Jet engine swivelling mounts

I thought I'd post these pictures, not because the parts are particularly tricky, but because the application is ambitious, experimental, ground-breaking, pushing the frontiers of a technical hobby….. yes, all those things.

It started with a phone call from an aeromodeller, telling me he wanted to build a Wren-jet powered aircraft and to be able to swivel the engine, once in flight, to direct the thrust downward, in the hope of achieving a hover, a la Harrier. Could I make the parts need for the swivelling engine mounts ? Naturally I jumped at the chance, and in due course his very clear drawings arrived for inspection. A deal was struck and I set to work. The parts comprise a mix of steel and light alloy, in ones or twos. In the photos the background paper has a 5mm grid, so some idea of sizes can be obtained.

These are steel …. (it's a standard M6 capscrew, but with a hardened steel sleeve) ..

whilst these are light alloy, in pairs ...

and finally, the whole ensemble ...

This modeller, who wishes to remain anonymous until the project is further advanced, is well aware of the control challenges to be faced and is already developing control systems and software for separate aspects of motion. I sincerely hope that we will have the chance to learn more in due course. I can only admire his spirit of adventure and dedication to his objective.