Percival P6 Mew Gull

With nothing more to go on than a couple of rolled plans and a stack of lumber, this seemed like a daunting task! But with a new (well, old really, but new to me) band-saw and scroll-saw, I had some bits cut out in no time at all!

Fuselage formers were quickly shaped on the new saws, and gave an immediate sense of progress to me. This was very encouraging indeed!

I made a few minor modifications as I went along. In particular, I don't like those 'score and crack' formers you occasionally run across in model plans, and I replaced the one in this model with a slightly longer, straight former.

Most formers are 1/8th ply, except for the firewall former and the Cowl former immediately forward of the firewall. These were 1/4 ply.

A few more parts cut from ply on the saws, plus the addition of a pair of beech bearer beams, and the engine compartment starts to take shape.

Shown here with the parts jig-sawed together (no glue here yet) to test the fit, this aircraft will be fitted with a Magnum 80 ringed 4-stroke motor and dimentions are to suit.

Again, the band-saw shone when the time came to cut out the wing ribs!

Tapered in thickness as well as chord, with a graceful curve to the outer trailing edge, this set of ribs was easily cut and the spar notches made in only minutes. Final shaping with sandpaper took only minutes more, and the spar notches trimmed with sandpaper to complete the rib-set.

The eleven ribs shown here are actually doubled -- each rib is two thicknesses of balsa stapled together so a perfectly matching set of ribs can be obtained for left and right wing panels. The pairs of ribs will be separated when wing assembly begins.

Bandsaw, razor-plane, and a sanding drum in a cordless mini-dremem tool are the basis for the roughing out of the landing gear fairing and wheel spats. When roughing out is complete, the inner laminations will be cut away on the underside, to leave a wheel-well.

Look carefully, and you can see two pieces of 1/32" ply amongst all the balsa. These laminations will be on the inside of the outer balsa layers, next to the wheel. This will hopefully protect the thin sides of the spat should the wheel pick up a stone or something and 'process' it through the spat.

Naturally, my Mew Gull is a long way from flying! Therefore I offer you this photograph of Henshaw's G-AEXF making a landing at Breighton on 15th June 2002. When (If? No! when!) my model takes to the air, I will post a photograph of the event!