Here is the May 07 report on the rebuild of BL628 the Spitfire V.

The windscreen, canopy and oil tank arrived this month and we have installed the windscreen assembly after a small amount of rework. We had to correct the location of some of the fastener holes to match the existing holes in the fuselage. We reworked the frame assembly screws and fitted low profile plain nuts and painted the inside of the assembly with matt black paint. The screen has been finally fitted and sealed with Urethane sealant. With the screen assembly fitted we have been able to confirm the size requirements for the sliding canopy and the bubble mould has been fabricated and the bubble will be blown shortly. We have also mounted the new oil tank to the engine bearers and this has allowed us to continue with the fabrication of the cowl support structure and the cowl panels themselves.

We are now into the main paint job and this has begun with the main wings. We have removed all the traces of assembly primer and painted inside the inspection and armament access panels with interior silver as well as the panel landing flanges. The various panels themselves have also been painted inside. The wings have then been masked and the primer applied. Work continues on the rubbing down and the top will be applied in the next week. The ailerons have also been primed. The flaps have been finish painted on the inside.

The fabric work on the tail surfaces has been completed and the silver UV barrier applied to the elevators, rudder as well as the trim tabs. These are now ready for epoxy primer and top coat.

The main landing gear legs have been serviced with fluid and charges and top coat painted. The brake slave units have been installed, as have the brake pipes and the wheels trial fitted. These units are now ready for final instalment when the aircraft is assembled.

The oil cooler fairing has been constructed and fitted to the port wing as have the mounting anchor nuts.

The oil tank arrival has enabled some major work to proceed on the cowls and most of the cowl structure around the side cowls has been fitted and the side cowl panels themselves have been started. The top cowl is all assembled now and with the exception of the blisters for the compressor etc. is complete.

The wiring within the fuselage is now complete with the exception of the radio installation. The cabling to the instrument panel has been completed and secured. The wing wiring has also been completed and the limit and safety switches on the main gear locks also completed.

The cockpit cold air vent has been refurbished and riveted into place on the cockpit coaming. The correct style of engine starting button covers have been made by modifying a pair of electrical plug covers and replacing the lids with ones of the correct shape formed in the press.

The final tubing runs have been completed in the fuselage with the installation of the undercarriage emergency blow down pipework to the bottle and charging valve installed. The pipework to the shuttle valves at the retract cylinders has also been fitted. The blow down bottle valve and lever have been detailed and installed. The pipework for the brakes, air delivery to and from the bottles and to the triple gauge have completed. The non operational oxygen system pipes have been run through the RH side of the cockpit from the shut off valve to frame 8. The chassis lock cables have been run from the U/C selector through to frame 5.