Construction begins! Work has started for the Typhoon’s chin cowl frames; some of the most complex shapes are found in this area of the Typhoon making it one of the most distinctive characteristics af the aircraft. As production moves forwards, progress images will be posted in our gallery.
Typhoon Legacy Co. Ltd. formed
We have officially formed the Typhoon Legacy Company (Typhoon Legacy Co. Ltd.) to help preserve the history of the Hawker Typhoon and the Napier Sabre engine. The company will allow sales of Typhoon related items with all proceeds going to the airworthy restoration of Hawker Typhoon JP843, and the projects Napier Sabre engine. Development of our sales platform is ongoing, and we are expecting to add many great Typhoon related products for sale as we move through 2016.
A long term goal which is early in the development stage, will to be build full scale Typhoon replica airframes for outdoor displays and museums; this project requires further design and engineering work to be completed, but we will do our best to keep you up to date with developments. Any groups or individuals interested in obtaining a replica Typhoon are urged to get in touch with us regarding specific requirements, we can then ensure our initial design work meets the requirements of all parties. This plan will likely not proceed to production without five to ten interested parties.
All materials have now arrived for the forward monocoque frame and stringer construction, including the material for forms to be made. We are currently organising our workspace in preparation for construction.
Material has started to arrive
Material has started to arrive which will allow work to begin forming the rear fuselage frames. The material required for sheetmetal work on the tailplane and flaps was also brought in to allow continued progress when delays are met with the fuselage construction. Flap rib tooling is currently being designed, with rib construction expected to begin in short order. Stay tuned!
Work is progressing
Work is progressing on multiple fronts, the fuselage monocoque is in the final stages of design and we are hoping to begin shaping frames very soon. We are also searching for a few small but important pieces for the cockpit structure that will allow for design work to begin (please see the parts wanted page). Wing work is progressing through the development of scan data, and we are expecting to begin the second stage of this data development next week. With the wing envelope scanned to exacting accuracy, we are able to identify internal structure placement and insert known sub-assemblies within the proven envelope; once all of this information is completed, we will be able to use the spaces between known sections to produce some of the missing parts within the wing. The tail section is still in its research phase owing to the significant differences between the Typhoon and Tempest for this area, we’ve proven that JP843 last flew with the smaller tail plane and have identified important design changes between the two tail planes fitted to Typhoons that will help with the plan. The fin is also different between the Typhoon and Tempest and has a different arrangement of internal structure, so we are looking for solutions to build a proper Typhoon fin by working with the known data.
MN235’s wing scan
Thanks to the permission and assistance provided by the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum and the Royal Air Force Museum, we were able to complete the scanning of MN235’s wing. The data is still being processed, but once complete it will be used in conjunction with known data in an effort to reverse engineer new wings for JP843. During the visit with MN235, several measurments were also taken from the forward monocoque section of the fuseage; these measurments will be used to help with the ongoing work of this area for JP843.
