Technical Talk

[sheppane]

Bill,

The fuel breather pipe was pointing backwards with it's intake away from the airflow, as illustrated on the attached monochrome image taken by Norman Hurst on the morning of the 4th as Bluebird is winched down the slipway, and the earlier colour images taken around the 20 - 21 November 66

PIC 376.jpg

Detail.jpg

Detail 2.jpg

[Renegadenemo]

Hi Neil - we knew you'd know. Just testing.

On slightly more serious note, it does seem to have been tried facing both ways but because it's set into a rubber grommet then attached to a rubber pipe beneath with a hose clip it maybe would've been displaced at speed by the airflow were it facing the other way. Pure speculation on my part, of course. I reckon we got that redundant antenna mount spot-on too. Pleased with that.

[sheppane]

Hi Neil - we knew you'd know. Just testing.

On slightly more serious note, it does seem to have been tried facing both ways but because it's set into a rubber grommet then attached to a rubber pipe beneath with a hose clip it maybe would've been displaced at speed by the airflow were it facing the other way. Pure speculation on my part, of course. I reckon we got that redundant antenna mount spot-on too. Pleased with that.

Bill, You're correct. On the 5th November, it was facing forwards. This image was taken the day of the Static test. The first of the colour pics on my earlier post was taken the day K7 went back in the water after the intake repair, two weeks later.

Detail 3.jpg

[Mike Bull]

I wondered how literally people would take Bill's caption, as personally I was months ahead of you all, which is why I built the thing the way round that I did! ('Built' perhaps being too grand a term there; made an 'ole and shoved a pipe through would be more precise) It's certainly another of those fascinating tiny details though. Thanks for the extra pics Neil, and it was your book's chronological order that nailed it for me in the first place.

[Renegadenemo]

I'm not so good at the chronological order thing so was that pipe there pre-Orpheus? The reason I ask is that tank pressurisation was discussed for the Orph' and I wondered if facing that pipe forwards was a small attempt at achieving this.

[sheppane]

I'm not so good at the chronological order thing so was that pipe there pre-Orpheus? The reason I ask is that tank pressurisation was discussed for the Orph' and I wondered if facing that pipe forwards was a small attempt at achieving this.

It was a feature since 1955, but not when K7 was first unveilled. I would suggest that trials quickly proved that it was required. Forward facing throughout the Beryl equipped period.

[Mike Bull]

I've told him that as well. Never listens to me.

I'm not so good at the theory side though- with the pipe facing rearwards in the airflow, would the passing air have a kind of 'suck' effect on the pipe..? Which would vary with speed? You'd think the thing would work very differently depending on whether it was facing into the airflow or not.

While of course I'm sure that everything was properly looked into during the Orph conversion, I can't help but think that there was an element of 'well, this bit always worked with the Beryl so we don't need to worry about that/it can't be that bit that's not right now' going on, particularly once they got to Coniston.

[Renegadenemo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-17481466

I hope they don't build these half an inch different side for side!

[Mike Bull]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-17481466

I hope they don't build these half an inch different side for side!

Shims...non-symmetrical...variable centre lines...rivets within rivets...large gaps filled with loy filler...

[Renegadenemo]

We're more or less stopped on the sponson work now until the shoes and float wedges come back from MKW so we've moved back onto systems.
Our test engine is now the right way up again and the fuel system is in a box ready to go to Barry's to have all the widgets made up so we can put the plumbing on - Stuart, you will no doubt be delighted at this long-overdue news!
Checkie made a splendid job of fitting the instrument panel and fitting and testing the igniters and Mike has installed the LP, HP and throttle control rods.
Sponsons aren't that exciting anyway...