News

APRIL – JULY ’24 UPDATE: After the long delay in getting the Spring website update completed, real life has again conspired to work against me, so apologies for the condensed four months in one update here.

One of the major areas of focus over the winter finally broke cover when the Aden 30mm cannon that has sat in one of my containers for a few years looking very sad for itself finally got some attention. I had enquired about having it cosmetically restored professionally but was advised that it would basically be considered scrap – which spurred me on to try and bring it back to a presentable state myself.

This was the starting point:

I had accumulated a decent folder of reference photos of cannons installed in aircraft so knew what I wanted to achieve. My cannon is a port fit (they are handed) and already had the collected the external hardware of feed chutes etc. The cannon itself had been very comprehensively deactivated (with all the accompanying paperwork) so I set to work to get the body and barrel cleaned up.

The first task was to remove the barrel as it’s impossible to fit the cannon with it in place as a single part and I didn’t want to chop the barrel if I could possibly avoid it.

With the barrel removed it was send for shot blasting and powder coating to seal it and protect it for the future. With the cannon fitted the barrel can barely be seen – but I know it’s in decent shape.

The body of the cannon has been given a deep clean, missing brackets and hanger bearings replaced, bolts freshened up, wire locking replaced, damaged electrical box restored and missing electrical cable installed.

With the cannon looking fresh we set about installing it. Manoeuvring a 70kg dead weight into place proved ‘interesting’. The built-in winch was still fitted to the aircraft and functional which definitely helped but even so it wasn’t a 5 minute task.

I still have a couple of small details to add but it’s pretty much done – I just need to find one for the starboard side now….

A new addition to the Ground Support Equipment fleet at Enstone is this Type W (affectionately known as ‘Wendy’ in service) Weapons Loader, found on eBay. It had to be collected from near Edinburgh, a small excercise in logistics, but arrived safely and had an immediate freshen up. It needs some attention to the head platform, having had a tow bar ball fitted, but has already been put to use and is well up to the task.

Another ‘slow burner’ Winter project, which is still work in progress, is the reworking of another eBay find, the screen element of a Projected Map Display unit. I wanted to recreate a realistic display for the cockpit and whilst resurrecting the full NAVWASS system is still a long term aim, this struck me as an opportunity to get some life back into the cockpit.

This was the originally sourced piece:

The original hardware was stripped and a small LCD projector sourced to project an image onto the screen. There was some fine tuning required with a lens added to expand the image to fill the full diameter of the screen at such a short distance and then a new case fabricated with external USB and power connections added to allow access to the projector. I’ve been sent some original PMD map images that have been digitised and have both the Enstone and Lossiemouth areas to be able to display.

There are still a few tasks outstanding including refitting the control knobs that I will try and wire to switches that might eventually have some functions – but that’s another project…..

On the munitions front I’ve had some frangible caps 3D printed for the 3kg practice bombs that will be installed in one of my CBLS units.

I’m still unearthing useful parts from all over the place, some for specific tasks and some for spares.

I’ve also been lucky to be the subject of a feature by Aviation writer and photographer Philip Stevens. Phil visited me at Enstone at the end of the summer last year and subsequently published the feature on his own website (https://www.targeta.co.uk/enstone_xx764.htm) before it was picked up by an online Vintage Aviation News website and then the August ’24 edition of FlyPast magazine here in the UK (possibly still in newsagents as I write this).

I’m now looking ahead to make preparations for this year’s Open House day on Saturday August the 17th. As usual (weather permitting) there will be cockpit access, displays of parts, an opportunity to buy surplus parts and merchandise and generally have a look around the aircraft at our base at Enstone. It would be great to see a few of you on the day, all are welcome.

The Flying Club will be available for refreshments and food throughout the day.

To register to attend please use the following link:

Remember that previous monthly updates can be found on the ‘Archive News’ tab at the top of the page and that our range of merchandise can be found under the ‘Merchandise’ tab. Proceeds from all sales roll directly back into assisting the ongoing restoration.

As always, many thanks for the ongoing interest and I hope to meet some of t=youon the 17th of August.

Neil