“FEE” VERSUS FOE
“overbending” was needed to end up with
a part that matched the drawing exactly.
This often meant creating several forms
before the correct shape was found. These
types of parts were constructed by gluing
several thin layers of hardwood together
around a form and, once dried, machining
them to shape.
As a fighter, it could be said the guns are the heart of the
FE.2b. Real Lewis guns would create legal problems, so TVAL
manufactured its own.
time it would have taken to hand form
them, and then the craftsmen simply hand
finished them. After the long spindly out-
riggers were routed to reduce weight, they
were glued together to form the necessary
long square section. These four structural
parts as they went, but to build the entire
aircraft on schedule in under three years,
they resorted to trial fitting some of the
parts digitally in the computer.
Reverse
Engineering
No complete drawing
set existed, nor any
surviving examples of
the airplane to copy.
The Fee would have to
be almost completely
reverse engineered.
