Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

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RogerKnights
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Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby RogerKnights » June 28th, 2017, 5:01 pm

Perhaps this is an odd choice for a scale study. To begin with the aircraft is not widely documented, although I have excellent detailed three views and virtually all the photographs taken. I'm still short of a reliable cockpit shot - the one I have appears to have been taken through a sock, but most of is is reliably guessable as it had the standard RAF six instrument cluster as normal, plus engine instruments and a few other as yet mystery gauges. I can't have a full cockpit anyway, as the nose tapers sharply and the tank has to go somewhere. My principle interest here is the simulation of actual geodetics, rather than strips of balsa stuck over a glassed balsa or foam wing. I drew out the geodetics to the correct pattern, which were then laser cut from 3mm ply andglued on where the contacted the ribs and spars. Despite their skeletal appearance, there was an instant lock and the wing, with its 2 degrees of washout is rigid and strong. Of course, the original Wellesley had no ribs as such as the geodetic panels haled the shape without any. Bit ambitious for me that, so in went 23 ribs per wing. The first wing is almost complete - see photo showing trial mated with the fuselage to get the wing tubes spot on. The second pic shows all geodetics in place on the top surface.
The undercarriage has been giving headaches, as unusually the shock absorption is taken with a sliding plate within the wing with no oleos as such, due to second support strut having to be hinged on the same line. On version 5 at the moment and THINK I'm getting somewhere.
More soon as the second wing goes together and the whole airframe can be finished off. Still got the bomb panniers to do, but they're on the way also. Why didn't I choose something simple?
Attachments
Fuselage-wing.jpg
Fuselage-wing.jpg (141.3 KiB) Viewed 8360 times
Wing.jpg
Wing.jpg (149.86 KiB) Viewed 8360 times

Philip Goff
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Re: Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby Philip Goff » June 29th, 2017, 10:43 am

Roger,
Great stuff, it is nice to see such an obscure aircraft modelled.

Regards Phil G.

RogerKnights
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Re: Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby RogerKnights » June 29th, 2017, 8:18 pm

Thanks Phillip - It's the rarer ones that I find a challenge. No kits, no ready made bits. I'm using an Evolution 9-99 radial to give the scale, of 1/5.4th. Wingspan is 13ft 8". It could well be a boring aeroplane to fly, but should look well in the air.

Next up is another rarely modelled but reasonably prolific RAF front line fighter - an Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIa. It's the exposed 14 cylinder radial that might put some folk off! I have already built this complex dummy engine,- if I left it to the end I'd never have got it done.

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paul needham
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Re: Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby paul needham » July 1st, 2017, 8:51 pm

Thats looking good Roger, nice to see some out of the ordinary planes being built. Would like to meet you sometime if you go to Cosford or any other shows as I currently own Luscombe G-BRSW which was one of your projects several years back. Regards, Paul.

RogerKnights
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Re: Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby RogerKnights » July 2nd, 2017, 7:19 am

How about that, Paul! Good to hear old Bloody Mary is still chugging through the air. Now retired, I have had to abandon all full-size aircraft ownership - the last two Stearmans rather finished me off, both financially and in terns of the energy I'm prepared tp expend single-handedly building a couple of monsters like that - albeit they are acknowledged as among the two best in the UK.
I have graciously allowed some other chaps to pay the bills on them now. I will try to get to Cosford, although it ain't just down the road for me and I am awash with projects - busier than ever. I'll certainly be at Elvington in August, if that works for you. Ros

Timothy Huff
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Re: Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby Timothy Huff » September 18th, 2019, 8:20 pm

[quote="RogerKnights"]…. Of course, the original Wellesley had no ribs as such as the geodetic panels haled the shape without any. Bit ambitious for me that, so in went 23 ribs per wing.....

Interesting, and a little surprising. I'm not familiar with the Wellesley, so much as the Wellington geodetics, but by the time the Wellington was built there are some quasi-ribs (for want of better description) which follow the upper and lower surfaces of the wing, but which do not impinge on the interior of the wing, as well as the heavy tubular ribs at the wing-root, and either side of the nacelles, where they bolt into butterfly fittings in turn bolted to the nacelle. So if you're correct about the lack of ribs, that would seem to be something that came about on the Wellington as a consequence of experience gained from the Wellesley...

Absolutely beautiful treatment of the Wellesley's geodetics, I can't wait to see this flying!

image of the butterfly nacelle fitting to which the tubular ribs of wellington wings were bolted:

butterfly.jpg
butterfly.jpg (61.86 KiB) Viewed 6947 times

Timothy Huff
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Re: Vickers Wellesley 1/5.4th scale

Postby Timothy Huff » June 7th, 2020, 12:07 am

Bumped for an update! I'd love to see how this is progressing!


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