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My Flying Control Jeep - The Ongoing Story


Jessie The Jeep

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With an aerial for the Jeep on its way, I needed to move the flagstaff bracket to the other side of the Jeep, so the flag wouldn't wrap itself around the aerial. While doing that, I also welded on a tube to the Follow Me light box to support the upper part of the flag pole. Up until this point, I had been using the temporary piece of string that had been fitted since Route to Victory.

fc16.jpg

fc17.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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The last change, but the first one started, was the Jerry can. My Jeep was copied from an early Jeep that didn't have a Blackout light and also no Jerry Can holder. Anyway, a Jerry Can wasn't really needed on an airfield where the MT petrol pump was never more than a mile away!

jerry1.jpg

So today I removed the bracket, and will be replacing the empty space with a big star as seen on other early airfield Jeeps. Most of our events can easily be managed on the internal fuel. On the occasion we go further afield, I usually take the Jeep trailer with all the camping gear in it, so the Jerry Can bracket has now been fitted to the trailer so we can still have the longer range when needed.

jerry2.jpg

I've left all the holes in the back of the Jeep, so if we do happen to need the Jerry at some point, it can easily be refitted.

jerry3.jpg

That's all for now until I get my aerial in a couple of weeks.

jerry4.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
Sorry if my reply sounded a bit sharp, it wasn't meant to be. The wire is soaking in a green dye now so we'll see what it's like tomorrow.

 

Spent all day doing odds and ends on the Jeep. There were a few little cosmetic jobs that needed attention. Firstly I've cut the registration brackets and put a bolt in so it will fold horizontally behind the bumper so it can't be seen in photographs.

My no plate is on hinges,so it swings up,you could put a cable on it so it can be pulled up while you are on the move,in case a squirrel runs out in front of you,it happened to me once,knocked the plate off.Of course you would have to make an interlock so it couldnt possibly be used for any other reason.:whistle::nono:

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  • 5 months later...

I fitted the sign earlier tonight. Three aluminium channels are bolted to the sign, and the bottom of these are slotted, passing over bolt heads fastened into the light box. This allows the sign to be removed for general driving around where it would cause a large amount of drag.

fc21.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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  • 2 weeks later...

Another little job I've been meaning to do for some time is a mod to the primer. Normally, if the Jeep hasn't been run for a while, the engine needs a prime before starting, otherwise the batteries and starter get un-necessary use pulling the fuel through.

For most people this isn't a problem, but for me, garage space is a bit tight, what with the aircraft trailer, Jeep trailer and Jeep, and reaching the primer is almost impossible. Some time ago, I added a welding rod through the hole in the primer arm, and the other end hung over the horn bracket. Parked in the garage with the hood open, I could reach around the screen, grab the wire and prime away.

Now when the doors are fitted, I can't open them to reach around, so I made this little bellcrank modification. The steel bellcrank was welded up from scraps I had kicking around, and bolted through an existing hole in the fender. The original priming wire was cut short and fastened to one end of the bellcrank. A piece of 2.5mm pianowire went into the other bellcrank arm, and through an existing hole in the firewall, exiting near the pedals and steering column.

primer1.jpg

Now I can park with the doors on and the hood shut, and to prime, just reach down by my feet and push the little wire a few times. Job done!

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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  • 3 months later...

It's been a while since I updated this thread, but there's a couple of new things to report. The rear door panels have now been painted checkered to further enhance the visibility of the Jeep, and this got a good try out at Breighton Airfield in mid July, leading Maurice Hammonds P-51's in to the dispersal.

p51a9.jpg

p51b4.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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If Rupert ( Bodge Deep ) and I are displaying at an airfield, the vehicles easily fit in with the location and it can lead to great photo opportunities. However, if we are displaying in a normal show field, I felt that our vehicles on display lacked a connection to the airfield they would have been used on.

For infantry, paras etc, stick up a few tents, some sandbag gun emplacements and camo net and you're sorted, but Airfields, 'ACME Inflatable Hangars' and Control Towers tend to be quite large, and not that easily transported, especially in the back of a Dodge or Jeep trailer.

So over the last week I was pondering what I could do to give the display that connection to an airfield, then it hit me! Slightly bruised, I got up, got my books out and found a picture of what I was looking for - A Signal Square.

