My FE2b reproduction..

[DamianL]

Hi John

One of my interests is learning more about how the aircraft were manufactured, how designers approached solutions to light-weight / high strength assembly or other problems, & executed these solutions. I am also planning to build replica aircraft & am trying to collate as much information on building as possible.

I love the amount of detail you are going into. The smaller fittings illustrated so far, that the eye skips over when looking at the complete aircraft, are works of art. With wood/wire construction they no doubt form the most critical part of WW1 aircraft fabrication (apart from some basic woodworking skills).

This is a great thread & even more detail would be great. Some "how-to" info & tips for the mere mortals who are not master craftsmen would also be wonderful. I would be interested in hearing about the processes & methodology you used in creating some of these parts, whether cast and machined or fully fabricated from billet, reverse engineered or from factory drawings etc., and I'm sure some of the other constructors or budding builders would be interested in this level of detail as well (presuming that you have the time & patience of course).

I find the details on assembly jigs very interesting, which serve to document a critical assembly process which is not apparent when looking at the finished aircraft.

Love your work

Damian Latimer

[John McKenzie]

Hi Damian, did send you a long message but got logged off and it was lost. Been on to the moderator and hopefully things are sorted now.......Glad you are finding all the small parts of interest, now with your feedback I will continue in this vein.....It is of course a fact that these old aeroplanes are composed mainly of very small seemingly insignificant parts......much of which tends to be rather a long hard slog to make, with, at the end of the day, not very much to show for your efforts......However, when you come to the assembly stages you will find that, all the parts being to hand, it will progress rapidly, without long waits, while all the small parts are made.
This I realise does not suit everyone, (there's not much cockpit time) but it is the way I work......basically, first I do ALL of the metal work which can be easily stored and still leaves plenty of room to work in.....once this comparitively dirty work is out of the way I then transfer over to woodwork, which needs to be kept separate from metal work in my view. With all the wooden parts completed, assembly or sub-assemblys can then take place with everything to hand.
First thing you have to decide on is likely to be the motor.....most people are not going to be able to go original, this is purely a budgetry thing and has no bearing on the quality of the re-production/replica you produce and of course your own personal "useage" requirements.
If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask. (BTW see "my Be2b reproduction" thread, 15 ago approx. on replica aeroplane listings, for additional info). Hope this is of some use, I can do you a sketch or two if/as necessary.
Regards John

[John McKenzie]

Hi, thanks for that....John

[John McKenzie]

[John McKenzie]

Top pulley bracket assemblies are shown at bottom of picture.....Within the casings are single pulleys...a small red fibre piece lays (not shown ) within the outer walls of the casing in the area where the cables exit...Basicaly this all serves to streamline pulley with integral guard and keeps it all clean...Ball bearings used throughout . All these casings were originaly "Dural'.spinnings.....However , due to tooling costs I machined them from Dural blanks / (cut bar stock ). Bracket part is fabrication of machined parts..HT steel ....The original R.A.Factory drawings did not detail pulleys as they were standard (Old spec. ) A.G.S. parts and so it became necessary , allong with many many other parts , to obtain these seperately or to use as with photos , my own archive....No other sources being forthcomming at the time....JM

[John McKenzie]

[John McKenzie]

[John McKenzie]

From the rudder bar , cables pass back to the first rudder pulleys ,located on inverted cone brackets , just ahead of the auxhilary petrol tank. ..From here they exit the nacelle and pass to the second set , positioned on the rear spar joint of lower centre section to outer pannels...adjacent to the outrigger front attachment.....Now clear of the airscrew , the cables continue safely back to the actual rudder . (and semi-steerable tail skid .).....JM

[John McKenzie]

[John McKenzie]

Cone part is Dural' machined from billet..Was originaly 12 swg Dural' spinning..The pulleys are carried on a High Tensile steel ( S96 ) spindle . The threaded portion passes through a hole in the top (truncated cone ) face , up to the shoulder...which is "snugged " to the cone with a short pin ....The whole being secured by a 1/2"BSF nut and through pin....This is a "Double" pulley arrangement ......See later photo's for instalation.