RAF Benevolent Fund sculpture creation
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The team at Lancashire laser company, Fitzpatricks UK, have been busy creating a 12ft sculpture of a Battle of Britain Pilot for the RAF Benevolent Fund garden, due to be unveiled on May 24-28 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The impressive sculpture will be the main feature of the garden, and will showcase a young pilot looking up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun as he sees how the air battle fairs above him. Holding a mug of tea, the figure will display incredible details including every crease and fold of the clothing and equipment worn.
Behind the creation of the stainless-steel sculpture, is Nelson-based sheet metal fabricator company Fitzpatricks UK, who have been working on the project over the last two years. We spoke with Mark Fitzpatrick, CEO of Fitzpatrick UK…
How did you get involved with this project?
I’ve done bits and bobs for John locally for several years now, he contacted me originally as he wanted some laser parts and metal work for one of his gardens. Occasionally he rings for some advice as he always has a new creation on the go. He first reached out to me about the pilot sculpture in May 2020, and started by asking 'Is this even possible?' We went through a phase discussing possibilities, and eventually John talked me into it! Our company motto is 'Great things are only possible through outrageous requests.'
How long have you been a laser engineer for?
I started off working in welding and fabrication after school. Then, years later, I set up Fitzpatricks UK, and I’ve managed it for over 20 years. The company started as a one-man-band in a friend’s garage and now we have 32 staff working on a 30,000 ft2 site.
What is the creation process for the sculpture at Chelsea Flower Show?
A big part of the process is listening to John as hard as we can, and telling him what is possible, and what might not be. Then we do the computer-aided design (CAD) work, the manufacturing and the engineering. We made a scale model about eight months ago so we knew that it would definitely work. In terms of the laser cutting process, it's basically a beam of light that cuts through the metal. The laser is a couple of millimetres away from the metal, but as it is so intense, it turns the metal molten and then high pressure nitrogen gas is fired to mould the metal.
How long will it take to create to laser the sculpture?
On the design side we have two people working on the sculpture and on the manufacturing side, three or four are involved. Everyone wants to do a bit. The manufacturing side takes about a month. We have built some scaffolding and shelter to do the upper half of the sculpture as it’s too big to fit in the warehouse!
What have some of the challenges been?
The CAD size has been a big challenge – it is basically the computer drawing that tells the laser what to do. It is the biggest file we have on the system, it takes the computer about five minutes to load. It was a big job getting it on the computer from John’s head – a very long and laborious process, but we got there in the end. John's son George did a lot of CAD work in university and managed much of the beginning work, which was a great help.
The pricing changes for stainless steel have been crazy too after an unpredictable couple of months. John bought the metal back in Christmas 2021, but now it’s doubled in price. We’re very lucky John thought ahead of time!
How do you feel that your work will be shown at Chelsea Flower Show?
Honestly, it feels like we've made it – it’s very special. It’s so significant to see it materialise from our initial discussion to actually having the 12ft sculpture in front of you. We will look back on it in years to come. It’s a great feeling to help raise awareness of the RAF Benevolent Fund and the sacrifices WWII veterans made. The garden has such a powerful story and we’re proud that we’re able to help tell it.