other than that, I am putting together more of the fiddley bits in the cockpit. I really hope i can close the aft fuselage shortly. Will still be able to slide in the PE framework and remove it.

Regards
Steve

Re Instrument Panel.

WOW!

Re missplaced support bar...

A tough one... My self, I would move it. But not if it means that every thing else is going to go Awry!

Cheers,

Hugh

Thanks Hugh,

I'll "think" about the support bar. One side of me "likes it", while another says it shouldn't be there. I have time to "Contemplate"..........

Regards
Steve

I wanted to see a bit of what the "thing" will look like, plus some test fitting with the MasterCasters Cockpit section.



Switches, etc and a light wash to go.

Regards
Steve

Decision made. I will keep the forward wing spar installed forward of the firewall. There are references for this. Are they correct? Don't know, but it does exist at least in the Memorial Flight replica. You can see it just barely here. I looked at all thier other photos and found similar "Almost can see" photos. Is this a "correct" interpretation? Again, I don't know. At least there is a flying example of what i have depicted. Of course they also have other non-standard engine upgrades.



Regards
Steve

Not a pretty day. Lots of areas that will need touch-ups due to fitting and adjusting. Some frustrations over that. Since I always want to finish up a day with success........I put the two fuselage halves together. For no locating pins she went together surprising well. Had to keep an eye on edges to make sure they didn't "slip" some during the drying process. I also slid in the PE framework and glued it in place but leaving the top PE frame off to allow me to fit out the cockpit.

All that provided me with the success that i needed to end the day.

One of the issues was the Vickers gun. I "Think" that I'm going to need to cut it in half so as to be able to install the rear portion first with the instrument panel..............then after the fuselage is complet and painted, install the gun barrel. They might not line up perfectly but it will save a lot of re-working of things later on. I did a lot of work on the Vickers that will all have to be redone.

As for that Vickers PE barrel..........WOW. That was a neat trick learned HERE..........heating the PE so as to be able to bend easily. Nope.........not 'fraid" of PE guns now. I've now got a stash of Paper clips of different sizes and drill bits for rollers.

The lower one piece wing has been in a Jig for days now and the dihedral looks good. It fits the fuselage (with the PE framework) in an OK manner with a minimum of coersion. That will be a 4 handed affair to glue. I suggest that this should be an area of concern for those building this kit with the PE

I think I've also come to the conclusion that I will not be able to use the Resin Cockpit. I will have to go with the kit cockpit much to my disappointment. It's a bit short for and aft. That presents a problem since I'm going to open the cowl.

Regards
Steve

Update: Working slowly now inside the cockpit. Am definately using the Roden Cockpit vs the resin one because of fit issues. Added stiffeners inside. I used the 7 strand .30mm cable I found yesterday. You can see one strand on the left rudder pedal. Much better than the thin copper I was using (contrasted to the wire on the control stick). Have since changed out all copper cables to the new strands.

Hard to get a flash photo inside like this, here is the best shot of the lot. Thank goodness for digital.



Milliput next for the seat and seat back. Lacking good references here.

Regards
Steve

Excellent work done in the office Steve .

Thanks Terri.

Well, I am close to closing up the office. I think I'll wait a few days, study it, look at HIGH-RES photos of it to find my faults. Some faults you will see in these photos will not be seen when looking in through the cockpit opening.

The Throttle/Mixture levers are done, just need cabling. Shutter lever needs to be scratched. The seat is still in the developement stage.

There are two hand pumps in the SE5a. One has to be a fuel pump, whats the other one??? One is up on the instrument panel, one sits under the dash in the photo below. (that pump moves around depending on resource material.







The lower fuselage seam is a real weak point. To do it over again, i would have installed styrene stiffners on the inside. I see trouble ahead when I set the lower wing in.

Regards
Steve

Greetings Steve;

Only one hand pump on war time SE 5a types (in the instrument panel.) It pressurized the fuel tank. The water, air & fuel pumps were on the motor itself. Remember, Part of Poland sometimes gives you parts that are. . .well not useful for the type you are building. Call them extras for another build.

Just for clarity the stifferners he is mentioning are also called locator tabs.

I hear ya Stephen,

It's all about resources.............and sometimes incorrect resources. One of my resources is this photo showing the panel handpump and then the one that I have depicted on the flooring. Any guesses as to what it is? Not that ANYONE will ever even SEE the darn thing.



Regards
Steve

Note the handle is not useful for pumping but will turn clockwise. Its a screw within the tube and pushed grease to the water pump. Long tube is a bit misleading. But it is a pump greaser for the Vickers sychronizer. No worries.

Grease gun? Well I can buy that, soooooooooooooo it is correct? A pump grease gun...........now that does make sense to me.

Regards
Steve

The handle Part gives you can be altered or replaced to look more like the original type.

The "grease gun" parts that PART gives us is pretty close. The fuel pump handle is a little weak.

I hate installing something that is a total mystery to me. Thanks for that grease gun info. I would NEVER have figured that out.

Steve

My understanding was that it was the grease gun for the CC gun/prop synchronizer. You don't want that thing failing in a dog fight or you'll find your prop shot off in no time.

OK, will the REAL grease gun please stand up..........

Water Pump
or
Gun Syncronizer

Both are important.

Regards
Steve

There were five types of sychronization gears and all needed to be greased. Later models had bearings packed in grease and the large variety greaser we see here was then only used for the Viper water pump. I think I have seen a 1917 drawing that showed that this type could be routed to both the C&C gear and the Hisso water pump. The weight of grease was the same for both if memory serves.

Well I'm learning some new stuff here , cool . Thanks for sharing guy's . I'm amazed on Steve's craftsmanship and I blame you guys for the getting the 32 bug !

Stephen,

From the top of your head, that was pretty good info. Thank you. The C&C gears? Assume thats the sync gears? Was it greasing the cable going from the engine to the gun or the gears inside the engine valve cover? Interesting setup there. I can certainly understand the importance of that gearing for a long and healthy life.

Terri,

I blame "Them" all too!!!!

I've learned an awful lot about WWI aircraft construction that I had no idea about.

Regards
Steve

OK, Ive been banging away at aluminum.............beer cans as well as coke cans......for the bonnet. I like and i hate...........but it does make the thing look "flimsey" kinda like a kite. The copper wire you see is just a place holder to show roughly where the bonnet cable will sit.

OK.........I've come to the conclusion that this bonnet would not be taken apart in this manner BUT it CAN be done. There is a piano hinge down the centerline with a removable pin running through it. Yes much easier to release at the bottom hinges and throw the whole kit over to your buddy on the other side. Or........for the sake of looking into the engine compartment on one side and then seeing what a full bonnet is like on the other.....I have elected to display it something like this:





Regards
Steve

The motor oil in the valve covers lubricated those gears. The grease packed in the breech of the Vickers bearing assembly (in the Viper install) lubed that end.

Thanks for that info Stephen. Velly interesting....

No visual update today.

Cut the ailerons loose.
Cut out the wing inspection windows.
Looked at the PE turnbuckles....scratched head at lack of rigging diagram.....put turnbuckles back in box for a rainy day (gonna take some courage to do the rigging for the FIRST time).
Cleaned up a lot of rough edges, repaired slight damage from dry fits.
Gonna bolt that bottom wing on very soon............with more repairs likely.
Worked on the cowling.

Enough damage for today.

Regards
Steve