Wessex lovers?
 

I'm starting to embark on a Museum rebuild of an ex-RN Wessex. Are there any Ppruners who I could call upon for photos, manuals and occasional e-mailed maintenance tips?

The rotor head and the engines are coming from another airframe in terrible condition and I'm certain there are parts missing. Any help would be gratefully received, especially if you happen to live near St Athan and have time on your hands. I could buy you a bacon butty in the cafe. I'm alright doing the skin work but will need help getting the oily bits in the right place.

Thanks

Rob
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4490db76f3.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8ffdfeb54d.jpg

Good luck with your endeavour.

Have you discovered this thread yet? https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/12...e-so-fond.html If you haven't, I suggest that you make a brew and start at post 1. You might even find your airframe mentioned in the thread already.

That thread should be retitled 'The Wessex Bible"

Blue up would be great if you kept this thread updated with progress, good luck!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2728e583cc.jpg


We have another 'spares' ship here but it is a little.....crusty.

A quick question?...The tail release ratcheting system has failed so that although the handle releases there is no movement of the locking/unlocking mechanism, kinda like a Chinese socket set.:* Any photos or diagrams of how the mechanism works?
Thanks.

It extends the pins up and down into the brackets.

I have some walk rounds I have done,


its so long since I worked on them, when you pull the handle out if I remember correctly you rotate it so the pin points in the direction of travel then ratchet it.



..

That’s also a 737 cab. Even more complicated than the V. What’s the inside like ?
And have you got the single engine Mamba in there ?

Mamba? - in a Gannet maybe but it was a Napier Gazelle in the Wessex HAS Mk3. My old eyes can't make out the reg - XM833? If so missed it by one, the nearest one I flew was XM834!

Yep apologies. Double engine mamba was indeed the preserve of the Gannet.
I had it in mind that the Wx III had a single engine v. of it, not the Napier Gazelle.

Get hold of a copy of the Haynes "Owners Workshop Manual".for the Wessex By Lee Howard, ISBN 978 1 78521 117 1. Lots of pictures, drawings and stories.

2 rotor heads and 2 engines, one of them still new in the box.:)

I think I now know how the ratchet mechanism works. That handle with the pin in it won't rotate, only unclip from the holder. Very rotten, too. I might have to salvage bits from the rot-box. Same as the S61/SeaKing?

Haynes manual is on order!

Ta.

XM833 left 737s books in 1981. By the look of the more faded paint aft of the Tx joint, is it all XM833 or just the rear half ??

Has that come from Sunderland?

I think it is the one we dragged out of the Fire College at Moreton-in-the-Marsh. XP150??

If money wasn’t a restriction there is a new tail on evil bay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WESTLAND-...UAAOSwHLNZU80Q

Ah, too expensive, I'm told.:{

Meanwhile...
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....222adccb51.jpg
next bit made today.

Went to look at the instrument panel in storage. Some little ****** has smashed every single bit of glass in it.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6a422ef7d8.png
Slight corrosion. Isopon or Duct Tape?

Remember to sand it rough so the adhesive will stick better.

Still four full screw holes, its a go'er to use it, think of the weight saving advantages.... BTW nice to see some good tin bashing going on.

BTW price has dropped..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WESTLAND-...UAAOSwHLNZU80Q

Thought it was another slice of Swiss cheese..

I am really enjoying this "restoration" - brilliant work! Yeee Haaaa!!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....66135e1f80.jpg

The clouds looks better the right way up.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....86c72d56f1.jpg

Clearly never flown the Wessex then! 140 degrees of bank quite usual entering dispersal!:E

Oh dear!! And I thought this was a novel by Thomas Hardy.

Georg1na - :ok: wingover to land sir? Suits you sir, suits you:)

Got me into trouble at Valley on one occasion..............:eek:

G, 22 Sdn roof...?

Well there was also a piano at Valley that played a bum note - the ensuing blaze stopped night flying as the fire tenders were all at the mess. 11 Squadron Lightnings were deemed to be at fault but we stepped in with the enclosed to hep!Is there still an 11 Squadron and do they still have the trophy?

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....bc82abf4b4.jpg

Has anyone hereabouts ever seen a Wessex rotorhead being removed? The front mounts seem to be in such a position that they foul the rear of the Penthouse Suite. Ours has some nasty damage to the vertical section just aft of the seats, presumably from someone removing said rotorhead with an axe or similar. Does the roof/windscreen come away for this job or is there some secret way to get it all to fit?

Thanks,

Confused, of Cardiff,

There is a big nut at the top of the rotorhead marked `Jeezus`...unscrew,disconnect pitch arms,lift off...
You seem to be trying to lift GBox...Have you tried reading the manual...?

G, 22 Sdn roof...?
Memories, memories!!! :eek: :=

You need a special tool kit called a Hydrapack ram for undoing the top nut. As someone has said, you seem to be trying to remove the head and gearbox together. Is there not an old Wessex man around your parts, head removal is straight forward.
The Wessex schedule used to be a pain, because the head and gearbox O/H lifes were not the same so you would have to remove the head at 800 hours to change the gearbox, put it back on, and then remove it again at 1000 hours.

Sadly, no manuals, other than the Haynes manual which is on back order. We could maybe lift the rotor and gearbox in one piece but it looks from the ground as if the legs of the gearbox are wider than the hole in the upper frame that it has to pass through, hence the damage just above the front mount. I'll try to get a photo of the butchery later this week.

10K hours on fixed wing but no rotary time so it is all a bit new to me. I'm more into wooden airframes and vintage cars.

If you want to remove the gearbox after the head is off, you have to allow for the mast forward tilt. Deflate the rear oleo, pump up the front oleos and get as much nose up as you can. You then need to use a crane with the correct gearbox lifting tool, and with a couple of the biggest blokes you can find, lift the back of the box to clear the canopy.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b1f883af09.png

Someone chopped the vertical section of the cabin to get the frame out. Not going to be fun to replace. It does look as though the area has been repaired before, suggesting this isn't an unusual area to have to repair.

blue up
If you are still intending to remove the major components, I would suggest you must get the correct tools, slings, and stands to mount the bits on. With the amount of Wessex in service with the RAF, Navy, and Bristow, I would think that there must be some surplus gear around some where, unless its all be scrapped.
The Wessex is not a light aircraft, and these components are heavy, and will cause injury if mishandled, and I would suggest you need at least one person who knows what they are doing.
The head sling is a light cable assembly, with a loop for a shackle, its will not take the weight of the head and gearbox in one .The gearbox is slung from the mast, with a screw on fitment, and an eyelet.
I have no wish to put a damper on your project, but health and safety will not be impressed if you use the wrong gear, and I am sure you value having all your limbs intact.

Blue,speak to the guys in Chard at least,or the Museum director at W-S-M...

Manuals arrived this morning from DG93. Many thanks for your kind and generous offer! :ok:

I don't know who will be doing the heavy lifting but I'm hoping to get everything arranged in advance so that their task will be easier. Metalwork is my preferred area. By the sounds of it I should delay fixing the damaged rear of the cockpit until after the twirly bits are installed. Thanks.

http://www.hmfriends.org.uk/restorwesx3pge3.htm Looks like I need to make a visit.

b-u ..,as an old one time rigger/tinbasher,I think you might `consider` doing the bashing when the head/g-box are off,and the top deck is cleared.... as the area at the back of the `cockpit is `busy` with control rods,pipes,etc
as it`s been bashed/slashed,it needs `rigging `properly,otherwise the panels may not fit.........only a suggestion,DaveB might concur....or not!