Pure Gold
From the beginning of this project we have used very careful analysis of what parts we have available, what drawings are available, and what additional technical information is available. The reverse is also true, and this is where I spend a lot of my time. As the years pass and the project advances, the amount of parts and information required is reduced, and by seeking the detailed items that are needed to complete the Typhoon puzzle, we can make significant advancement on our goal of preserving 100% of the Typhoon’s design.
When I felt there was enough information to start the project, there were still some pretty large gaps preventing the complete rebuild of the Typhoon’s airframe. The largest missing detail was the Typhoon’s wings, the Germans were very efficient at picking up crashed components on the surface to be sent for scrap (and the wings nearly always remained on the surface during a crash), and the British were very efficient at scrapping everything made of aluminum! Only by chance did MN235 survive, and it represented the only complete set of wings from which to gather information. Without going too far into the wing discussion, we had originally set out on the long road to reverse engineering MN235’s wing through the initial phase of 3D scanning, but then managed to acquire the majority of the closed structure for the wing from a crash recovered gem located in 2016.
While our drawings, 3D scan and main wing components made for massive design gaps to be filled, there were still a few wing areas missing; fortunately most of this information is open for inspection through the undercarriage bay and the gun doors. My recent trip to Holland and France, as well as the generosity of some old friends, have made for more significant advancement in this area.
One of the key areas of missing information was the landing gear linkage and undercarriage girder; we have absolute minimal engineering information for these areas, and had zero surviving parts. During this trip I was able to purchase a recovered landing gear leg that included the entire linkage assembly from the aircraft, an assembly extended right to the complex forward end assembly of the undercarriage girder! The component are on their way to us now, along with the gear leg, and will close out a long search for this information, and allow for the reverse engineering process to begin!
As a bonus, there was even an intact spar joint, and some of the leading edge fuel tank attachment brackets still there.
Linkage assembly removed for shippment.
The other key area of the Typhoon’s structure that is a bit tricky is the rear-monocoque section. As many of you know, our designer Martin Oldfield as working on this area. To complete the design work, there are a few closed areas that are nearly impossible to access without significant disassembly of an original section. To make matters worse, the Tempest has some differences in the area that would need to be compared to Typhoon parts to ensure the new work would be true to the Typhoon’s design. Well, this was the unexpected surprise of the trip! One of our friends in Normandy showed me a pile of recovered sheet metal parts that I had not seen during my last visit. In this pile, there were several broken sections that I was able to quickly identify as the hidden structural area! Not only are these areas hidden from normal inspection, but they also support the all-important elevator lever! The kindness of Jean-Pierre to provide these parts to us is sincerely appreciated.
In the same group of parts was a part of the rudder spar that was still attached to the rear monocoque section. The importance of this piece is that it not only provides some additional rudder assembly information, but it also gives us a complete rudder locating hinge point from which to work! Gold! And then…. there were also two intact elevator hinge brackets and a complete mass balance assembly! These represent so much of what we needed to get JP843 back in the air.
Now returning to missing wing information. While the inner six feet of wing is missing from our surviving wing structure, this area is taken up primarily by the open gear bay and the previously mentioned undercarriage girder. The forward spar in this area is completely accessible for measurements, but the rear is covered by a closing panel and would be difficult to inspect. I noticed that there was a considerable part of rear spar attached to some cockpit structure during my visit to France 5 years ago, and very kindly Jean-Pierre put these aside for me to pick up during this trip. It is expected that the information from these parts will allow us to reverse engineer nearly everything needed to re-build the inner 6 feet of rear spar.
And the last key piece that we have is certainly not much to look at, but it is VERY important! The wings each have four spar attachment points to which they connect to the cockpit section, and for some reason, the front spar, lower fitting has evaded us for many years. Our friend Pierre Ben, also in France, very kindly provided this critical component for us to work with. Having this, allows us to finally start piecing together the front wing spar assembly.
As you can see, we’ve really managed to source parts that will fill in significant gaps in information. Without the hard work and generosity of the gents who have helped us during this trip, finding this information could well have taken many more years; thank you all very much!
I estimate that now we have, or have the capability to complete 98% of the Typhoon’s airframe, a very significant advancement for Typhoon Legacy! Pure Gold!