The Signal Square was usually found near to the Control Tower, approximately a 40 feet white edged square in which were displayed several symbols to instruct over flying pilots, particularly without radios, the airfield condition, runway direction, circuit direction etc. While 40 feet was too large to make and carry around, a smaller version could be still large enough to be impressive and would give us that connection to an airfield that I was looking for.

A quick trip to B&Q saw me return with several sheets of 3/8 plywood and I soon started sawing, painting and hinging the various parts together. I opted for about 1/3 of the original size giving me a 15ft square which is large enough to be respectable, but it doesn't take up too much display or storage space. Each side of the square is from four pieces of ply, the runway 'T' is two separate pieces, while the dumbell and red square are hinged in half.

I went down to the NE Aircraft Museum today to plan out our display for the Jeeps & Jets event next weekend, and it gave me the first chance to put the square out in full.

I'm pretty pleased with the finished result and it should make a different talking point!

neamjaj1.jpg

 

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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That must of been a great experience Steve?!

 

It was!! I got Lynne to do a bit of video of us too. We couldn't get too close ( H&S ), but I got the chance to get some great pics.

 

 

PS I've tried embedding the Youtube video with the appropriate links, but it never seems to work for me.

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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....sorry we couldn't get you live side at the show yesterday i'm sure Peter will tell you what sort of show you missed.....Steve

 

Don't rub it in :( I'm still sore from not being able to afford the trip, and Peter's already sent me photos of what I missed first thing this morning :argh: I almost did come down, but couldn't justify £150+ in fuel and entry fees at the moment.

 

I still plan to get the Jeep down there, hopefully next year, but might plan it round a holiday down there so we can take in another event like Rougham. I'll keep in touch and let you know when another trip is on the cards.

 

Steve

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The red square with the single yellow diagonal line means care should be taken due to the conditions of the manouvering areas. A yellow cross means you can't land.

square.jpg

An all white dumbell means you must keep your aircraft on the paved surfaces. A black bar through each white circle means you must take off and land on the paved surfaces, but other movements are not confined to the paved areas.

dumbell.jpg

The white 'T' indicates the runway direction to take off and land in; landing and take off being performed towards the crosspiece of the 'T'

t.jpg

There was also a red and yellow striped arrow ( which I haven't made ) that wrapped around one outside corner of the white square to indicate right hand circuits. The plans for signal squares that I've seen also show a similar arrow for left hand circuits, but since left is normal, I've never seen a left arrow displayed on an airfield.

Steve

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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  • 1 month later...

Now for a slight change of direction. Taking my Jeep story back to its beginning in January/February 2005, before I'd even looked at a Jeep, the big question was not could I afford it, but would it fit in the garage!

My garage is not quite a double, being about 18 feet long just under 12 feet wide, but 6ft 6in of that width is taken up with my aircraft trailer. Allowing for another 2 inches lost for the garage door runners gave me a free width of about 5 feet.

jeep_02.jpg

So before I even went looking for Jeeps and got my hopes up, I needed to know the size of a Jeep. I didn't know anyone locally with one, and after finding a few different sizes on the internet, I bought a 1/35 scale plastic kit which seemed to look pretty accurate.

jeep_01.jpg

The model was built without much attention to finish, literally just a model to take dimensions from to check if a Jeep was likely to fit the space I had. I would of course measure a real Jeep before buying, but the model gave me an indication that it should fit, but it would be tight.

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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A few days ago, I got the urge to fully convert the model to match my Jeep, which involved much more than just some paint! In addition to the various Flying Control accessories fitted, my Jeep is also a 'Half-kiss' so there were changes to be made in the engine bay too.

 

The first job was to cut the Jerry can off the back of the Jeep and mount it to the trailer. I should probably mod the hitch too, as my trailer is a Dutch Roset version.

 

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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The first job to convert the Jeep was the wooden side panels I fitted to keep out the winter cold. These were made from 0.5mm styrene with thin styrene strips to represent the wooden bracing. The windows were carefuly opened out with a scalpel. The inch marked steel rule gives an idea of scale.

jeep_08.jpg

jeep_09.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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In the background of this picture, you can see the side panels and the two strips which will form the light board and follow me sign. In the foreground sitting in the back of the Jeep is the wooden crate that house the speakers I use with the radio. A wood grain effect has been simulated by sanding the styrene with coarse sandpaper.

jeep_10.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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