Whirlwind Fighter Project

Chris Hayward

July Newsletter

Welcome to the first of the quarterly newsletters

We have our 3rd AGM on the 16th of July if you are planning to attend please could you let me know via the email address on the bottom of this Blog also if you go to this link you will find a copy of last years AGM so that you can catch up on what is going on.

http://www.whirlwindfighterproject.org/apps/blog/categories/show/1174865-announcementshttp:

Our AGM, this year it will be on the 16th of July at Fishburn Airfield, Bishop Middleham, DL17 9DY.

This is where P7056 will be constructed and you will be able to look around the workshop and visit the other aircraft that will be on site there, hopefully Mike will be fit enough to tell us a little about the Airfield and the plans that he has for the museum that will form there.

The meeting will start at 11:00 and break for tea and sandwiches at 12:30.

I know that it is a bit further North than the last meeting but hopefully we will see as many of you as possible.

Here's some text to help find Fishburn Airfield more easily:

address is Fishburn Airfield, Ferryhill, County Durham DL17 9DY
it is located up a concrete farm road on the east side of the A177 which runs (loosely speaking) between J61 and J60 of the A1(M), with J60 being the southerly of the two junctions.
your satnav should get you onto the A177 from either of these A1(M) junctions & going in the correct direction.
the white uphill concrete single-track farm road is signed WEST HOUSE FARM (visible if approached from the north, less easily from the south). At the top of the hill take the right fork signed to the Airfield. Distance from A177 is about 1/2 mile.
parking space by the clubhouse seems rather limited..........I guess there might be special parking nearby.
footnote: don't follow any signs to Fishburn itself unless to reach the A177.

Plan for the day.

11.00 meeting starts

12:30 lunch Break

13:30 Mike talk on the plans for the Airfield.

A look at progress so far on P7056

Skype call to France with

Mr. Gildas Saouzanet

Timing TBA.

A chance to have a look at the airframes that will form part of the new historic collection.

Raffle

End.

One of the items that we are discussing at this years meeting will be how you, the members, can help with the CAD work needed to finish our project. Please find below a copy of Gunnars email.

Hi Guys!

It’s been a while since I’ve been in contact with any of you. I have to partly blame my job for that, I have a lot to do these days, and it seems to continue for a while. Sadly it means I have had little time to focus on the drawings and 3d model of the Whirlwind. BUT, the other reason I’ve been quiet, is that I’ve been working on the Whirlwind…

So, let me explain. I have been using SolidWorks as my main CAD software for the modeling so far. It is probably the best modeling program for what we’re doing, but it’s quite difficult to share the model with others and the license cost is huge. Lately, we’ve had requests from volunteers asking to help with the 3D model and drawings. In order to utilize this, I’ve made a change of software. I have spent a couple of months now, transferring the SolidWorks model to Autodesk Fusion360. There are some important reasons for that, and I’d like to list them for you all now.

Autodesk fusion360 is a very capable CAD Software.
It is freely available for enthusiasts and private persons. You can get a free 1 year license which can be further extended by a year or two
No files exists, it’s all in the cloud. This is one of the important issues, and the main reason for making the switch. It means:

Continuous backup, never loose a file due to virus or machine crash.
The same files are accessed all over the world, files can be shared globally.
Models are always up to date and latest version.
Works both on Windows and Mac, models can be viewed on phone, iPad, Mac or Windows PC.
Model is always available for review, with or without download option.

I can manage files and people in the project. Invitation by email, and I can add or suspend people on the fly.
The Fusion360 document handling will also contain Westland drawings and some of my design documents - no need for DropBox access for every new volunteer.

The benefits for the project is basically that all volunteers with CAD knowledge can get access to the model, or a part of the model, for making parts or drawings. I can still manage the files and assign tasks to the other volunteers. If someone wants to leave I can remove their access. We’re not restricted by location, timezone or much else. For the most complicated tasks, I can still use SolidWorks and transfer the models between the two softwares.

Anyway, I’m in the process of making a document describing the design process and how to make parts and drawings for the project. As soon as I’m ready with that, and I have renamed all remaining files to the part list numbering system, we can contact all CAD volunteers to check their interest and experience in the field and invite those that really can contribute to the project.

For everyone else, non CAD users, they can access an online viewer and look at the model and progress. It is the same data as the CAD users are working on, so it will always be up to date. Here is the link to the model: http://a360.co/1WnVjzp the password is: wfp2016

If someone wants a closer look and explanation of the system, I can arrange an online presentation at a suiting time.

If any of you wants to check out cloud based CAD software, I can recommend Fusion 360. Create a profile, and start using it here: http://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview.

That’s all for now.

Cheers.

Gunnar.

We are very lucky in having support from many parts of the world, I would like to thank both of the following people for their kind donations.

Robert Johnson, Sunbury

Brian Ages, Israel

Many thanks to our team member Dave Gibbings who sent me a picture of a Peregrine engine that he had found.

Parts of Whirlwinds keep cropping up from time to time, even more so now since we have started this project which I suppose is only to be expected. The latest item to fall into our hands is part of the Hispano Cannon Magazine system. Which we aquired from a well known auction site.

Congratulations

One of our Whirlwind/Battle of Britain pilots Grp Captain Len Bartlett who was a F/L on 137 Squadron and who now lives in Australia turns 100 shortly. Len was one of 6 Group Captains chosen to represent the RAF at Churchill's funeral. While flying P7111 he claimed a Ju88 as damaged and suffered a tail wheel collapse while landing P7058. He finished the war with a DSO, mentioned in dispatches, US legion of merit and 4 ememy aircraft destroyed.............a very modest WWII hero!

Sad news

Just to let you know, John Shellard – Johnnie S – has passed away , just short of his 93^rd Birthday.

Although he was not allowed to fly the last Whirlwind on 263 Squadron by Geoff Warnes, he followed our progress with interest.

He shot down the only Me.262 by a Typhoon, just before the end of the war, and survived 18 months flying ground-attack missions when the loss ratio was comparable to that of Bomber Command.

we got to know him quite well, and can say that he was a true gentleman.