Thorverton
29th May - Progress made!
A feverish amount of activity took place today to get the aeroplane trailer configured for the Hawk and the aeroplane loaded, ready for transportation to the LAA regional Rally at Dunkeswell. Barnstaple Scouts have been working away steadily each Thursday evening to bring the aircraft together to an almost finished state. The wings are now covered, the cowlings fully fitted, the door latches finished and the control panel fitted though not yet full wired/plumbed in. The propshaft extension is on and the prop fitted, all without a hitch.
What remains is all the engine telemetry, panel wiring, radio installation etc. - time consuming but every day the youngsters work on the project goes a bit more to completion of the project.
See pictures of the assembled plane at Dunkeswell where the Exeter Scouts did 'guard' duty and collected donations from the public. The next outing is in July at the International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford and then a week later it is appearing at the Farnborough International Airshow.
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1st March 2008 - Wings Fitted
Saturday 1st March proved to be a clear day so the Exeter Air Scouts helped to drag the fuselage out of the workshop, carried the wings and struts up to Tim’s sheltered drive area and then the fitting of both wings took place. Also all the rigging angles were set and locked off. This is a huge step forward for the youngsters and the project. In addition Barnstaple Scouts have trial fitted the engine and the fuel system is now plumbed in which incorporates a superbly engineered on/off fuel valve supplied f.o.c., by Andair. Engine controls are installed and the cowlings are now fitted. Side panels are also on, so the next job is the fitting of the doors and when the instrument panel arrives from Kingsbridge later this month, the wiring loom will have to be completed. Lots to do but the end is in sight!
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January 2008 - Project Update!
Jan 2008. All the sub assemblies are now back at the Thorverton workshop where the Exeter Scouts (Saturdays) and the Barnstaple Scouts (Thursday evenings), are bringing the parts together. Having said that, the control panel is with the Kingsbridge Air Cadets and the Seaton Cadets are making a battery box. Windscreen is in, as are top and bottom cabin panels. Engine controls, fuel system and trial fit of the engine have now been completed. Initial cowl drilling and initial camloc fitting has taken place. Mating of the wings to the fuselage and setting of controls will be completed on a fine Saturday in February, when the aircraft can be assembled and rigged outside (weather permitting). Once that is done, the wings will be de-rigged and go back into the workshop for inspection and covering. Target date for assembly completion is end of March, early April.
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The Scouts have really done well and under the watchful eyes of Tim Gilmour-White and our inspector, John Skinner, they have almost completed the main cockpit cage/front fuselage assembly. There is to be one more session at Thorverton and then the centre section will be ready to go to Dunkeswell for mating to the rear fuselage section and empennage, which will be completed this week by the Kingsbridge Air Cadets.
It is proposed to display the framework of the Xair Hawk at the PFA South West Regional Rally, Dunkeswell, on 30th June/1st July. The various parts will then go back to Tim's workshop at Thorverton for engine and instrument installation, followed by rigging and covering. It is anticipated that the aeroplane will be ready for final inspection by the end of September.
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3rd May 2007 - Build commences in Thorverton!
Saturday 5th May saw the first 3 Scouts from 3rd Exeter Air Scouts out at Tim's workshop together with their Scout Leader, Derek Andrew and PFA inspector John Skinner. After a safety talk by Tim and an engineering workmanship lecture by John, the boys set to work unpacking the components for the cabin assembly of the Xair Hawk. With much studying of the plans and assembly instructions, the putting together of the parts soon identified the structure as the cockpit cage of an aircraft. Devon Strut member Jim Gale observed the intent enthusiasm of the boys, so much so, that when he said "See you next week, fellas", they didn't even look up from the task in hand. There's concentration for you!
The next visit to Tim's workshop is on Thursday evening, as the Scouts will be flying this coming weekend, at the Devon Strut's Young Aviators day.