Another project, another poll....

Based on the full size story of that flew air reconnaissance over Berlin https://youtu.be/ie3SrjLlcUY
I decided to produce a true scale Spit for the detailed minded.

This time I would like to get a consensus for the preferred choice of wing assembly.
The full size Spitfire Mk VIII, IX and XI had a wingspan of 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) at 1/5 scale it will make a 88.4" / 2.24m wingspan

Options: Two piece wing with a ply joiner or a 3 piece wing with tubes outside the landing gear. This option will probably add extra weight.
The wing will be built up and sheeted with .3/32 skins and the stabilizer with 1/16th skin.

The fuselage has been started and will be 3 piece fiberglass with all the panel lines and screws molded in: full cowl, fuselage, tail. It will save the builder 6 months of work and headaches with all the complex shapes involved in this airplane.



Thanks for the input.


JG

Here a few stages of the cowl and fuse construction:
Full cowl with detachable chin.

JG

Having lived with the TF GS Corsair and its 3pc wing I can say its nice to handle and transport with the center section on and gear up or down.

Chris
That was my thought but I'm not sure about the partition line, I don't like when it shows.

JG

True but thats the trade off. Maybe study the real panel lines and find a natural partition. Also, I suggest not splitting flying surfaces and just make them plug into a pivot pin hole at the end rib. I think this is a mistake that was made on the big H9 Mustang.

A Spitfire doesn't have a panel line there that would be absolutely perfect. A Seafire would be easy.

A fixed center section would leave you with a pretty wide fuselage piece to transport. That might not matter if you have a large transport....

Jose,
I would split the wing in the middle and forget having it sit on the wheels.. My SisT 190 does that and its a good idea and easy to transport that way.

2 piece wing if its going to be scale.
Any chance you will be producing a MKXVIe ?
If so, I am very interested in getting in line for one.

Dave

Hi all,
The 2 wing solution is the easiest and comes out lighter, specially now that we are contemplating a fully vacuum molded wing. It's still interesting to see pros and cons from other peoples angles.
Dave, a mk 16 (bubble canopy) is not planned, but the tail and cowl partition will allow to convert to the Griffon variants later.
The prototype will represent John Blyth's Mk 11 https://youtu.be/ie3SrjLlcUY

JG

Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
I will definitely stay in touch to watch your progress.


thx
Dave

I will be modelling 944 but there tons of other paint schemes for the Mk11, Also with very little modifications, you can make a MkVIII or IX version.





JG

Here is the stab jig. It prevents twisting while you sheet both sides.



JG

First steps to get the cowl framed up.


and plank work.





JG

It's February and cold shop has prevented much advancement in the project except CAD drawings and doc. research.
Also there was plenty of maintenance due for the rest of the fleet!
The idea is to offer 2 options: a full vacuum molded kit and a build up wing/stab with a 3 piece fiberglass fuse. The 3 piece fuse is for shipping overseas purposes and to later offer the option of the Mk XIV tail and cowl.
Doing more research on the Mk11, I noticed it uses the older carb intake as in the Mk V/VII series. I found this photo of the subject airplane to confirm. This tells me most of the "profiles" are using the Mk IX config.



Also there are windscreen differences since the Mk11 and the Mk XIX did not have an armored screen.



Here is John Blyth posing for the camera, notice smooth windscreen.

More to come soon,

JG

May is here along with Spring and not a lot to show.
Progress on the cowl has been painful. The metal side panels have been applied, rivets added per plans.
I knew the top panel wasn't going to be easy because of the hard compounding, but it turned out very difficult.
No solution yet for the litho plate covered panel:



The stabs are looking reasonable good. The rivets are per documentation:



JG

Cowl and horizontal stabilizer plugs are done and sent master mold maker Vic for the first pulls!


JG

The first molds arrived yesterday: Cowl and Horizontal stabilizer.



With the cowl and stabilizer,


I can go on with the fuselage construction.
The prototype will be a Mk XI (deep cowl and smooth windscreen)



JG