Vampire Jet N35DS out of the weeds...

[navion91104]

We finally got the Vampire Jet out of the weeds for the first time in many years. We’d like to get her static display ready for the front of our flight hangar.(Clarksburg WV, CKB Airport) Why did De Havilland build the nose section out of wood? materials difficulty? They loved building wooden airplanes like the Mosquito, Hornet, etc. and couldn’t let go to aluminum? Anyway there’s a lot to be done with N35DS to get her presentable. Neat cockpit!!!



Nose section separation is pretty bad. Rotten wood...






Where she sat (or sank) for many years...


Before being pushed into the weeds...


If anyone has further information on the plane we'd love to hear from you!

[peter]

Great project but alot of work involved repairing that cockpit pod. Contact Dh museum in the UK or Waterloo Warbirds in Canada for advice.

[Spitty]

Try the Dehav Hornet project?
https://www.facebook.com/dehavilland.hornet.F1/
Looks like shes all there.Good luck

[navion91104]

The DH Hornet is my favorite aircraft of all time...and none exist!!!

We'll give them a shout. Keeping the airframe static, so we'll do an aluminum cover-over fix for now. Rebuilding the cockpit/nose section would be a big task. The big thing is saving the plane.

*If someone wants to fully restore the Vamp let me know. She's originally RAAF and still has her goblin engine.

[Martin Edwards]

Hi,
Is it still owned by Fairmont State University Flying Falcons?
The Vampire trainer cockpit evolved from the Vampire Night Fighter which was based from the Mosquito 2 seater cockpit.
Plywood/Balsa construction was used because it was strong and light and saved on strategically important aluminium

There are quite a few ex-RAAF T.35 trainers in the USA. Unfortunately my geographical knowledge is limited as to which would be near you.
Check out my RAAF Vampire page at http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a79.htm

The deterioration of the wooden pod (aka Pod Rot) is common on aircraft left out on the elements
If its only for static display then its a case of strip her back and see what's left.
Some examples below of Pod Rot in Australia. Hopefully you have bought her inside soon enough to save her from getting as bad as some of these examples

[Fouga23]

Try posting on the Key forums. All the DH experts are there
https://forum.keypublishing.com/forumdi ... c-Aviation

[navion91104]

Thank You all for the leads on who can help out the old Vamp. The depth of what we can do is limited, but we'll get her looking decent non the less.

[Zac Yates]

The DH Hornet is my favorite aircraft of all time...and none exist!!!

Then I imagine you'll be more than a little excited about this project here in NZ : http://www.pioneeraero.co.nz/2017/09/18 ... net-tt193/

Has the US enthusiast profile of the Vampire as a type been lifted at all by the examples at Reno over the last few years?

[marine air]

The Vampire is one of the all time classic aircraft !1) A Dehavilland design, 2) A World War II design that was flying in squadron strength before the end of WW II. 3) Beautiful and unique shape unlike an ugly russian jet. 4) Used by many countries in many countries and "grass wars" and has a worldwide fan club that will grow over time.

[navion91104]

The DH Hornet is my favorite aircraft of all time...and none exist!!!

Then I imagine you'll be more than a little excited about this project here in NZ : http://www.pioneeraero.co.nz/2017/09/18 ... net-tt193/

They should do a production run so we can all buy one right?

[JohnB]

I have a hunch the idea to use wood stems more from the fact it was light and DH's familiarity with it.
While it was designed in WWII, most were made post-war so the aluminum storage issue shouldn't have been a issue.
But by then perhaps no one wanted to take the time to redesign the pod?

Also, in the late 40s-early 50 s, military jets weren't expected to have long lives (nobody told the the T-33 ), so the short lifespan of wood wasn't a big issue.

[Spitty]

Not Vamp but Hornet.
http://users.skynet.be/BAMRS/dh103/fuse ... uction.htm

Gives you an idea how they did the pods..Bog up the damage,make a box up,seal and pour on cement to make a mould..When dry remove and steam some bendable plywood,insert into mould and clamp down tight..

[navion91104]

Does anybody out there have an airworthy Vampire Jet that needs parts /components from this airframe? If it doesn't effect the look of a static display airframe it would be nice to support a flying example.