12' DH Vampire

[andy johnson]

After putting the Victor away for a couple of years I decided to look for something new to build ,I am a big fan of the earlier jets so after a long talk with Richard from Falcon Aviation I have decided to build a large Vampire. I looked around at plans and kits that are available but the biggest I could find was 9' 6" span .I wanted to build one that would fly on a 160 turbine but would have a light wing loading so Richard set about designing and cutting out a kit of parts for one at 12' span ,I hope to get it out at about 70 1b giving me 1-2 power to weight . the kit arrived last week and was spread out on the bench ready to start

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[andy johnson]

next the parts were dry fitted together to see if all the parts fitted

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[andy johnson]

after a couple of small alterations the parts fit well so the fuz has started to be glued up and stringers going in , I intend to add extra balsa stringers where needed before sheeting . the bricks will be removed before sheeting

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[Mike altham]

Very nice, always fancied a large Vampire.

[Jason Griffiths]

Hello Andy,

I am looking forward to seeing this build thread

[andy johnson]

This week has seen the first wing glued together, Richard has some great little clamps that he cuts to be used with elastic bands they make it a lot easier to build and keep straight.

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[andy johnson]

A lot of the balsa stringers are now in the fuzz ,the top hatch now needs cutting out so I can get inside to fit the engine and fuel tanks , once I done this I can order the tail pipe for the engine , I am putting the engine as far forwards as possible to help with the C+G also I have room to fit 2x 2 litre tanks on the C+G , the nose section has been left open until I get the retract unit .Most Vampires come out very tail heavy so I’m trying hard to get all the weight as far forwards as I can .
I intend to get inside the fuzz with a cutting disc to remove as much unneeded wood as I can behind the C+G ,I intend to fly it on a Wren 160 so I need to keep control over the weight where I can.

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[Alan Cantwell 1131]

Looking good Andy, builds fast doesnt it

[David Brown]

Looking great Andy, looking forward to seeing it progress.

Dave

[andy johnson]

Lucky for me my mate George who is retired is working on it with me as I want it finished and flying through all the paperwork by June .I have been refinishing my old Whitley bomber for a Muesum ,they have already got my old Wellington Bomber and a 17ft Lancaster ,these have taken all my time since the end of last season . I hope to deliver the last batch of models in 2 weeks to free up some space in my workshop .

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[andy johnson]

The second wing has now been built up to the same stage as the first, the wing tubes have been cut to size and dry fitted. After checking the wash out, dihedral and alignment the tubes are the next thing to glue in place

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the top hatch has been cut out of the fuz now that everything has been locked and shouldn't move

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[andy johnson]

Today the tail plane has been framed,the elevator will be cut in half and have 2 servos to keep with in the LMA paperwork

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[andy johnson]

both wings have now been sheeted on top back to the Aileron cut out point , in the second picture the 3 degrees of washout is very visible .

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[andy johnson]

the tail plane has now been sheeted on top back to the elevator hinge point and the booms have been started ,this is its first fit together dry to see how things lined up .so far 119 hours have been clocked up on the build ,we are keeping a record of the hours to see how long it takes .

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[andy johnson]

A small step back before going forwards again, we decided that the booms would be difficult to get the shape needed and to keep them light enough so they have been binned and a trip back to Richards for a rethink and redesign. What he came up with was far better and half the weight, also I was not happy with the way the booms fixed to the wing but now they lock in to the rear spar and rear tube in the wing, it’s a shame to waste wood but sometimes it happens when building models this way. I don’t want it to be a flying block of lead so keeping the weight of the back is important but at the same time keeping it strong.
the booms are built on ali tube to keep them straight ,these will be removed along with the inner ply tube guides later.

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[andy johnson]

We took the Vampire to our club meeting where it got inspected ,it was the first time we got to see it in one bit ,the booms were only rested on but it showed us just how big it is , now that it has been inspected we can get on with the sheeting and control surfaces

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[Richard Hughes]

I have to say that the photos really don't do it justice.... in the "flesh" its HUGE! and will only grow as the skeleton gets "fleshed out"....
I am much happier with the new boom design now - I take it as a matter of pride that I consider any design as an on-going process and must be allowed to change and "evolve" and constantly improve. A good example of this is our Fournier - even after 10 years of producing it, I am always looking for ways of improving it and so its now in its 8th evolution and flies better than ever! (but I don't doubt that it wont be the last version!)
Anyway, I think I will now take many of the developments and improvements from this kit and apply them to the smaller Vampire kit!
Keep up the good work guys!

[David Brown]

Looking great Andy

Dave

[andy johnson]

The retract units arrived on friday from Dave Brown , large and very well built

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[andy johnson]

the woodwork to hold the nose retract is now in and I can now finish off the stringers around the nose area , there will be a box above the nose leg for the batterys and the very front nose cone will come off above the unit so that I can get nose weight as far forward as posible .

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