RAF Coltishall Cockpit Collection |
||
|
The restoration and preservation work of Mick Jennings and the
team from RAF Coltishall is well known to many aviation enthusiasts and cockpit restorers.
Visitors to events such as CockpitFest will have witnessed first hand the extraordinary
quality and attention to detail evident in all the projects the team undertake. This article, kindly written for the International Cockpit Club by Mick, is intended to give an insight into the methods used by the team in achieving their superb results and to serve as an inspiration to others involved in aircraft restoration and preservation.
|
|
The RAF Coltishall Cockpit Collectionby Mick Jennings MBE |
||
| Whilst the three photos above serve as examples
of the teams finished work, the picture (right) shows Jaguar GR.1A XZ375 in the
process of being dissected, a sad but necessary task to satisfy all the rules and
regulations that we have to follow. All of our aircraft have been through the same process
as can be seen below just after Jaguar T.2A XX830 was cut.
|
|
|
) |
The photos that follow in this article show some
of the procedures we undertake during the many hours of restoration on each aircraft and
hope that they may give fellow "cockpiters" some ideas for their own projects. I
must say that we are very aware of the fact that we have all the facilities and right
environment to carry out the task, making our job much easier than those working in the
garden shed or garage. Saying that, we can only work on the aircraft in our own time, so
the dedication and enthusiasm required to do the job remains the same.
|
|
| The photo (right) shows the damage inflicted on Lightning XS899 whilst it was being carefully dismantled at Cranfield...not! There was considerable damage caused to both sides of the fuselage next to the transport joint. Bob Daniels, the only member of the team apart from myself at the very beginning, made up the stringers and panels to repair the damage. The results of his excellent workmanship can be seen in the photo below left. |
|
|
)
|
|
Bobs skills were also put to good use during the rebuild of Phantom XV426 where the whole rear end of the cockpit section required re-skinning as can be seen in the photo left. |
| The photo right shows the beginning of this
process where the rear panels, each about 12-14" in width and in various lengths, are
test fitted. The picture was taken when a very happy team had just removed the wing-box, a
task that required much effort and just a little verbal persuasion! Pictured left to right are: Mick Jennings, Bob Daniels, Andy Brooks and Martin 'Squelchy' Welsh. |
|
|
| Many people ask us why we remove all of the wiring, pipework and redundant components from our aircraft - photo first right. By removing these items and cleaning out the void it prevents moisture and condensation thus, in the long-run, preventing or reducing the deterioration of the airframe. | ) ) ) |
|
| Once the area has been stripped and cleaned
(middle photo above) the whole area is sprayed with PX32, or Waxoyl as it is known in
'civvi' street. The panels removed to undertake this procedure are not replaced until they
are also stripped, painted and stenciled - above right. A total of 50+ such panels
underwent this process prior to being re-fitted onto the Phantom.
|
||
)
|
The final set of photographs show the painting process we undertake on all our aircraft. I am sure everyone will realise that the preparation phase prior to painting is the most important and in our own respect we spend at least two weeks on this phase. You may note from the photo left that some of the airframe is stripped back to bare metal and other areas, the intakes in particular, have only been keyed back. | |
| The reason for this process on XV426 was because the front end was badly pitted and chipped after over eight years as a decoy at RAF Coningsby. In this instance the bare metal was treated with Alachrome prior to the undercoat being applied - photo right. | )
|
|
) |
This final photograph shows two of our genius painters in action - Graham Hall (standing on the trailer) and Damion Beynon adding the finishing touches to XV426. As you can see, the "Chicken in the Basket" markings of No. 56 (Fighter) Squadron has been applied using a simple photocopy of the real thing as a guide. The lads use this method to mark up the aircraft if original painting documents are unavailable as in this case. It should be noted that all the markings on our aircraft are painted and not stick-on as is the modern method employed today. Alter all this, our aircraft are given at least two coats of lacquer. Whilst to the purist this may not be acceptable, for us the long-term preservation of the airframe (10 years+ versus 3-4 years for a matt or satin finish) is our most important consideration. | |
| I hope the photographs and text are of interest to those of you who share the same passion. Obviously if you have any specific questions regarding any of our processes we will be pleased to answer them via the website. That said, at this current time I'm sure you can appreciate life is somewhat hectic for us all and any questions may take a little while to answer. Rest assured however, we will get back to you as soon as possible. Best wishes, |
||
 |
||
Mick Jennings and the lads, RAF Coltishall Cockpit Collection |
||
)
)
)
)
)
)
)