Aviator Plane – “In my opinion, a start-up company’s first project choice should be a small, simple, easy-to-research and easy-to-build design, not the SE.5a!”
The Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a was one of the best Allied fighters of the war – but a complex and difficult aircraft to build. Issues presented ranged from a highly complex trim mechanism, several variations of built-in fins, an exposed main fuel tank, and even an emergency water/fuel tank forming the leading edge of the center section. Many small parts and assemblies, such as the Foster mount for the Lewis gun, the shock-absorbing limb assembly, and the various complex curved metal covers, also had to be built from scratch.
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We have decided to build three airworthy SE.5a’s and a fourth static example which will be on display at the planned exhibition at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Once the numbers were decided, the research began. With popular designs, it is always easier to find drawings, photos, and information, and there was no shortage of this type.
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Jim Kiger’s Replicraft drawings were a very useful resource, these 9 large sheets gave an overview of the whole project and then we were able to examine each part using the original RAF drawings. We discovered a lot of information about the SE.5a that many of us didn’t know before; triple vertical stabilizers, wings, various wings, engine mounts of all kinds and many other unique prototypes and experimental designs. We worked backwards a bit and started with the engines that were designed to be installed, the Hispano Suiza direct drive engine, then separated the drawings that show the installation of this engine. During the disposal process we began to reduce the huge number of original drawings to a workable set which we believed would result in the familiar RAF SE.5a. As part of the manufacturing process and CAA requirements, we end up producing the aircraft specification, drawing list, drawing cross reference and of course the flight manual! Paperwork is a necessary burden in our workshop in accordance with the requirements of CAA Part 148. Keeping track of all materials and production processes keeps us very busy.
Today’s aircraft manufacturers can buy engines, wheels, brakes, instruments and hardware directly from existing manufacturers. However, almost every part of the SE.5 was built using the same materials and processes as in the original project, e.g. Irish flax, ash and spruce, hand spliced cables and original AGS hardware. Many metals have been replaced with recognized aircraft grade equivalents currently available.
Our skilled craftsmen have learned to combine the craftsmanship of a bygone era with modern technology. We rely on modern technology to keep up with things, and 3D CAD design software, CAM programs, and other specialized software for CNC lathes, milling machines, and routers proved invaluable for this project.
Our three airworthy SE.5a’s have original Hispano-Suiza Direct drive 180 hp engines. These original engines are sourced from all over the world. They are repaired here in our workshop and tested before being installed in the airframes. Special tools and parts had to be made to facilitate the repair process and to ensure that these engines can be used and maintained for years to come. The restoration process was different for each engine due to the unique condition of each ninety-year-old power plant.
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Some of the ‘new’ trades our engineers learned included splicing cables by hand and using Irish linen for wrapping. The Hispano Suiza is a water-cooled V-8 engine, very different from modern air-cooled horizontally opposed aircraft engines. The many detailed aluminum covers, such as those used on the chassis and around the windshield, all had to be shaped, welded and fitted by hand. These time-consuming tasks enable accurate reproduction. We like to think of them as “late models” that just rolled off the new assembly line!
Once the woodworking began, the parts quickly piled up. Relatively simple components such as vertical body members and individual rib sections often require tension members to facilitate final assembly. This ensures that the assemblies are identical to each other and fit on more than one airframe. Since we were building several aircraft at the same time, it was worth spending a lot of time building suitable drills for parts such as fins, elevators, ailerons, cockpit carriages, landing gear legs and even whole wings. Bending and lamination were also required to form components such as bows with wingtips and the elevator and wingtips.
After the wood parts were finished, we needed metal clamps to test the fit and finally to assemble the parts. We have good results in laser cutting and hand forming metal parts into finished brackets, brackets and supports. It took several months to perfect the laser cutting process for the parts, but many years of work were saved!
A part often required testing and research before it was manufactured. For example, a simple wing tip made of American white laminated ash is made in a mold and seen to see how much “overbending” is required to make the part exactly match the drawing. To make this type of part, several thin layers of hardwood are glued around a mold, and after drying, the mold is machined. Most of the injection molded parts are then laminated to other parts such as the spruce leading edges. Thicker hardwood parts required steaming. Through steaming, we discovered that air-dried wood and kiln-dried wood have different bending properties. Adhesion tests are always carried out and samples of each mixed adhesive and of the parts bonded with each mixture are stored.
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The wooden cab supports and interlevel struts were hand-made for the SE.5a, tasks now replaced by modern CNC technology. We have a large CNC router that we use for wood parts that require a lot of repeatability and precision. A router can “machine” parts in a fraction of the time it takes to form by hand, and then simply finish the machined parts by hand. Murray Hunter writes about working with hand tools when designing SE.5a struts:
“Working with hand tools is a joy in itself, using skills that are now largely lost. I first made the profile shapes of the streamlined aerodynamic struts at various points on the strut, then marked the points on the bracket. I planed the shape from bare wood with a hand plane, and each compass plane and spoke finished, finally with sandpaper, I must say these planes are a joy to work with.
One aspect of aircraft construction that is often overlooked is all the ‘accessories’ and little details that make these aircraft special. For the SE.5a, we rebuilt the starter magneto that extends over the side of the cockpit to allow the engineers to work and start the original Hispano engines. We also built our own water temperature gauges and almost all other instruments in the cockpit. Starting with our aluminum frames and laser-cut pointers, we have installed many modern, reliable instruments and made them identical to the originals. We also make manual air pumps to pressurize the fuel tank and make our own Aldis sights. Also adorning the cockpit are several spare Lewis magazines and exact replica radiator shutter bowden controls and a matching Sutton wiring harness.
We are fortunate to have access to the original SE.5 propeller, which we scanned into the computer and made exact replicas of laminated mahogany for each aircraft. Wire spoked wheels, Palmer wheel covers, a windshield and even clear inspection windows in the looms all had to be done. The SE.5a is a fighter and as such the weapons form the heart of the aircraft. The Lewis gun and Foster mount are clearly visible above the center section. Utility gun mounts are impossible to find and real Lewis Guns cause legal issues – so we decided to make our own. We made working Foster mounts based on the original drawings and reserved the option to mount a real blank fire pistol for air shows. But we have also developed an effective technique for replicating aircraft weapons, and these Lewis and Vickers machine guns adorn our SE.5a.
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“If I had any doubts about the reliability of the Hispano Suiza engine, I would not have flown the SE.5a across the Cook Strait to participate in the classic fighter show.”
The experience of making the SE.5 has led us to develop techniques that can mimic what has happened in the past. We hope this opened the door to many other aircraft common during this period. Our four SE.5a are almost ready. At the Aviation Heritage Center in Blenheim, New Zealand, there is a static aircraft depicting the scene when “Grid” Caldwell suffered a mid-air collision and was forced to eject from his aircraft.
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