Home-built Spitfire

[rgmwa]

A bit long-winded but what an achievement. 

 

[skippydiesel]

Great guy! Love his passion. Video a bit long - only watched bits.😈

[onetrack]

That's the best video I've watched in ages, and I watched it right through!    Bob Deford is just an amazing bloke! I reckon there's probably another good video about the mechanic bloke who helped him build the Spitfire!

[Marty_d]

Watched this or something similar the other day.

Interesting structure, diagonal braced welded tube rectangular shape over a one piece wooden wing.

Kudos to him for using an Allison engine and 1:1 scale. Be bloody expensive to fly and maintain I reckon.

[onetrack]

Well, not as expensive as the real thing, as Bob pointed out. The high HP Merlins were very delicate pieces of highly-strung machinery, they needed constant mechanical attention, and valve lash adjustments on the Merlin were every 25 hrs, as well as re-tensioning head studs every 25 hrs. The Merlin was going well to reach 500 hrs before needing overhaul. A lot were shot at 250 hrs, especially if they operated in the desert, and weren't fitted with Vokes Aerovee filters.

 

As Bob pointed out, the Allison only needs valve lash adjustments every 200 hrs. The DC-3 prop and Hamilton Standard quick-feathering hydromatic propeller were a much cheaper option, than the Curtiss electric propeller on the genuine Spitfire.

Yes, it's only 3 blades instead of the 4 blade version on the genuine article, but who's going to make a hullaballoo about that? It's like show visitors complaining that your restoration isn't a genuine factory colour.

[facthunter]

The merlin is the only motor of it's type to NOT have rollers in the cam followers. It's not uncommon to scuff them on start up.  the Curtis does suffer from water leaks a bit around the cylinders.  Nev