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Dave "Funhouse" Spitfire Project... (Read 6837 times)
Oct 2nd, 2004 at 9:02pm

funhouse   Offline
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Hello  chaps,
                     my first post here, good to see some other WW2 pits are being constructed. I'm in the process building a Spitfire MkV cockpit section, along with another guy. I am doing the fab work , the other guy is working on the pit interface system . i have a small website detailing the construction progress if anyones interested.
http://www.simhardware.org/

Good to be here chaps,
all the best
Dave
« Last Edit: Dec 15th, 2004 at 8:55pm by Fly2e »  
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Reply #1 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 5:13am

ozzy72   Offline
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Dave that is INCREDIBLE work!!!
I'll be keeping an eye on your site for regular updates...

Ozzy Wink
 
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There are two types of aeroplane, Spitfires and everything else that wishes it was a Spitfire!
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Reply #2 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 6:37am

funhouse   Offline
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Hi Ozzy,   
            thanks for the kind words. It's been a steep learning curve on the sheet metalwork side of the project, but a great experience.

Thanks
Dave
 
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Reply #3 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 8:46am

JBaymore   Offline
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Dave,

Totally amazing approach to the project!  Most of us tend to use easy to form wood to try to simulate all the metal parts.  It never looks quite "real", and the moving levers and such never feel quite real.  You stuff looks like you are fabricating the real aircraft from a kit  Wink.

I am very impressed with your craftsmanship  Shocked .  Nice job.

Hey..... now that Ozzy has spotted you... he'll probably ask you to build a simpit for him too.  When you quote the price for him, please remember that you will have some extra major design headaches in dealing with his pit.

And I am not quite sure how you will figure out how to mount it all upside down on the ceiling  Wink  Wink.


Seriously.... welcome to the "Homebuild Cockpits Forum" here on SimV.  I think a lot of people will be following your project.  In addition to updating your own website......... please pop some info and pictures here occasionally.

best,

....................john
 
... ...Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M,  Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit
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Reply #4 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 8:50am

funhouse   Offline
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Hello John,
              thanks for the welcome and the kind words. Ozzy has already been in contact  Grin. I'd be happy to post some photos,if that's ok.

All the best

Dave
 
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Reply #5 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 8:56am

Hagar   Offline
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Dave. I just happened to spot this thread.  I've only had a quick look at your website & all I can say is WOW.........! Shocked

If you want my honest opinion you're wasting your time with simpits. I don't know what you do for a living but your skills would be very useful & much appreciated in the warbird restoration business, building & restoring real aircraft. This is outstanding work by anyone's standards.
 
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Reply #6 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 9:14am

funhouse   Offline
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Thanks for the positive feedback on the project, though my thanks must go to my wife, not many woman out there that would put up with 8 feet of spitfire cockpit in the spare room.
Believe me guys, there are people out there with far more skill than i'll ever have.
A few photos of parts for the project,

all the best

Dave

« Last Edit: Oct 10th, 2005 at 8:23pm by funhouse »  
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Reply #7 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 9:47am

JBaymore   Offline
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Dave,

Thanks for the new pictures of the pit here.  The more I see... the more astounded I get   Shocked   Shocked   Shocked .

Hagar is right..... you likely could turn your hobby into a profession.

Where did you learn metal fabrication?  You obviously have access to some good tools..... some of the heavier metal work looks like it came from a CNC machine.

best,

.................john
 
... ...Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M,  Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit
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Reply #8 - Oct 3rd, 2004 at 10:35am

funhouse   Offline
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Hi John,
            I'm a toolmaker by trade, the sheet metalwork is "on the job traning" i learned when building the cockpit. I am lucky enough to have my own small workshop at home, but none of the parts are made on CNC machines and most are  just simple fabrication work using basic hand tools . The cockpit frames are made from .040" (1 mm) bending quility sheet aluminum, and then bent round full size MDF formers using very basic hand tools,i.e soft face mallet, some "G" cramps to hold the sheet in place while its being worked.
There is a small "how to" on my website regarding the sheet metal forming http://www.simhardware.org/page9.html. I am certainly no expert on sheetmetal work, and the method used is simple but worked ok.
Dave
 
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Reply #9 - Oct 4th, 2004 at 8:01am

chuckcrc   Offline
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Dave
I've just been to your site and I'm blown way !!!
Your simpit is an outstanding piece of work, fantastic !!
The workmanship is INCREDIBLE, BRILLANT !!
A Spitfire simpit is always something I've dreamed about but the problems with forming the canopy etc was too difficult for me to overcome so I settled on something a bit easier.
Do you have full scale plans ?
I think you need to keep going , you know - add some wings a tail and a motor and fly that sucker !!
Seriously though ,that is absolutely outstanding work , please keep us updated and thanks very much for sharing your work with us.

All the best
chuckcrc
 
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Reply #10 - Oct 4th, 2004 at 9:42am

funhouse   Offline
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Hi Chuckcrc,
                   thanks for taking time to visit the site and for the comments.
After some long evenings spent looking for useful info for the project, i found a company that sells copies of the original factroy drawings. Better still, the company will e mail the requested drawing ( usually the same day, depending on the time of order) You can request hard copies, but these are slightly more expensive. Guess thats a rather long winded way of saying yes to your question regarding plans  Wink.
The Canopy will certainly be a challenge, I'm going to use  1/4" thick MAKROLON (Polycarbonate) it has excellent bending qualities and can be hot or cold formed to very tight radii.
Thanks again for all the positive feedback and the interest shown
Dave
 
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Reply #11 - Oct 4th, 2004 at 11:10am

JBaymore   Offline
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Dave,

A polycarb canopy!!  OK... the truth here....... you actually are going to FLY that thing, aren't you ?   You just haven't figured out how to tell your wife about it.  Wink  

best,

................john
 
... ...Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M,  Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit
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Reply #12 - Oct 4th, 2004 at 11:23am

funhouse   Offline
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Hi John,
            Dam !, No fooling you guy's i guess. Just hope  i can hide the plans for the Merlin from the real boss  Wink.

A few more pic's of some of the completed parts,
Frame 5
Compass bracket
And the Throttle

Dave
« Last Edit: Oct 10th, 2005 at 8:24pm by funhouse »  
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Reply #13 - Oct 6th, 2004 at 3:14pm

funhouse   Offline
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Some of the latest work on the project, gunsight/dimming screen mount and the front end of the Kigas primer pump.

Dave
« Last Edit: Oct 10th, 2005 at 8:24pm by funhouse »  
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Reply #14 - Oct 6th, 2004 at 8:48pm
Flt.Lt.Andrew   Ex Member

 
That is amazing...my mum wouldn't let me do that....
The detail... I think you should give t to a resoration group as Hagar says...
*stres in wonderment*

A.
 
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