Leyton House CG 901B

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Hein
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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by Hein »

robdebie wrote:
Hein wrote:Hi Rob,

If you mean at TU Delft the tub is still there. I was at the lab for work frequently. (Off topic i know). 8)

Hein
Yep, that's the one! But I do not recognise the exact location. Possibly the composites lab?

As I remember it, professor Beukers arranged through his contacts with Henny Vollenberg, who partly owned March back then. It arrived with the front upper part removed. On the front side of the cockpit opening, lines were sketched to outline next year's cockpit opening. You can see that vaguely in your photo.

Rob

Cool story about how it got there!!
The leyton house was always one of my favorites and suddenly saw it hanging from the ceiling while working at TU 8)
It is hanging in the composites lab, next to the "vliegtuighal" were i was working frequently in the past testing material samples.

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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by robdebie »

Yes, the 'vliegtuighal' (aircraft hangar), I spent many years there. It used to be a very special place to do your graduate work, and the main ingredient was the 'coffee table' .. seriously! It was the centerpiece of the lab, where students and staff spent many hours. What we did not realise is that we learned so much from each other right there. We would discuss testing results, drawings were made on napkins, discussed mathematical models, material samples were shown, you name it. So instead of learning and growing from just your own graduation project, you would learn so much more. We had access 24 hours a day, using hi-security keys copied in composite, in my silicone rubber moulds :-) At night we could 'play & learn' using the machines and materials. A whole generation of composite companies started right there: Airborne, ALE, Kok & Van Engelen (KVE), Delft Thermoplastic Composites, and I'm forgetting a few. You possibly work for one of them? Unfortunately, even the staff did not understand the role of that humble coffee table, so it disappeared. It came back later, but I don't know whether it functions as before.

Rob

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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by robdebie »

And I forgot about the Leyton House tub. I was quite excited when it arrived, but I was one of the few. Many shrugged their shoulders. I barely fit in it, but it gave me a whole different view on F1 racing: such a tiny tub, so close to the ground, doing 300 km/h, oh dear.. And the lack of damage, despite that starting accident, that was amazing. I also remember that you play 'turtle' with it: if you put it upside down, you could crawl in it and stick you head out, and that looked like some kind of weird turtle. The guys that 'invented' it were still laughing the day after. They were the same guys that took my discovery of the 'eigenfrequency' of the main building's elevators one step too far: they tried it during the weekend, but went too far, the thing locked up (some kind of safety catches that kicked in when it sensed a 'falling' motion), and they spent a few hours in there waiting to be rescued :-) Good times!

Rob
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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by Hein »

Nice TU stories Rob! It's a small world.. And indeed i worked for Airborne at the time of me testing at TU. Now sinds a few years at GTM with Jan-Willem Gunnink (TU roots).
Cheers, Hein

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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by robdebie »

My first guess was indeed Airborne. I remember Marco and Arno developing their special boat, we called it 'zweefpraam'. They were extremely secretive and reclusive, totaly outside the 'culture' that I described above, making them fairly unpopular. They were joined by Michel and formed Airborne in 1995, in the Radex building in Delft. Later they moved to an office near Leiden, with production taking place at Oestgeest. Later again they moved to Ypenburg, in the old Fokker Ypenburg factory.

I remember attending lectures by Jan-Willem Gunnink, on aircraft structures, but I don't remember specific details. He left some time after, together with a few others, to form GTM.

Rob

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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by wadny »

Rob and Hein, I have really enjoyed your discussion about the Leyton House tub. It's amazing how random things can connect people. I'm a retired embedded systems engineer myself, and worked mostly in medical electronics and aerospace. I've had some interesting connections with people that shared a common workplace but at different times.

Anyway, back to modeling - I finished the ignition wiring on the engine, and decided it was time to do some serious assembly. First, I applied some Tamiya Weathering Master Burnt Red powder to the headers, then glued them to the engine. I then glued the engine and rear suspension assembly to the floor pan. I had to use a little Milliput at the seams between the headers and the exhaust outlets, and painted them with Molotow chrome after the Milliput hardened. Progress.

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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by steinietrabi »

Later, lay the cables as close as possible. As far as I can remember, these were mostly attached directly to the housing surface.
Greetings Thomas
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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by Hein »

Wow this looks excellent!
I have build this model as curbside and i still have a new one on my stash, i think i also go for engine and details in my next LH build.
Hope to see more soon.

Have a nice New Years Eve :)
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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by Bonanza »

Any more updates on this build? It's awesome so far!

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Re: Leyton House CG 901B

Post by ringleheim »

Engine detail looks great!

This is one of the very few Tamiya 1/20 F1 kits I never took a crack at, though I always wanted to!

Very innovative monocoque design for its day. Nice color, nice looking car all around!

I'm anxious to see more!
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