Guy Martin's Spitfire
 

What looks to be a good documentary on Channel 4 tonight at 7.30. No doubt it will appear on youtube in due course for those out of the UK.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/guy-martins-spitfire

F/LT. John Anderson (93) & SGT. Ray Johnson (94) both served with 152(Hyderabad) Squadron.[IMG]http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9bb6a6c6.jpg[/IMG]

I thought it was a very enjoyable programme, although I wouldn't have called the aircraft a re-build, rather more a replica made to original drawings. Fantastic final result, though, and a fine example of British craftsmanship.

Some mildly irritating TVLand frothiness, of course, but great to see the craftspeople working on the project and get an idea of how they were made. Great to see his daughters, so clearly moved at seeing the Spit looking so magnificent again.

I agree that it was a very interesting programme. Just a pity about the long-haired bloke who kept leaping around.

My thoughts were really it would/could have been a far better programme if the makers had just concentrated on the absolute brilliant skill of the engineers making and putting together the aircraft in question, the addition of some inane comments and totally gormless looks and smiles at the camera from the obvious new "Luvvie" really didn't add anything at all .

I feel Fred Dibnah would have made a far better explanation of how the Spitfire was put together, so that people like the commentator could have sat at home and watched , Fred,....sadly he now is steaming round some where in the clouds.

Peter R-B
Lancashire

IMHO...the best ever Spitfire prog I have seen on TV,

Yes Guy Martin has an unusual style but that's the way he is...I enjoy it.....in the real world he is a skilled mechanic.

I wish that programmes like this would go deeper into the engineering and mechanics, but realise this would not interest a huge chunk of the potential audience. Guy is very skilled, motivated, enthusiastic and yes, mildly irritating at times, but if he is the type presenter which a programme like this needs to get the backing to make it, then that's a price I accept!

Dibnah was superb, fantastic draftsman, illustrator and calligraphist too.

Steve Williams (The Fast Show) did a great job of presenting "Off The Rails" and "Industrial Revelations", as did Chris Barrie (Red Dwarf) on Massive Machines, adding a bit of humour but without belittling the subject matter.

Interesting to see engine mounting bolts going in from below with the nut on top. Split pinned nuts have been known to come loose, regardless.

I always like the feeling of security by having the nut at the bottom....if it falls off you still have the bolt! I have not heard of pinned nuts working loose myself, but anything that can happen will, and anything that can't happen might!

That's what I thought when I saw it, even mentioned it to Mrs. C. But if you watch carefully, it's not a bolt, but a pin threaded both ends, with recessed nuts.

Sorry about the fuzzy pictures, TVs don't photograph well.

Just noticed that the fasteners that attach the rod end to the mount tube have the nuts on top!

As much as I do share the initial disdain of 'upside down' bolts, this does seem to be a rather unnecessary concern when contemplated with consideration to the stresses, strains and potential catastrophe should anyone of a myriad internal threaded components let go while spinning round at amazin' speed within a Merlin at flat chat or thereabouts.

And what pray tell has been done to the ends of the threaded components of the mounting flange in the first of those pictures? That bit of butchery surely can't be a finished securing technique!!!


jg

It's called peening and was one acceptable method of stopping a screw backing out of a nut in those days. Another that I noted somewhere in the programme was the use of several equally spaced centre-punch 'pops' at the emergence of the threads of the bolt from the nut. The 'pops' distorted the thread of the bolt and the surface of the nut, blending one into the other and preventing rotation.

I've had a quick web look but can't find a reference for these two methods.

Peening or Peining I believe, often done with the ball end of a ball pein / ball peen hammer. Not quite sure of why the different spellings, perhaps US/UK.

I once saw a photo of a Napier aero engine (Air and Space Smithsonian I think) and the close-up showed every bolt beautifully hammered into an almost perfect dome over the end of the nut. From my experience it is great for keeping a nut on, but but not so fun if/when you need to get the nut off in a hurry

unfortunately the vibration present in those engines required those sorts of retention ! likewise bolts in the nose area of hunters due to vibration from gunfiring !

Doh....
 

I fail to see what an interesting documentary like that needs such an irritating talking-head for. Better just to have followed the real engineers involved. :hmm:

It prob would not have made TV if that was the case,

Wouldn't do if we were all alike you know.....

The programme needed a commentator, Guy Martin did a fair job. "The real engineers" also spoke...........

PM

Loved the programme and the enthusiasm of Guy..... maybe we have been ex-pat for too long but both Mrs Smiffy and myself were, at times, completely flummoxed when trying to make out what the feller actually said at times!! Anybody else suffer the same?

....I think there is a subtitles facility on iPlayer....:p