WA591 - Wings, Tail and Other structures
There are literally thousands of parts to be inspected, restored and refitted to the aircraft. This page charts the restoration of the secondary structures such as outer wings and rear fuselage plus the many sub-assemblies that you will never see when the restoration is complete. It also includes some shots of the purpose built testrig that gave the group the opportunity to test run the refurbished engines at remote locations, both for safety reasons and to minimize potential complaints by neighbours over excessive noise.
May 2008
Fuel tank has now been painted and canopy now has all new perspex and looks ready to be painted although it won't be fitted until nearer final assembly of the aircraft at the end of the restoration. The engine test rig truck is now based at Chalgrove with Martin-Baker where it has been further modified by Colin Bates their chief engineer and Meteor guru. There are also photos of the lower rudder fitted to the rear fuselage and a number of images from July 2007 showing more detail of the progress of rebuilding and restoring the rear fuselage.July 2007
The replacement outer wings and ailerons have been dispatched to Air Atlantique at Coventry for survey and restoration. They are not likely to need a great deal of work other than to confirm that all the latest modifications were applied. The structural repairs to the rear fuselage are now complete and rudder and elevator layshafts and operating cables fitted. All the access panel fasteners have been replaced and refurbished panels fitted. The ventral tank rear mounting assembly is in place and the fuel and air pipes, air bottle and control and pneumatic piping re-installed. Engine test at Chalgrove |
 Main fuel tank, April 2008 |
 Canopy, Jan 2008 |  Restored canopy before it was glazed. |
 Rear Fuselage, August 2007 |
 Rear Fuselage, August 2007 |
 Rear fuselage, Mar 2007 |  Rear fuselage, Oct 2006 |
 Lower Rudder, Jan 2008 |
 Rear fuselage, Jan 2006 |  Test rig & Derwent, May 2006 |
May 2006
The port and starboard skin of the rear fuselage were renewed due to significant damage and corrosion, there are also two interesting photos of an unservicable turbine disk. It shows the way the blades attach to the turbine disk, each pair of blades is carefully balanced. The electrical system of WA591 will be completely renewed, it will be made up from modern light-weight equivalents by our electrician John Walduck. The disadvantage of the new wiring is that it is invariably much smaller in diameter, its reduced weight will also require changes to the amount and placement of ballast. To give the group some early excitement John wired up an igniter to show us what happens inside the engine when you hit the start button. The Meter Flight has been helped a great deal by Tyco who are providing much of the new wiring and fittings and very low cost.March, 2003:
The original canopy of WA591 was unserviceable due to extensive cracking but work is underway to combine the parts from two canopies to produce a serviceable unit which will be fitted with new perspex panels from our stores. In the second photo you can see some of the hydraulic and control system fittings removed from the forward fuselage, It might look disorganised but every fitting has been identified either from its part number or by comparison with the other airframes at Yatesbury. The remaining photos show two of the Meteor Flights Derwent engines in the engine bay and some pictures of WA591's original port wing and the replacement set which we will use following the discovery of significant corrosion in the original set. Derwent Turbine |  Closeup of blade attachment. |  Let there be light, Derwent Igniter |  WA591's Canopy |
 Spare Derwent |
 Extra Engines |
 Main Instrument panel before restoration. |
 Original Port Wing with leading edge removed |
 The original port wing with the rear aileron fairing just removed. |
 A new set of wings for WA591 |
 Restored Main Fuel Tank |  In the stores |