Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The original Corby Starlet had a 2-cylinder engine and I love the look of it, but from my perspective, being able to use a Jabiru with electric start would help preserve my digits - painting may suffer.

A 2-cylinder Jabiru prototype made an appearence, but apparently it didn’t go anywhere, though it would have been a fitting continuation to the all Australian design.

This is what the 4-cylinder Jabiru version looks like, slightly overshadowed by a Spitfire.

My workshop had been finished and readily available materials purchased from Aircraft Spruce and Swindon Aircraft Timber, so progress was swift and I soon had the tail structures made to the point of inspection.

After a couple of false starts, I’d found an Inspector, but had to load my parts into the car to take stuff to him. No worries, I set out on several trips to get the log book stamped and wood approved - neither of which happened. However, I was slightly concerned at the lack of understanding of the drawings exhibited by the Inspector, but after pouring over the plans and much pondering, the detail was agreed. I am glad that the tail spar did indeed have a taper and it wasn’t me sqinting down the plans from a low level. So, all good then. Nope, still no signature in the log.

Main spar wood was ordered and delivered directly to the Inspector, rejected. Again I set out to scour the UK for suitable wood and thought I’d found a source about 250 miles away (which had originally been earmarked for pianos). Sadly, I couldn’t be sure it would be OK without paying a huge amount for a relatively small part of the baulk, plus I would have to sawn the lot up at my expense to discover this. Back on the hunt then.