such a pleasure to see someone using the English Wheel, and not just a pleasure watching such a rare use but to see a young lady doing this, Simone, thank you for continuing to use this amazing machine and keeping history in the making, just fantastic - and i have always wanted to have a go myself, i knew someone with a English Wheel but it was never used and sadly i never got a chance - love it

So much work when you have to make almost every part from scratch. Such dedication and craftsmanship is rare in the world today,especially when everyone is volunteering their time for free. This lady is incredible. You don’t see women doing this kind of work very much. She knows her stuff!👍🏻

i am a carpenter and watching simone on the wheel makes me feel quite inadequate, she truly is a technician, well done

I love airplanes and cars, I never thought that I would learn about the English Wheel as much as I did here! Thank you, Simone, also! Great video!

Great viewing on how the fins are built. Over here in the U.S. a lot of specialty car builders use the English wheel, shrinkers and stretchers. Cool to see it used on the "Lanc". Simone did a beautiful job. Thanks Neville for including her work. Another interesting vid!

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Bob one of my regulars, thanks for watching.

A pleasure to see a craftswoman in the mystic art of metal forming !! Seriously outstanding .. Regards an Ole Arse Panelbeater

Great to watch a true craftswoman at work. Thanks for posting Neville.

That was so satisfying and relaxing watching Simone create that complex curve. Thanks and all the best with the restoration. Must pop along again.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate ,thanks for watching

Watching an expert at work with an English wheel is mesmerising.

Simone....what a lady! Top marks also for putting up with you watching her all that time. I don't like people talking to me when I'm working and trying to concentrate! Great video

This was a BIG surprice Neville! A beautiful and nice Lady sheet metal worker... As an retired aircraft technican it is easy for me to see she is an REAL specialist! Congratulations to The Lancaster Team for also include a Lady! Well done Simonne 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹!

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Eina, I'll second that, thanks for watching

And she makes it all look so easy. Wow.

@jonka1

5 жыл бұрын

Skilled people generally make things look easy. That's the measure of their competence.

That was really fascinating! Many thanks Neville for doing important work in documenting the restoration going on at EK. It is a privilege to see an expert performing essential work on the Lanc - thank you Simone Cunningham!

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers peter , thanks for watching.

Class metal working, such a skilled lady, fascinating.

It's fabulous that the crew explain the methods used, step by step for you. Well done Neville on another great episode.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much The Burt007

I could watch restoration engineers all day!

@oxcart4172

5 жыл бұрын

@MichaelKingsfordGray I just wish I had the skills that they do-then I would do it myself!

I have to say, a true artist. Miss Simone is as talented as she is lovely. I would trade a Lancaster for a glass of wine and a pleasant conversation with Miss Cunningham. Thanks for the video, and for introducing me to such a talented human.

Wow, it was a real pleasure watching this video. Fantastic to see big bird being restored. Absolutely fantastic.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you Brett

Thanks to Mrs Cunningham for an excellent English Wheel demo. Had a go once and it ain't easy!

Simone's work looks great. Amazing skill and finesse to achieve double compound curves just by hand eye coordination.

That was a delight to watch

This woman knows her business ! Very hight skilled worker to dress the four engine old lady. Thank you for sharing this metal work sequence. Great job!

Rosie the "really highly specialised dying art metal forming specialist". Brilliant %

@atoieno

5 жыл бұрын

In Australia we'd call her a National Living Treasure!

Great film Neville thanks for posting. Simone's making a great job fitting those panels I can see it's highly skilled work and nice of her to take the time to discuss it with you.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Yes it was, she a nice lady Thanks for watching Matt.

Absolutely brilliant work on the wheel, It has given Me an insight as to how ours should work. Regards, Paul Rourke B24 Restoration Australia

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Paul sorry late replying, Simone a good operator make it look easy, B24 at Werribee good lock with this project . Thanks for watching. ( I've been on line to have a look at B24)

Nice work Simone! Lookin' good.

