The Split Pea Rivet test

Bob Axsom · #1 12-03-2009, 01:17 AM

I am currently reading "Spitfire: A Test Pilot's Story" by Jeffrey Quill. I am used to reading "There I was ..." accounts of pilots but this one is not like that at all - very open and honest personal account of test flying the Spitfire. On page 108 I found the most fascinating test description I can ever remember reading. Flush riveting was used on the prototype Spitfire K5054 for the smoothest possible surfaces but at that time it was considered difficult, expensive and time consuming in production. So they went to a local grocery and bought several bags of dried split peas and glued them on every flush rivet head for an objective test of the benefit over round head rivets. The speed was reduced around 22 mph. That would have been a satisfactory conclusion of the testing in most organizations but not this one. They progressively scraped off the split peas to determine which flush rivets were beneficial and which ones were not and the results were applied to production airplanes.

Bob Axsom

pierre smith · #2 12-03-2009, 05:42 AM

.....meaning that our RV's only gain 4 1/2 MPH with flush rivets because the Spit ran near 400 and we run 200.

??

Best,

flybye · #3 12-03-2009, 06:48 AM

I've been using Lentils.

mark schoening · #4 12-03-2009, 07:13 AM

Ah--if you fly on a hot day in the rain, down south, would you make pea soup ?

Ironflight · #5 12-03-2009, 09:16 AM

Dang Bob - every time you find and post about a new good book, it costs me money at Amazon....I'll have to add this one to my wish list for Christmas - sound interesting!

Paul

az_gila · #6 12-03-2009, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironflight

Dang Bob - every time you find and post about a new good book, it costs me money at Amazon....I'll have to add this one to my wish list for Christmas - sound interesting!

Paul

...of IFR flying during the test flights is also interesting...

Navigating by reading the "bumps" in the solid stratus below based on what was causing the "bumps" - such an electric generating plant....

Rick S. · #7 12-04-2009, 08:20 AM

Love that kinda of history...it's the main reason I never considered extended range tanks for my RV-10...Can't hold pea that long

Brooklands · #8 12-04-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironflight

Dang Bob - every time you find and post about a new good book, it costs me money at Amazon....I'll have to add this one to my wish list for Christmas - sound interesting!

Paul, while you're at it add "Sign for A Merlin" by Alex Henshaw. Henshaw was the production test pilot at the main factory, and used the 'bumps' from the cooling towers of the nearby power station at Hamms Hall as a guide for letting down through a solid overcast. Alex was also the holder of what must have been the longest standing record in aviation history: London - Cape Town - London, set before WW II and only broken this year.

I bought Jeffrey Quill's book when it first came out in the 1980's, and its an excellent read, in fact I think its time I read it again.

Brooklands

frankh · #9 12-04-2009, 04:40 PM

Read any more books about Spitfires or I'll start thinking of ways i can own one!

Speaking of which, shouldn't all you American guys be drooling over P51's?..

Frank

Bob Axsom · #10 12-05-2009, 06:05 AM

It is the content of the book that matters. "Flight of the Mew Gull". "Sigh for a Merlin" and "Spitfire: A Test Pilot's Story" are very enjoyable to read because of the author's personal first hand perspective in the the content and their writing style. I'm sure their are excellent stories about the P-51, F4U, F6F, P-38, P-39, P-40, F-82, P-63 but everything I have read is by a historical writer which amounts to an expanded research paper or a pilot that has nothing to do with the development of an airplane.

At one time in my work life I was one of a group of engineers that took all of the scrap tags and Material Review Records (major discrepancies) at the McDonnell Aircraft Co. on the F-4 and F-15, researching the cause, determining if a trend was indicated and initiating corrective action. This kind of inside information that shows initiative and desire to to get to the hard facts interests me.

Anyway, this thread is about a real world test method and it's implementation that relates to the riveting in our RV's. It is interesting to read an actual test of the benefits in non-text book terms.

Bob Axsom