REGARDING HATCHES:

One thing we don't know much about is Ed's hatch set-up, and whether or not he used one or two. We don't know exactly how he did it either. This part of the Simla is just not visible to get concrete answers from...we have only ONE source that shows some low resolution photos of the interior, and some of the inner workings. The source is valuable, (as is EVERY other shred of evidence about the Simla), but it kind-of teases you because the quality of the photos there doesn't show the area well enough to prove much. In this area we simply have to make a hatch and 'inner workings' set up that satisfies our own needs, and concentrate our efforts on the outline or planform of the Simla...which matters most.

The info we have comes from an overseas publication entitled "Big Stuff", that shows not only Ed's Simla, but some of his flying buddy's planes as well. You can see from the pictures that there is some variation between the models...you can tell they all started from a single concept or idea, and each built what suited him. Ed's Simla was only one of several large scales planes built that year. Not shown is Vic Husak's "Cream Puff", which is shown in more detail in the Taurus thread.

We concentrate on the Simla because of who Ed is, and the fact that the Simla, (as scantily documented as it is being barely enough to reconstruct the plane), is still the best documented of all these designs...and of course, because it is gorgeous.

The "Big Stuff" article courtesy of Evan Pimm from NZ, shows how Ed did his plug-in wing, his aileron linkages, and some of the inner workings of the nose gear. For those of you who may want to build an exact replica of Ed's Simla, this is where you go for the documentation of this area.

Back to the hatch(es). One of the photos shows what appears to be a shot from front to back of the hatch area...but again, the detail isn't good. It is likely Ed used only ONE hatch, since ALL of Ed's other planes do not have a separate access hatch for the fuel tank and tubing. We chose to use two hatches for added accessibility in this area. I will take and include photos of my hatches a bit later below. Kevin had an interesting way of setting his up so that only ONE screw holds BOTH hatches in position, (maybe Kevin can take a photo of his arrangement for comparison. In our plane, the hatches essentially go all the way from the firewall to the rear of the wing.

Duane