That's quite amazing watching someone work sheet metal like that.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

It;'s also amazing watching avionic worker too.

Lovely work Simone and thanks for showing me how to use an English Wheel and Crimper.

Informative video again Neville. This Lanc will feel very much at home, because when it was built at Longbridge there were women like Simone still employed doing this work. It must give her great pleasure doing this on such an iconic plane.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Geoff has she said "I'm proud to work on the Lancaster". thanks for you comments and watching

well done all of you. guy Gibson would be proud to see this run again

I did a tremendous amount of wheeling to reskin FM213 over thirty years ago. It will be a delight to see another of these old birds flying again.

@suzyqualcast6269

5 жыл бұрын

S/V Tattoo : S'cuse me but FM213 ? (bet the question seems stupid).

@flyingdutchman6984

5 жыл бұрын

@@suzyqualcast6269 - the only stupid question is the one not asked. FM213 is the serial number of a Lancaster bomber. The full serial number is actually RCAF FM213 as it was built for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Edit: the Lancaster bomber shown in this video is NX611.

@suzyqualcast6269

5 жыл бұрын

S/V Tattoo: Thankyou - the NX sounds familiar, now both make sense. Wait a minute, are you part of the team that worked on the Canadian example that joined the BBMF a couple of years back, both of which, affectionately, flew over and tipped a nod to East Kirkby I wonder?

@BigLisaFan

5 жыл бұрын

@@suzyqualcast6269 Yes, sounds like he was as was involved in the shaping and reskinning some of FM213.

I've built a glasair 3 and a superstol xl, but i'll take my hat of for Simone any day. Super job !

Please please keep doing your wonderful videos, you always seem to be there are the right time to catch the good stuff.

They should crowd fund the restoration. It would save them having to put it back together and take it apart each year. Great video!

@suzyqualcast6269

5 жыл бұрын

Izaak C : Myself and a friend used to visit East Kirkby back in the late 1990's. We were lucky to be there one day when she was out in front of the hangar and performed a full x4 engine test, I don't know of a word that describes the feelings of emotion that induced ! Back then I was led to understand that all that prevented their Lanc from being given an airworthy cert was a full re-revitting session. Your comment per yearly stripdown raises a couple of queries: are you saying exactly that - a complete stripdown, and why? If correct then the demand of the past per a full re-rivet session seems to have become a historical point and now overcome ? I also understand that as ever closer to achieving air worthiness they get the certificate issuers then present a whole new rash of demands, as if the BBMF Lanc is the only one they want flying, full stop.

@koitorob

3 жыл бұрын

@@suzyqualcast6269 No, that's like finding a 1946 Austin 'whatever' and the only thing preventing it going back on the road was a new paint job. EVERY part of the old aircraft has to be checked to ensure it is airworthy. If you simply removed and replaced every rivet you wouldn't know if the wing spars were thirty hours from cracking up and you don't need a very vivid imagination to imagine what the results would be. I beleiev the powers that be are giving them leeway by allowing them to refurbish/replace components over a period of years instead of having it all done in one go, which i believe is the norm.

The lady is a professional!!! The work she does there is a dying profession. (you must understand what you are doing, and have feeling for that, you must have talent for that!) shrink and stretch and tonne round there is no school where you learn that! I myself am a metalworker and Drukker by profession I used to make everything that is bent on a ship. a Drukker works with a 300Ton(or more!) machine press. (Drukker I do not know the English word for!) unfortunately shipbuilding here in the Netherlands is also dead (am unemployed) greetings from the Netherlands!

@suzyqualcast6269

5 жыл бұрын

HobbyRob : Am sorry indeed to hear of even more traditional jobs from the Europe area vanishing off elsewhere. It is ridiculous, really !

