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Went to England to see a friend, and got involved with a 1942 Avro Lancaster.

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electrondady1:
there is an airport in the town next to my town and years ago there was an air show including and Avro Lancaster and a Spitfire. they did a fly over my town . those Merlins have a unique sound. took my boy over to see what we could see.

Mary B:
I get to hear this(and others!) fly over pretty often. You can NOT miss the sound of those big engines. Fagan's Fighters is the museum if you want to see his other stuff. I did the radio restoration on the B25! Those things were not made for full sized adults LOL I had to remake wiring harnesses to the cockpit and run them... it was a tight squeeze for me! I am 5'11" and NOT skinny!

tanner0441:
Hi

I grew up for in Birmingham and 5 or 6 miles from where I lived was Castle Bromwich (Pronounced Brommich) air field, where a lot of these things flew from and I believe were made. Across the road from the air field was a scrap yard, Minworth Metals,  absolutely stuffed with the things. As a kid it was the ultimate playground, then as the interest in radio increased it was a race to get the radios out before they fell victims to the companies wreckers, and smashed into bits small enough to go into the furnaces. I don't remember seeing any engines those that had the wings on had no engines or nacelles. I remember thinking that the aluminium skin was very thin and all the framework was covered in yellow paint which I later found out was some chromate or other to reduce corrosion.

I bet they wish they hadn't melted them all now..

Brian

clockmanFRA:
Avionics is not my subject.

But my good pal showed me the air frame section of the works and they now have very sturdy RSJ frames for the wings and other parts of the air frame. They had just received new tail upright sections and the main wing tips sections.

And i understood these were made at the same time as the Canadian Lancaster's, as it was cheaper option to have 4 made, and nice they were.
 While i was there they were fitting the Nav lights and drilling the new transparent polymer covers. And also the rear facing main wing tips identifying lights, ie 3 colours bulbs that they would use to aircraft inter chat to each other without using the radio.
Original identifying lights replaced with LED fittings said Spen," hell of a job as the original were bulbs just packed into position with any old paper/card they had to hand at the time".

Being inside and scrambling over the main wing spars, it was obvious that the main fuselage was requiring attention. About every 24 inches down its length there are rolled formed fuselage frames/bulkheads, there not fancy or complicated but all will need remaking new.

 "blimey" i said,  "but every one is differing diameter/oval size."   It seems that they are going to make wood templates from each original so new aluminium frames can be made exactly as the old.   Now chaps, to me that looks like one hell of a job.

"Spen" i said what about all the new wiring your putting in. "not really a problem" said Spen, as the fuselage is in sections and can be just un bolted and my new wring unplugged and refitted into the new",





Above new lights and fittings into the new wing tips that are stored upright before fitting to the plane.    "Managed, after much profanity to get the Nav lights fitted and connected, " said Spen.

This internal fuselage photo shows the internal frames/bulkheads, each one is different and all will need re-making.

clockmanFRA:
Spen has been doing his magic a few years now. I have lots of photos he shared with me.





Good to see his new young apprentice helping with the Lancaster.

"On Jane this morning, U/S No4 Rad Temp gauge.
Removed, tested and refitted by our work experience lad, under my supervision.
He did a good job too "

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