Ich hab ja versprochen die Infos von Chris Hayward weiterzugeben. Er hat mir eine kurze Geschichte zum Whirlwind Fighter Project geschrieben und einige Bilder angehängt. Im Gegenzug schreibe ich ihm für seinen Newsletter ein paar Zeilen zu meinem Modell :-)
Chris Hayward, Whirlwind Fighter Project
"I suppose the best way to define this project is by starting at the very beginning so if you’re sitting comfortably then I shall begin.
About seven years ago, during a discussion on the old Flypast forum between Mike Eastman and Matt Bearman the idea was raised about building a full sized replica of the forgotten Westland Whirlwind Fighter, if like me you were raised on Airfix kits then it was the only model of the Whirly available at that time and seemed to stick in the memory of men of a certain age.
Mike and Matt decided that it was quite possible to construct the airframe but what plans were available and could it be done with CAD?
Westland Aircraft were approached and appreciated that this time the build was serious having been asked by different parties in the past which had come to nothing. Unfortunately, they had very few plans left after suffering a flood at Yeovil some years previously, but they let us have those that survived.
During further conversations on the forum, Gunnar Olsen who lived in Norway, said that he had been working on a CAD breakdown of the airframe and structure, so now a way forward had been found.
Working from plans drawn up by Gunnar, Mike cut and formed the first frames that had been done for a Whirlwind in eighty years or so.
We had decided to start with the rear fuselage from frame 10 back to the start of the tail fin. This was where we came across our first stumbling block, this was frame ten itself, which was beyond Mike to complete as it was extremely difficult to form. Well there is another person who was also a Whirlwind fanatic, having dug up what was left of P6966 in Scotland many years ago, so enter Steve Vizard of Airframe Assemblies, they took on the construction of frame 10 and also the Tail spar.
Having completed the frames our luck seemed to run out as Mike was taken ill and the plan to construct the rest of the Airframe at Fishburn Airfield in Durham had to be abandoned due to problems with the airfield landlords. So the project went into hibernation for a couple of years, we were still collecting parts and information and Gunnar was still working on the CAD .
Eventually we found a way forward and approached Airframe Assemblies to complete the airframe as and when we were able to raise the funds to complete each stage as we went along.
We are now at the stage of completing the rear fuselage which is being skinned now and then we need to raise the funds to complete the cockpit section. The original idea was to finish off the tail section but in a unexpected twist to the story, The Battle of Britain Museum Trust at Hawkinge offered to give P7056 a home and thought that we should raise more interest and money if the cockip section was complete so that the public could sit in it.
The plan is to get the fuselage to Hawkinge this year in time for its opening for the 2020 season. This will be an ongoing display as the airframe is assembled on site, that way the public can understand the design and structure of this advanced fighter.
1) at its time the Whirlwind was faster than a Mk1 Spiffire.
2) the RAF’s first canon armed twin engined Fighter/Bomber.
3) the first with bubble canopy.
4) first with fowler flaps
5) retractable tail wheel.
Luckily they changed the exhaust from exiting next to the fuel tanks.
The project now has a fully functioning website at whirlwindfighterproject.co.uk and a proper membership structure through which members can join or just donate.
That’s the story in a nut shell, I have included some Photographs from WW2 below."