@gary96397

5 жыл бұрын

Hobby Rob...I am sorry to hear that you are unemployed...I love the Netherlands... Ik praten hollandse Klein stukje

@hobbyrob313

5 жыл бұрын

@@gary96397 HAHAAaaaa LOL well to see writing, even Dutch writing works well !!! I live in Rotterdam and that is a big port city but everything is changing! it is not going badly with me but I hope to be able to get back to work, preferably no longer in the metal because that is extinct here (the companies move to other countries where the wage is very low, and therefore more profit for the boss!) best regards from Rotterdam again! Rob. HAHAAaaaa LOL nou aan het schrijven te zien lukt zelfs Nederlands schrijven ook goed!!! Ik woon in Rotterdam en dat is een grote havenstad maar alles verandert! het gaat niet slecht met mij maar hoop wel weer om aan het werk te kunnen gaan, liefst ijgenlijk ook niet meer in het metaal want dat is hier uitgestorven (de bedrijven trekken naar andere landen waar het arbijdsloon erg laag is, en dus meer winst voor de baas!) vriendelijke groeten weer uit Rotterdam! Rob.

@gary96397

5 жыл бұрын

@@hobbyrob313 .I was a koolkasten technische in Rotterdam centrum

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Hobbyrob, I hope you soon find work ,it's not nice being unemployed. thanks for watching and your comments

What a great lady, I loved watching this..Keep up the great work and best wishes !!

Fascinating to watch a craftswoman at work. I was fortunate enough to get a flight in the Canadian Lancaster in 2014. Great to see the work involved in keeping such planes airworthy.

Fantastic project! The 7 losers that left a thumb down probably cannot even tie the laces of their own shoes!

@Mark-ej3oi

5 жыл бұрын

@William Gruff Clearly you are one of those that left the thumb down

Well done Simone what a great video 👍

Now that was really interesting. Thanks for letting us see the hard work that's put into this project. A real skill....eye, feel and elbow grease (And knowing what your doing of course). :-)

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Nice lady to , thanks for watching.

The English Wheel is the most beautiful tool to shape sheet metal. I know the "hand knockers banging forms on metal"(I have no idea what the are called, no disrespect at all) are extremely skillful but seeing a flat surface change to intricate curves in an English Wheel is even more satisfying.

@jonka1

5 жыл бұрын

As an occasional hand knocker I agree about the English Wheel.

Good to see an old skill / knowledge still available and put to good use. So much of our old skills and knowledge lost these days. When I left work after 40 years, several of my colleagues all left same time, think there was some combined experience of 500 years or so lost for ever.

Jaysus, all this time I've heard talk of the 'skin' of the plane being thin. This is the first time I've seen it. It really is a skin, about as thick as human skin by the looks of it. Those air crews stood zero chance against any enemy fire.

Wow, what a skilled metal worker. She would have been right at home in a WWII factory.

Its always good to see craftsmen at work and when its a women its even better, knowing they still have the skills that their mum's or grandma had during WWll

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers John, thank for watching.

Artistry in metal!

Fabulous skill, absolutely fascinating. Many thanks for filming Neville.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers James, thanks for watching

Awesome craftsmanship!

Very interesting and great work Simone

It would be such an honour to even simply tighten a nut and bolt on such a restoration. Amazing to see something that played such an important role in our cultural history being restored with such care.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Nice comment Stony RC

What a fantastic video, superb insight into restoration and thank you Simone a true artist using an English Wheel. More videos please!!!!

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Rob thank you for your comments, next video will be uploaded Sunday or Monday night

Totally amazing, skillful work

Yes its great to watch the young girl using the old Wheeling machine and crimping the edge of the Aluminium panel, I did my Panelbeating apprenticeship during the very early 1960s and I was lucky enough to be taught how to use those machine's. The panelbeating shop I served in also did Motor Body Buildings repairs and a number of the tradesman where from Rolls-Royce plant in England, one of them was the late Eric Evans (a Londoner) who taught a crew of young woman to make up aircraft panels in repairing damaged fighter aircraft during the 2nd World War. In 1971 I started teaching young panelbeating apprentices at Otago Polytechnic where i taught them to use the Wheeling machine and crimping machine's and hand-crimping tools to made panels for motor vehicle's, great skills for one to learn. Don Sinclair

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Don my son up the road from you. thanks for your comments and watching

Real skill, beautiful to watch.

