Looking for Tail Drift sight part
 

An old friend gave me this drift sight.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e6...ada/Drift2.jpg

It is marked on the left side
(CROWN)
AM
TAIL DRIFT SIGHT
MARK IV

on the right side
REF No 6B/110
GENERAL ELECTRIC.CORP
OF ENGLAND
476/39

What I am looking for is the missing rubber? eye piece.

This link to the Australian Aviation museum site shows the missing part on the top of the drift sight.

http://www.australianaviationmuseum....DRIFTSIGHT.jpg


Does anyone have a clue as to where I can source one?
I am located in Canada.
Thanks for any help.

albatross, from what I can see the eye piece looks to be identical to those used on V Bomber periscopes. It's unlikely to be unique to your drift sight. Now, if any Vulcan/Victor guys have a maintenance manual to hand they may be able to give you the Air Ministry Part Number. There must be thousands lying around - trouble is - finding one.:hmm:

Yes It is most likely a "Standard on a lot of stuff" part but sourcing one will be the problem.

A part number would certainly help.

Hope springs eternal.

Here's a pic of a Vulcan periscope. If the eyepiece looks like it may fit the bill I'd drop a line to the various Vulcans in UK. It's likely the Part Number is moulded into the rubber.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../periscope.jpg

Reposting in hope of help
 

Hi
Just thought I would try posting here again - the search for the rubber eye piece continues.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Albatross

The reason the rubber part is missing is because they used natural rubber in 1939 and it has long since perished and crumbled away. The eyepiece off a periscopic sextant might make a fair substitute, but there's no chance of finding an original.

I have had, in the past, a moulding-rubber which melted at low temperature. Intended to make moulds for epoxy-resin casting,, IIRC it came from "Strand Glass Co." a stockist of Fibreglass mats,resins and rovings..
Unfortunately it was bright yellow. Maybe you could make a mockup eyepiece from Balsawood (light, quick and easy to carve and finish)
from this "plug" make a mould in Plaster of Paris....finally cast your "rubber" in the mould (which can be made in stages, divided by polythene or clingfilm, to allow dismantling fo removal of the plug and the final casting. paint the finished article with rubberised paint, maybe.
Alternatively,there may be some sort of liquid plastic which sets "soft"

There is also a "lost wax" process for casting. although we refer to Mouldings, they are essentially castings.

ISTR a you-tube video of a French Postman turned engineer , who built a superb scale-model of a Ferrari, around a metre long, it had fully-working engine,instruments etc. He made exact scale moulds of the full-size tyres and I think he moulded the replicas himself.
last I heard, he had worldwide commissions for his models....he's no longer a postie!:)

Steve - re the ex-postie modeller, there is also the similarly accomplished Gerald Wingrove ( retired to Spain, Google for details) who scratch builds Classic cars and moulds his own tyres and makes all the components. Quite breathtaking work!

Voiture? Voici:


The History


Mais il n'etait pas un 'postie', exactement...