Had the honour of visiting the Horsa a couple of weeks ago and met a couple of the gentlemen beavering away at the museum. Keep up your excellent work gents.
I visited a few months ago and saw the marvellous work you are all doing. Definitely a labour of love! Interesting to see how the stringers are fixed to the ribs.
I really enjoyed listening and watching. Very nice to learn about all the details that one needs to pay attention to in these restorations. Keep up the great work, and keep sharing!
I noticed that @5.30 or so, the Horsa has drawn blood! I often have the same problem, and say that if I haven't bled into or onto it, the job doesn't go right!
Hi - actually, they did ! Italeri made a 1/72 Horsa kit years ago and subsequently licensed it to both Revell & Airfix. It's a bit dated but with care makes up into a reasonable model & can be found one-bay for around £15-£20.....👍
Aerodux does the work. I like the smell of it! I scarf plywood 1:15 and spuce in spars 1: 20 This glider is "a little bit" larger however then the Ka 6, Ka 8 etc where I work normally on. Good work! I "feel" you working overthere, strange isn't it?
Thanks ! 1:15 was used on the Horsa in WW2 ;we use 1:5 to preserve the original ply. We love finding the original scarfjoints on the big Horsa panels, they're almost invisible. At peak WW2 production, the Flexo Plywoods factory near Harris Lebus was producing 82 miles of scarf-jointing per month ( but they were using specialist machinery ! )
5:30 Wouldn't a small plane such as a #4 or a block plane be better than using a chisel? So long as it's sharp, a significant amount of material can be removed.
That's a fair question and in fact ( as can be seen in the video ) we use various types of tool, depending on the material. The older plywood is very brittle and often rotten ; to avoid damage the very fine belt sander is best. The wing mounting (spruce) is very hard indeed so the big chisel gives the bestresult. We don't tend to use a small block plane but a Stanley #4 or 5 is often used to scarf the 'new old stock' plywood. The need to conserve the historic original ply means that we 'method-assess' every piece of work. There are times when a good quality1/2" chisel gives the best control on anawkward scarf joint.
@@martinbull5307 The use of the stapler for temporary fixating looked scary, although I suspect it is good enough for a non-flying repair. Borrowing from composites I have used two sided vacuum bagging in order to press the patch into position while the glue sets. You wil not get a perfect vacuum, but that is not a problem since it is not a composite repair. A thin metal plate insertred into the vacuum bag (with proper mold release can serve as a temporary mold, giving the broken plyvood it's shape back until the glue has set.
@@AntaresFilm We can absolutely guarantee that our Horsa will never fly ! In fact, the probablity of a 3.5 ton unpowered wooden transport aircraft ever being allowed to take to the air is very remote.......
@@martinbull5307 I agree with your points. By the way, in composite repairs it is common to scarf to approximately 20 mm per fabric layer (ca. 0.3 mm thickness). This is done using an air powered circular sander. This is, off course, an aquired skill, but it is amazing with how much control a trained craftsman (or -woman) can work on the flexible composite laminate. Trying to work composites with a chisel would, off course, very quickly lead to a very blunt chisel. How much of the Horsa do you have available, and to which state do you hope to get it?
@@AntaresFilm We have a complete, 75% original restored Mk II nose/cockpit section. Also the complete centre fuselage Mk I section, again 75% original with interior stencils & markings intact, plus other original parts on display eg mainskid, main undercarriage wheels/tyres, original aileron and complete elevator with original stencils. We have no plans ( or space !) to effect a full replica build of wings and tail section. We're working to restore the fuselage to a coherent display standard looking as close as possible to the state in which it left the factory in 1944.
Preserving a piece of history that should be remembered for those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Had the honour of visiting the Horsa a couple of weeks ago and met a couple of the gentlemen beavering away at the museum. Keep up your excellent work gents.
I visited a few months ago and saw the marvellous work you are all doing. Definitely a labour of love! Interesting to see how the stringers are fixed to the ribs.
I really enjoyed listening and watching. Very nice to learn about all the details that one needs to pay attention to in these restorations. Keep up the great work, and keep sharing!
Keep up the good work lads .❤
I noticed that @5.30 or so, the Horsa has drawn blood! I often have the same problem, and say that if I haven't bled into or onto it, the job doesn't go right!
Yes - these youngsters tend to get a bit overenthusiastic......😉
Thanks :)
Thanks.
Greetings from Australia. I grew up on Airfix models. All were favourites especillay the Mosquito. Damn shame a Horsa was never made huh?
Hi - actually, they did ! Italeri made a 1/72 Horsa kit years ago and subsequently licensed it to both Revell & Airfix. It's a bit dated but with care makes up into a reasonable model & can be found one-bay for around £15-£20.....👍
Aerodux does the work. I like the smell of it!
I scarf plywood 1:15 and spuce in spars 1: 20 This glider is "a little bit" larger however then the Ka 6, Ka 8 etc where I work normally on.
Good work! I "feel" you working overthere, strange isn't it?
Thanks ! 1:15 was used on the Horsa in WW2 ;we use 1:5 to preserve the original ply. We love finding the original scarfjoints on the big Horsa panels, they're almost invisible. At peak WW2 production, the Flexo Plywoods factory near Harris Lebus was producing 82 miles of scarf-jointing per month ( but they were using specialist machinery ! )
👍👍👍
5:30 Wouldn't a small plane such as a #4 or a block plane be better than using a chisel?
So long as it's sharp, a significant amount of material can be removed.
That's a fair question and in fact ( as can be seen in the video ) we use various types of tool, depending on the material. The older plywood is very brittle and often rotten ; to avoid damage the very fine belt sander is best. The wing mounting (spruce) is very hard indeed so the big chisel gives the bestresult. We don't tend to use a small block plane but a Stanley #4 or 5 is often used to scarf the 'new old stock' plywood. The need to conserve the historic original ply means that we 'method-assess' every piece of work. There are times when a good quality1/2" chisel gives the best control on anawkward scarf joint.
@@martinbull5307 The use of the stapler for temporary fixating looked scary, although I suspect it is good enough for a non-flying repair. Borrowing from composites I have used two sided vacuum bagging in order to press the patch into position while the glue sets. You wil not get a perfect vacuum, but that is not a problem since it is not a composite repair. A thin metal plate insertred into the vacuum bag (with proper mold release can serve as a temporary mold, giving the broken plyvood it's shape back until the glue has set.
@@AntaresFilm We can absolutely guarantee that our Horsa will never fly ! In fact, the probablity of a 3.5 ton unpowered wooden transport aircraft ever being allowed to take to the air is very remote.......
@@martinbull5307 I agree with your points. By the way, in composite repairs it is common to scarf to approximately 20 mm per fabric layer (ca. 0.3 mm thickness). This is done using an air powered circular sander. This is, off course, an aquired skill, but it is amazing with how much control a trained craftsman (or -woman) can work on the flexible composite laminate. Trying to work composites with a chisel would, off course, very quickly lead to a very blunt chisel. How much of the Horsa do you have available, and to which state do you hope to get it?
@@AntaresFilm We have a complete, 75% original restored Mk II nose/cockpit section. Also the complete centre fuselage Mk I section, again 75% original with interior stencils & markings intact, plus other original parts on display eg mainskid, main undercarriage wheels/tyres, original aileron and complete elevator with original stencils. We have no plans ( or space !) to effect a full replica build of wings and tail section. We're working to restore the fuselage to a coherent display standard looking as close as possible to the state in which it left the factory in 1944.