Very talented lady.

Well done Simone and Nev, great watching the old skill's. Number 1 fan

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Charles it was good to watch Simone work. thanks for watching

Start with the sheet metal oversize. Roll the edge first. Once it fits trim rest of the panel to fit the ribs and then drill out the rivet holes. This is being done backwards which is making it more time consuming and harder to roll the edge correctly. I know because I have built two aircraft. Just saying .... Great to see us women more involved in aircraft restoration, like we did not have the skill of knowledge of this from the past. Women built the planes helped win the both world wars .... ;)

Well done Neville, your new "commentary as you go" really adds to the video interest.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Commentary a bit shaky but i'll have another go. Thanks for watching.

That was awesome bro, that girl really knows what she is doing that is for sure. All the very best

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Ken thanks for your comments, I was pleased Simone allowed it to be uploaded . Bad do in christchurch sons office not far away.

@mischef18

5 жыл бұрын

Yes it sure rocked the country, the out grieving of love and compassion in the aftermath was beyond anyone's imagination from all religions and non believers alike. Hope we never see anything like this again in NZ

Great craftsmanship!

Great work big shoutout to all concerned thanks for the updates Neville

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Ian, thanks for watching.

A perfect way to spend the retirement.

certainly gives a scale to things

Thank you for that. Really interesting. I have no engineering knowledge and had never seen an English Wheel being used before.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

It's a Pleasure Michael, thanks for watching

Until you see this sort of work you don’t realise quite what ‘craft’ structures World War 2 aircraft are!

I saw this aircraft take off from Sydney in 1965, after the initial restoration by Hawker De Havilland Australia enabled it to return to the UK. Wonderful to know so many are working on restoring it to flying condition. I think her sister ship NX665 is currently in Auckland, New Zealand at the Museum of Transport and Technology - www.motat.org.nz/collections/collection-online/aircraft-avro-lancaster-b-mk-7-957/. NX611 and her were both used by the French Navy out of New Caledonia, until about 1964/65.

It's always great to see craftsmen at work. Doubly so when it's a woman! Triply so when she's mastered something i want to do...

When you realise how much of this was being done during WW2 in Britain alone; its amazing. I normally work in stainless. But the approach is similar. I would love to play on that English wheel.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

That's a hard material to work on. thanks for watching

Shes quite the metallurgist, she's knowledgeable

Great video, great skill from an expert.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Fred

Una mujer genial!!!!!!!

Wheeling as a hobby seems to be coming back into fashion with aircraft resto as well as cars. Simone know that job and id doing a gtood job. I guess when these were made during the war all of these would have been presssed and probably drilled in a jig. The one of done here would mean about a wing a week.

Super skilful lady.

Absolutely fascinating!

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers David

You go girl!

Good stuff, Neville

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Brian

It worries me that we wont have the skills to do this work in the future.

@terrymoore9185

5 жыл бұрын

Hopefully AI will do it and do it quicker?

Respect....

good to see Polish eagle on the wall

Very nice, it's therapeutic. I get the same satisfaction restoring my TR6 albeit l don't have the space for an English wheel, and dare l say the wheeling skills. Not enough practise!

Simone would have happy times talking over techniques with Terry English. There seems to be a lot of similarity between aircraft skin shaping and plate armour creation. They might even be able to exchange a few new ideas!

It is interesting too that the hoodie she is wearing says "Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum", which is also home to an operational Lancaster....

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi joethedutchman, we will have to get her one with "Just Jane " on. Thanks for watching

Given that about 7,000 Lancasters were built that's a shirt load of metalwork forming!

