Bruce West's Spitfire Builder #2
Location: Kapiti Coast, New Zealand
Start date December 1997
It all started in 1997 when I was given a book to read "Birth of a Spitfire" written by an Englishman Clive Du Cros. I was absolutely inspired, I phoned Clive at his Taxi Company in Swindon and YES… he was willing to provide any plans he had for his aeroplane.
I arranged for my daughter who was in London on her OE at the time to bring the plans back with her at Christmas. She and the plans finally arrived and, after studying them for some time to get to grips with the designer's construction thinking, I started with the tail feathers.
I opted to build two MK IX TR's, (two seat trainers) one for me and one for sale, after all, from a production point of view I could cut, glue and clamp two identical pieces almost as quickly as one.
My Spitfires grew quite quickly and my thirst for knowledge about Spitfires and wooden aeroplane construction was unending, I spent quite some time on the web asking questions and looking for answers, I bought EAA's book AIRCRAFT BUILDING TECHNIQUES WOOD which is invaluable, I bought lots of books on Spitfires so I could get to know every inch of what I was getting into.
I flew to the UK to attend Airshows at Old Warden and Duxford, saw Caroline Grace's MK IX TR and concluded that the twin hood arrangement is not as attractive as it could be so I decided on a single hood design (like a Mustang) that I prefer.
Casting around the net one day in late 1999 a builder in the States posted a call on a site for all Du Cros Spitfire builders to contact him, I immediately emailed Russ Harmuth and quickly learned of his decision to use an Allison power plant. He already had the airframe re-engineered to cope with the upgrade, I had already purchased a pair of Rodec aluminium V8s for my aeroplanes but the decision to convert was an easy one, the V8s were sold and I was on the search for an Allison. A second Allison would have to wait. Russ was replicating the prototype MKIII and suggested I do the only other MK III made so my MK IX TR became a MK III TR W3237. Visually there is very little difference between the III and the IX, the MK IX Spitfire was the production version of the MK III, they added a second radiator and deleted the retracting tail wheel.
In the meantime people around you get to hear what you are up to. During a conversation with Garth Hogan of Pioneer Aircraft Restorations he mentioned that he had a deal where he was to supply the National New Zealand Airforce Museum with an Allison 1710 restored to static display in their foyer. I got the job to restore an Allison that had seen better days, it had blown up, obviously had run dry of oil as conrods were poking out of the crank case, the pistons were seized and I had to work out what parts were missing. I thoroughly enjoyed making that engine look better that it came off the factory floor and for the efforts, I got my Allison, and my first sponsorship, clearly the core engine was worth more than the work on the RNZAF static. That dealt with, onward with the airframe.
Shaping in the inner edge of the elevators
Rudder horn mounted
Looking like and aeroplane at last!
The Allison finished and ready for delivery to the RNZAF Museum.
The Allison as it arrived, its had a hard life!
The corrosion had to be arrested and getting the cylinder banks off the crankcase was a mission.
Cleaned, etched primed, undercoated and finished in machine grey
The chassis lever unit getting built
All done and dusted