That certainly works, and we ought to know, but it only works when you can get in with the hammers to deal with the contraction caused by the welding. The little hole-finders are simple to make and work really well so if the holes are around the edges of the panels that is probably the way to go. Will the old panels not fix? Not heard of panels that won't fix...Can you not use the old skins as templates ? Or Tig weld the old rivet holes and re drill ? A lot of work I know
The Barracuda Project
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Renegadenemo
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Re: The Barracuda Project
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
Re: The Barracuda Project
The old panels are well past it, having been bashed, scratched, drilled, re-drilled many times. There's no historic significance to them to retain them but they will be used as templates to cut nice shiny new ones. I wanted to ensure the new holes I drilled matched the frame as closely as possible as the original holes in the aluminium have some stretch marks and ovalling (is that a word?) to them.
As a novice hobby MIG welder TIG repairs are beyond me, I'm afraid. The hole-finder tool seems to be a great solution, thanks Team!
Paul.
As a novice hobby MIG welder TIG repairs are beyond me, I'm afraid. The hole-finder tool seems to be a great solution, thanks Team!
Paul.
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Renegadenemo
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Re: The Barracuda Project
Bad news... The Barra' Project is dead - they've cancelled it.
In a nutshell, after two years of top work they decided we absolutely must be signed up to a formal contract, which in itself wasn't a show-stopper, but their opening offer certainly was. It basically labelled us sub-contractors and obliged us to pay to insure their chunks of wrecked aeroplane for £50k so that we could work on it for free! Even had that been a reasonable suggestion, which it clearly wasn't, how were we supposed to pay for it?
I went to the boss and said it was untenable in that condition but all I got was a message to say that we were sub-contractors therefore we had to comply and that the contract was attached so would I please sign and return it - it was the same contract.
This time I pointed out that they didn't pay our wages so they couldn't place conditions on us like that so it was time to meet around the table to thrash out a contract that would suit everyone but instead they said they were coming for their plane... It's a most baffling situation, that they would destroy their own project to fill such a glaring gap in their collection without trying everything to save it and we were certainly up for exploring all options but there you have it.
Doesn't make a lot of difference to us, the Barra' crew is now on Bluebird, and once the plane is gone we have a test cell for our Orph' engines so that was timed rather nicely but it's quite a sad day for the aviation enthusiasts and everyone who's granddad flew a Barra' in WWII.
In a nutshell, after two years of top work they decided we absolutely must be signed up to a formal contract, which in itself wasn't a show-stopper, but their opening offer certainly was. It basically labelled us sub-contractors and obliged us to pay to insure their chunks of wrecked aeroplane for £50k so that we could work on it for free! Even had that been a reasonable suggestion, which it clearly wasn't, how were we supposed to pay for it?
I went to the boss and said it was untenable in that condition but all I got was a message to say that we were sub-contractors therefore we had to comply and that the contract was attached so would I please sign and return it - it was the same contract.
This time I pointed out that they didn't pay our wages so they couldn't place conditions on us like that so it was time to meet around the table to thrash out a contract that would suit everyone but instead they said they were coming for their plane... It's a most baffling situation, that they would destroy their own project to fill such a glaring gap in their collection without trying everything to save it and we were certainly up for exploring all options but there you have it.
Doesn't make a lot of difference to us, the Barra' crew is now on Bluebird, and once the plane is gone we have a test cell for our Orph' engines so that was timed rather nicely but it's quite a sad day for the aviation enthusiasts and everyone who's granddad flew a Barra' in WWII.
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
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quicksilver-wsr
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Re: The Barracuda Project
Terrible news - really awful!
The Barracuda is one of those characterful planes I call "ugly-beautiful" ... I feel the same about the Albacore and the Gannet as well, to name but two (both Fairey types, coincidentally) ... it's such a pity this has happened.
I can only say that I have experienced similar situations myself over the years. You are working with someone and it all seems great and you both seem to want the same thing. Then, quite out of the blue, it suddenly goes pear-shaped, and you wonder why the hell it had to go wrong.
You guys will bounce back from this. You have Bluebird K7 to work on. It doesn't get any better than that.
My commiserations all the same.
Nigel
The Barracuda is one of those characterful planes I call "ugly-beautiful" ... I feel the same about the Albacore and the Gannet as well, to name but two (both Fairey types, coincidentally) ... it's such a pity this has happened.
I can only say that I have experienced similar situations myself over the years. You are working with someone and it all seems great and you both seem to want the same thing. Then, quite out of the blue, it suddenly goes pear-shaped, and you wonder why the hell it had to go wrong.
You guys will bounce back from this. You have Bluebird K7 to work on. It doesn't get any better than that.
My commiserations all the same.
Nigel
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Renegadenemo
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Re: The Barracuda Project
We're absolutely fine, it's 100% their loss. It's just a bit puzzling, is all. Never mind.You guys will bounce back from this. You have Bluebird K7 to work on. It doesn't get any better than that.
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
Re: The Barracuda Project
Unbelieveable! In fact, so unbelievable as to arouse strong suspicion of underhand dealings and a hidden agenda. 
Tell them they have 24 hours to collect their bits of Barracuda and after that you will be charging rent for the space being occupied.
Tell them they have 24 hours to collect their bits of Barracuda and after that you will be charging rent for the space being occupied.
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
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quicksilver-wsr
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Re: The Barracuda Project
You put in a big chunk of time - to little avail - when you could have been doing something else. That was my point.Renegadenemo wrote:We're absolutely fine, it's 100% their loss. It's just a bit puzzling, is all. Never mind.
But, as you say, it's their loss not yours.
It will be interesting to see how FAAM present this to the wider aviation community.
N.
Re: The Barracuda Project
Or how they intend to find people with the same skill set at the same level who are able to form and weld the particular alloy used on the aircraft... And do it on a volunteer basis. I wouldn't be holding my breath, but good luck to them all the same.
"You can screw a man down until he takes to drinking......take me to the fantastic place..."
Re: The Barracuda Project
Just been on the RNAS yeovilton website. It's still bragging that the Barra is still with the BBP. Perhaps a phone call to them to have it removed ?
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Renegadenemo
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Re: The Barracuda Project
The decision is fundamentally the wrong one so we will be challenging it.
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.