@johncrispin2118

5 жыл бұрын

I am pretty sure a presstool would have been made for this skin back when the aircraft was in mass production. I have a personal interest in this Lanc’ as a now long passed friend John Roast, one of the technicians involved in the start of the venture back in the early seventies told me of his role and the flight back from Oz. Recently we had an excellent presentation from Liz Dodds for the Exeter British Motorcycle club ( another highly committed lady involved with the aircraft) detailing the history and the ultimate aim of putting NX611 back in the sky where she belongs, so a three ship Lanc fly past is possible with Vera and PA474 LETS HOPE THE KNOCKERS ,BUREAUCRATS , DETRACTORS AND DENIERS OF HISTORY DO NOT PREVENT THIS.

"It'll look like a three penny bit"...it's a long time since I saw a threepence...or as we called it a thripence...classic!

@migrationfuntimes303

5 жыл бұрын

Ahh, mum's Christmas pudding filled with thrippenys, sixpences, I disliked the pudding but loved the money chase!

@atoieno

5 жыл бұрын

@@migrationfuntimes303 I often wondered how many were lost as a result of being passed through the digestive track!

The wheeling demonstration & explanation is fantastic! Was wheeling also used for making automotive panels?

This lady is from my era, "like a thrupenny bit". Wonder how many millenials will understand that? Great craft(wo)manship, I'd love to listen to a conversation between her and Terry English.

So when the planes were being manufactured new, I presume there was a complex mold that made the pieces to specification in one or two pressings. Can't imagine this much touch labor on a wartime footing. This would seem to be yet another example of old work being much harder and expensive than new work.

How do i get into restoring old planes like this. i love this

Great to see an English Wheel in action. It's getting to be a rare species in sheet shops. Did I detect Kaiser 2024-T4, .025 thou being worked?

Does Simone Cunningham work, or did she and her husband work in a unit at Bournemouth Hurn?. If so, i met them both some years ago when Aim had a test house adjacent to their workshop. They were working on some Spitfire, or possibly Hurricane skins back then.

Amazing skills. I wonder if,during the war, those panels were formed in a press, using dies. Hand forming, while beautiful to watch, would surely be too slow. Does anybody know?

I sure hope you guys are not getting paid by the hour. Really looking good though.! Thumbs up to you all.!

Do you know if they are planning on making a fairing for the mid upper turret?

@frankmcvey

5 жыл бұрын

Geoffrey, "Just Jane" is a Mk VII Lancaster, which used a Martin mid-upper turret, rather than the Fraser-Nash turrets used on the earlier marks. The earlier fairings covered a cam track which mechanically prevented the guns being fired at certain points of their circular azimuth travel to prevent the gunner from shooting his own tail off. This was achieved in the Martin turret by an electrical system within the turret itself, so the fairing was not needed. The Lanc looks a little naked without it, though, doesn't it?

@timorvet1

5 жыл бұрын

@@frankmcvey G'day Frank yes i knew the Mk VII was fitted with both the FN 50 (a small initial run and classed as Mk I or interim Mk VII aircraft) and later fitted with the martin turret. I actually thought work was underway to bring it up to a representative of a MK I/III fitted with an FN 50 turret. Im now guessing this was put in place for the aircraft's taxi rides allowing patrons to experience all crew positions in the aircraft. In the background of this video, what looks like a Martin turret mounted on a stand, is this earmarked to go into the aircraft once she approaches the end of her restoration to airworthiness? Wow with her wartime scheme and this turret fitted she will look like a representative of a Canadian MK 10.

I like the sawhorse's are they factory made?

I wonder what brand that hand shrinker is? it is far better than the one i struggle with.

Isn't that called a compound curve that she is producing on that panel? I think so. Cheers.

nice accomplishment, is there a follow-up when that beautiful plane takes off?

The curve inducing English Wheel: is that what was used when the Lancasters were being factory produced by the ton? Reminds me of what I thought was 'panel beating' witnessed applied in EMMS/Cfld garages and auto repairers on a smaller scale.

@nevillewheeldon1693

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Suzy I'm not sure I would think most of the skins would be stamped/pressed out. Thanks for watching

Coming along very very nicely ,when her time comes to fly ,will it be a crew from the BBMF who take her up ? as there can't be many crews current on a Lanc lol

Is this technique part of the original method or something used for restoration mainly?