The Defiant Naval

[PR19_Kit]

........... as I did something novel, I followed the instructions so I didn't end up with the problem that Kit had.

So did I, but something didn't fit too well somewhere.

That's looking promising Alastair, the A-Frame hook will be a neat addition I'm sure.

[buzzbomb]

Any progress is good progress.

I use that drill through tube method for fitting bits as well.

[NARSES2]

Nice Roc replacement 

[Doug K]

Thought I better do something and post some progress pictures



Here you can see that I have the wings and fuselage together, no problems in getting it to fit corectly as I did something novel, I followed the instructions so I didn't end up with the problem that Kit had.



The thin brass tube sticking through the side of the fuselage acupunture style is actually some Albion Alloy 0.3i/d 0.5 o/d tube which will be one of the legs of the A frame arestor hook. It's in this position at the moment as when attempting to make the mounting holes I didn't get both sides to match, so make a bigger hole and fill with tube that fits the hole and allows the hook frame to fit inside. With what I have I ended up with a compramze and used the nearest sizes I had. The alternative sizes are very much out of scale and wouold show it

Gondor

That’ll do it. I had a spare hook from an Airfix Hurricane and managed to bodge the fuselage insert into the Defiant for my Centaurus one.

[Gondor]

Ordered a set of brass Albion Alloy tubes so that the fuselage attachments can be the correct size in metal. 0.5mm i/d and 0.7mm o/d. Just found that I do have some smaller tubing, 0.1 i/d 0.3 o/d which will help make a replacement pittot tube and the kit one is broken and the brass will be a bit more substantial.

Gondor

[NARSES2]

I was hoping to get some Albion Alloy tubing at SMW 

Looks like I need to look on line

[Gondor]

I was hoping to get some Albion Alloy tubing at SMW 

Looks like I need to look on line

The tubing I ordered yesterday morning from Wonderland, 30 odd miles away, arrived this morning. Extremely well packed. Absolutely no chance of the tubing getting crushed or bent will all the cardboard around it, should have taken pictures to show the amount of packing I suppose 
Anyway, I have made some progress on the attachment points although I am still working out how to do the actually hook Thinking of flattening some brass rod which will then be bent into the hook shape, the stub of rod left with the hook will then go into some tubing at one end with the arms from the fuselage at the other end and then everything soldered together  or I might just flood the tube with superglue. Regardless it's going to be a nightmare to get all aligned correctly and fitted into the mounting points on the fuselage sides.

Gondor

[Gondor]

Well not much done today due to waiting on an electrician turning up to find out why my RCD kept tripping, three times this morning within the space of fifteen minutes! and all befor I got up properly!

Anyway, progress again. This time the fuselage mounting points for the A frame arrestor gear have been installed 



And just to show that that is brass tubing that has been fitted here is a picture will even smaller tubing fitted through the piece that is fitted through the fuselage



If you look very carefully you can see the step between the inner and outer tubes in the picture, difficult to see as the wall of the tubing is 0.1mm thick. I also had to drill out the ends of the tubing after I had cut it to length as even running a knife over the tube was causing the tube to slightly collapse. Oh the fun I am going to have with this 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Well that's the majority of that task out of the way



And it moves, at the moment



I have a little work to do on the retaining pin and I have to do some work on where the radio aerial will now go ad I have pinched the locating hole for that but it's getting there....

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

Would they have retained the belly mounted aerial on a naval Defiant?

Even with the aft aerial post retracted it would have been highly likely to snag the wires I'd have thought.

[Gondor]

Would they have retained the belly mounted aerial on a naval Defiant?

Even with the aft aerial post retracted it would have been highly likely to snag the wires I'd have thought.

I'm thinking of makeing the aerial go along the fuselage side. I did consider mounting it across the top of the wings but every aircraft that I have seen has the aerial in line with the direction of flight which probably reduces the stress on the aerial wire.

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

A few have it running diagonally from the dorsal aerial to the tailplane tip. Sadly I can't recall an example now.

[The Wooksta!]

The diagonal wire isn't the radio, sure it's something to do with the IFF.

[Old Wombat]

The Grumman Tracker has a number of radio aerial wires, I copied them for the Grebe. You should be able to see them in the following images;







Hope they help.

[Gondor]

Nice build there Wombat 

I was about to say that I had decided to go one way but realised that mounting the aerial on the side of the fuselage would cause the fuselage to mask the signal. Now decided to keep the orijonal aerial idea but move it forward a bitseeing that I have pinched the rear mast's location for the hook retention socket. A scale foot or two should do the trick.

Gondor