Following John Gaertner's remark about the front wing, I hastily Photoshop'd a bit on the bottom to see what it looked like.

From the top: what I had, the convention, the compromise, the result. I know the roof still looks a bit Noddyish - it's the phone camera. Anyway, that's it for now; further alterations will be dealt with on the job. The model is now back with S-Can for the final scanning and production of the .dxf files for the 12mm plywood buck. A quick call to a local chap to make sure his CNC router is all up and running - it is - and progress is being made. I shall have to chivvy along my chum who's doing the subframe drawings; I think he's having rather too much fun in Milan.

Mr Holmes has informed me that the head I stripped for rebuild is actually a factory replacement and in very good condition. This is something of a bonus and made the cutting of the valve seats a very simple operation. Mr Holmes' Black & Decker outfit probably dates from the 60's and does a sterling job.

Because the seats hadn't worn unevenly, very little material was removed to get an excellent result.

He has a similarly vintage machine for re-facing the valves which were also in reasonable condition. I've just got to touch up the bottom faces in the lathe, then assemble everything without the springs to check I can get the clearances and it'll be good to go.

I think I might have to replace one or two of the valve guides at the back of the engine, but otherwise the work on the head is complete. I came away with a full set of shells for the big ends and mains, so I can get the crankshaft reground and the new pistons and block back in one piece, ready for the work to begin on the supercharging.

My new beam and hoist is now in place in the workshop and its first job was to assist in removing the head from the seized 6/80 I picked up in Norwich a couple of weeks ago.

A strap under each end and a few judicious taps with the knockmeter got the job done in no time at all. Without the new lifting gear I would have struggled - the Series II 6/80 head is a very heavy beast.

Obviously, the plugs had been out for a long time; water and a 1/4" of rubbish had accumulated and the bores were very rusty. It's recoverable - most things are - though that's a job for the future. The engine had been standing for many years and I was surprised by how easily the head came off. The gasket looked in excellent condition and none of the studs were rusty. Strange.

And, talking of Norwich, I popped up to see The Other Wright Brother who was busy on his next project - a very old 'Sterling' free-flight kit of a Stinson Voyager. It's being converted to electric with 3 channel radio. Almost there now.