THE BEAUTY IS IN THE FIGURING IT OUT
EXPLORE.BUILD.DISCOVER.
An old truck. A legendary aircraft.
A willingness to find out.
WELCOME TO PROJECT UNKNOWN
You don’t need all the answers
to make a beginning.
This is a creative journey of learning, restoration and creation. Real projects, unfamiliar tools and the questions that turn into practical skills. The process is the story — including the research, the mistakes and the work still ahead.
The story behind the project ↗TWO BUILDS. ONE CURIOUS MIND.
The projects.
Different scales. The same desire
to understand how things work.
RESTORATION / 1965
A SECOND
CHAPTER.
A Bedford J2L with a story, and an ambitious next chapter. Learning what it takes to turn an old truck into a practical vehicle, one informed decision at a time.
Restoration planningInside the project ↗TWO SCALES. THE SAME CURIOSITY.
THE WORK BEHIND THE WORK
Sometimes the next
thing to build
is the tool.
Making progress also means developing the workspace, learning CAD, planning how to film and designing ways to hold awkward parts. It all belongs here.
Inspect the jig prototype ↓
Inside the jig design.
Aircraft alignment jig / V2 CAD prototype
ALIGNMENT JIG
FROM THE NOTEBOOK
The learning journal.
Research, decisions and ideas
from the work in progress.
Opening notes drawn from the project’s existing research and planning. More to document as the work develops.
CURIOUS BY NATURE. CONSIDERED IN PRACTICE.
Understand it.
Then put it to work.
We are not experts, and we don’t pretend to be. Every unfamiliar tool or technique is an opportunity to build competence — with the right questions, training and controls in place.
Ask better questions.
Research the task, understand what is known and make the gaps visible.
Learn deliberately.
Assess the risk, practise the technique and work within the available skills and resources.
Show the process.
Keep research, prototypes and tested results distinct. Share useful lessons, not just the highlight reel.
TOOLS, RESOURCES & REAL COSTS
Resourceful
by necessity.
Affordability matters. The aim is to explain why a tool earns its place, explore suitable open-source options and record what the work actually costs.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE QUESTIONS
Hello, I’m Shannon.
Project Unknown is my independent backyard building and learning venture.
I’m bringing an old Bedford, a detailed aircraft model and a long list of things I haven’t learned yet into the same story. My background in HSEQ, risk and competency shapes how I approach unfamiliar work: understand it, develop the skills, put sensible controls in place, then apply it.
This has to fit around work, family, available facilities and a real budget. Learning to make useful content is part of the experiment, too. If you’re figuring things out as you go, you’re in the right place.
GOOD QUESTIONS START CONVERSATIONS
Have something
to add to the journey?
A useful lead, a shared experience or an idea for working together — I’d like to hear it.