Large Model Association Forum

Well done David for getting the Provost built so quick, and also to D.J. For test flying her, and also all involved, David is now stripping the model down and all parts to be moulded are being sent to me, to be used as plugs to make the new moulds from, so all being well kits should be ready in January. Well done Guys

Chris.

www.williswarbirds.co.uk

Hi David

Looks really nice,should be a nice size to fit in car.Looking forward to getting my hands on one as soon as they are available.Well done.

Graham

Thanks Graham, I have ordered 10 sets of wing kits for delivery mid to late Jan for the first batch, as we have had a good response to this model. Chris should have all the other stuff done by then, retracts are sorted in either air or electric from Premier UK available through Kingfisher as well as the custom tank set. Only the pricing to sort out then. If you want one early next year then contact Chris to reserve one.

Dave

Can you give us a guide price?

Hi Terry, talking with Chris I think I am safe in saying the kit with all fiber glass moldings etc, ( Nose cone, air intakes, tip tanks and canopy) with foam core flying surfaces will be around £430.00 - £450.00, std retracts (air) oleo's wheels & brakes plus control set for around £420.00 - £450.00. There are few prices we have not confirmed yet like the jet pipe which is a special. The fuel tanks are extra from kingfisher, again the price is yet to be confirmed.

Dave

With the bit of time I have over the holiday break I have started to attack the Jetwelt JP I swapped earlier this year. She's seen a lot of use and is basically in need of a major overhaul. From the outside she looked great with loads of scale detail but the inside has seen a lot of changes with bits & bobs stuck everywhere and over 8lb of sheet lead and wheel weights plastered all over the inside of the nose cone to the point that I have had to cut the nose cone to get anything out. Other issues are the main wing tube supports which have come unstuck to the fuzz as well as the long fuzz supports. I wanted to do a scale nose cone with the lift up section so this is not too bad to of had to cut it at this time. The model is over 20kg registered and I hope to get it under that limit if possible. The nose wheel is to be re positioned further forward to its scale location and a new retract to allow for this. The mains are also 60mm too narrow in track but it will be too much work to fix that as it was a design fault from day one (I made the same error when drawing up the 1/6 scale plans, corrected now). The main units are OK but the wheels weigh a ton so they will be changed. To my surprise there is no back support for the retract mounts so I will have to fix that. I have ordered a new longer twin walled jet tube from Wren and hope to move the turbine further forward onto the c of g as with the 1/6th scale. Pics to follow.

Dave

Well 2013 did not finish without a bang, after a senior moment on my lathe the turret slammed in to the chuck at 2000 rpm and pretty much wrecked it. I have it back together now but it still needs more attention and parts are on order. This however gave john & I chance to build a second 1/6 scale JP fuselage to the amended drawings, all's gone well and after a couple of hrs its looking good. We have modified the former's to allow the Jet tube to be fitted & removed after the build and a revised nose wheel position for a more scale nose leg retracting forward as scale (the prototype retracted rearward using a std 90 degree retract). This will now go to Kingfisher for the fuel tank molds to be finalized before finishing. Chris has the amended plans & parts for molding so its moving towards the kit stage nicely and he is hoping to get it ready for the end of the month.
I hope 2014 is a better year than last year

Dave

Mazak?

Big bang eh? least yours is well used, i wrecked my colchester K2 on the 2nd day it was in, and i was green as can be with CNC, through a door close fault, and a tool i had not referenced, i hit the 3 jaw chuck at 2500 rpm, and--erm--bent it somewhat never been the same since

belting cncs at our place is a regualr occurance last one was the mazac fast turn, operator put a job in the wrong way round, now, THAT was a bang!!!! ho hum, hope the repair bills minimal, and if you want a decent repair bod, i have a number,

I am a millwright by trade & spent a lot of time on m/c tools early on so I can do most work, even had to learn a bit of elec stuff last year when a control board bit the dust, its a Hurco TM8 (one of the first in the country) and like you did the same thing one week into its life. That time it was a program error in the machine and was repaired by Hurco FOC and to be fair they have supported me and the machines with updates & training support even after 7 years.

Dave

Deposits are now being taken for the provost kits. Complete kit £450 this gets your build to the covering stage, (minus glues) ply, balsa construction with foam wings and tail parts, f/g tip tanks, nose cone, air intakes and top hatch, this is an introductory price only. £100 deposit will secure you a kit, the first batch will be ordered with slec next week while I sort other parts, kits ready by beginning of Feb please email me for more details at williswarbirds@icloud.com

Happy flying
Chris

So so tempting but I've got two jets started and another one to build already

Four is an even number

I have 3 jet tubes for the JP in stock along with another 3 on order to cover inquiries to date, as I have a close working relationship with Wren Turbines, (machining parts for their engines) I have struck up a deal to stock & sell Wren turbines as of this week. I have a couple of 80's in stock and 100's on order for mid Feb delivery along with a 180. All the usual warranties apply as if purchased from Wren direct. I only intent to stock the Turbo jets (not heli or turbo prop engines) and aim to keep a couple of each in stock at all time's. Prices will be as advertised on the Wren web site.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Sorry for being stupid but what is the name of your company? Do you have a website?

Kyle

I have been spending some time on the Jetwelt JP and its getting nearer completion. I have reinforced the main former across the fuselage due to age & fuel soaked wood and tied in the wing tubes to strengthen what I saw as a weak point. The nose has been cut as per scale to allow access to ballast batteries etc. A new nose retract was made to allow the wheel to retract more scale like and positive steering fitted, new front former's were fitted to strengthen the nose due to cutting it away.I removed 8 1/4 lb of lead and replaced it with just 2lb right up in the nose along with re-positioning the turbine (Wren 160 pro)over the c of g, bubble trap, pump, valves etc all moved up into the nose. A new jet pipe has also been fitted and 1/2 lb was saved in this area. In all the model now balances under 20kg. The final mod was to fit a rear support to the main undercarriage and re-glue all joints that had sprung due to the age of the model which was built in 2005. Next job is to spray up the inside to tidy up the hand paint job with heat resistant paint that spoils it, fit the new Lado electic gear door actuators (air rams removed) then start fitting it out for flying. I was thinking of converting all retracts to electric but it is not possible with present electric drives to do the nose retract angle, Paul at Kingfisher has the actuators in stock, they are programmable for delay up & down and single or double operation.

Dave

I have come to a halt on the Jetwelt Provost due to the main retracts being totally knackered, they are bent and twisted in all angles, I am amazed the plane has no major damage on it. I have no time to re-make them at present as I have been pushing on with the new retracts for the Willis Warbirds JP which is being released this week. I was not totally happy with the original design so I started again and basically miniaturized the 1/5th scale units that we already do. The result is a stronger & more reliable unit which is easier to adapt to different angles for different models whilst still using the same base parts. I used the same principle to do the Large units shown with it which are for Andy's new Vampire. The original design is shown in the bottom picture.

Dave

Now taking orders for the second batch, £450 introductory price.

Started on number 2 for John. It will be a lot easier with the new fiber glass parts supplied by Chris which fit a treat, also the jet tube does not have to be built in like the prototype. We have made the front open as full size to get batteries etc as far forward as possible and will be fitting the scale type nose unit & leg retracting forward 115 degrees as full size. The prototype had a std 90 degree retract with a sport trailing link retracting backward. I am working on the new nose leg at the moment now we have the fuzz main parts assembled.

Dave

More work done on the scale like nose leg, also added the direct steering bracket.
Dave