Roger Bale's 1/4 Swordfish

[stuart knowles 1611]

Is anyone still in touch with Roger Bale? In happier times, this was his quarter scale Swordfish which flew around 20 years ago

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I don't know what happenened in the interim but it came to me around 10 years ago when it looked like this

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Over those years I have looked at it few times and each time there was something that I didn't have the answer to - and back into storage it went. At the turn of this year something had to be done. It was time to 'kill or cure'
The most intractable problem was the undercarriage which had to support the weight of a 40lb airframe without there being a solid cross axle between the wheels. Some stainless tubing and TIG welding from a mate who knows about these things came up with a potential solution and the rest was straightforward aeromodelling - just a lot of it!

The repairs are intended to make it a useable model so its a bit wrinkly in places but it will do. It has flown before the paint was applied and now waits for the final crew detailing before calling it done.

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Its never going to be aerobatic but will 'preambulate with purpose'. To add some interest the flag can be raised in flight and the Nav will wave to the assembled crowds.

Regards to all

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Stu Knowles

[stuart knowles 1611]

Oops, the end of the last post got missed off.

Unarmed for the moment, there will eventually be a torpedo (naturally) but also eight underwing rocket projectiles as an alternative. There Stringbag is one of the few aeroplanes which outlived its intended replacement the Albacore. I was also surprised to learn that they were still in use post D Day roaming the Channel looking for u boats and e boats when, in a screaming dive probably exceeding 100 miles per hour the RP's would have been delivered on target.
Brave men all.

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regards to all

Stu Knowles

[Cary Bailey]

Stu, great job resurrecting a lovely aircraft!
Cary

[stuart knowles 1611]

Thanks Cary

[Pat Marsden]

Ian Turney White visited Roger recently and keeps in touch with him