Duxford's refurbished Mossie

[f4]

See our feature at http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk

[Thunderclop]

What a marvellous example of restoration, F4....what with only 30 odd survivors worldwide, it's a real treat to see another bought back to it's former glory....

I am looking forward to Glyn Powell's restoration of a 'flying' Mosquito in NZ, some time in the future, it's really amazing that one such as him has tackled the task of building new fuselage moulds to completely build them the way they were....

Any Mosquito restoration, whether static or flying, is huge in my book, the Mosquito [and Hornet] are the most unique aircraft, totally deserving of their place in Aviation History, and also to those who built, serviced, and flew them during WWII, and postwar with the Hornet. [It's a real shame there is none of them left]....

Thunderclop

[HarvardIV]

Looks very good, is it airworthy?

[Thunderclop]

At a guess, I'd say it's a static display, being the with the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.....that's why I'm very interested in Glyn Powell's work, as his restoration is to be 'flying'....
The last flying Mosquito worldwide was a T.III, RR299, which crashed at Barton Aerodrome in England in July 1996, with the loss of both crewmen....
Mr. Powell's first fuselage etc. is apparently going to Canadian Mosquito restorers, but he has in fact created the start of a whole new capability to build/rebuild Mosquitos...
The original aircraft's durability was always dependant on how long the wooden plywood construction would stay glued together, but now, with today's glues, and the gathering prospect of newly constructed aircraft, they may also be able to rebuild some of the survivors to flying-standard....

Thunderclop

[DamienB]

Decidedly NOT airworthy! No engines for a start...

[Mike]

All is not quite as it seems with this one. One outer wing was wiped off in a landing accident during the 1960s, and has been 'reconstructed' to a decidedly non-airworthy condition. Virtually everything forward of the firewalls is fibreglass.

Looks nice though. Soon to be hung up from the hangar roof like a giant Airfix model, however.

[Mike]

.......but now, with today's glues, and the gathering prospect of newly constructed aircraft, they may also be able to rebuild some of the survivors to flying-standard....

or more likely, build new aircraft around a surviving dataplate (KA114, anyone?)

[Mark V]

This is really the only way forward for flyable Mosquitoes in the long term Mike. The key is, I think, to introduce as many original non structural parts as possible, ideally largely from one airframe in order to maintain a degree of continuity in a restored aircraft.

[Mike]

Very true, and not only with Mossies. We've pretty much come to the end of the restorable Bf 109 airframes, with the demise of 'Black 6' and the rest (Duxford's '109E, the Canadian 'F and the USAF Museum and Evergreen examples) ending up in museums, so it's a case of either converting a Buchon airframe or building a new airframe around a few recovered parts. The same is also becoming true to some extent with Spitfires as the supply of restorable airframes is drying up as the demand for Spitfires shows no sign of waning.

Of course, we've had new-build P-51s for some years now.......

[BenG]

... build new aircraft around a surviving dataplate (KA114, anyone?)

Yes, me !

© Avspecs Ltd

[Cees Broere]

Can someone pass the woodglue please? Oh, and some brass screws.

Seriously, I hope that something substantial is being done to KA114 as in her current state, she looks very sorry for itself.

Cees

[Michel Lemieux]

Got to ask.....

What the hell is this ? KA114 ?

Looks like a Moosie leftover.

[O.P.]

Very true, and not only with Mossies. We've pretty much come to the end of the restorable Bf 109 airframes, with the demise of 'Black 6' and the rest (Duxford's '109E, the Canadian 'F and the USAF Museum and Evergreen examples) ending up in museums, so it's a case of either converting a Buchon airframe or building a new airframe around a few recovered parts. The same is also becoming true to some extent with Spitfires as the supply of restorable airframes is drying up as the demand for Spitfires shows no sign of waning.

Of course, we've had new-build P-51s for some years now.......

Theres still a few 109 projects waiting to be started and that have been started.
Red 6.
The Flugwerk 109.
Fighter Factory.
Theres an outfit in Colorado restoring one.
And there are a couple of viable projects in Russia. It's not a lot, but they're out there. And who knows, there's stiil a lot of stuff coming out of lakes in Russia and Norway.

[AndyG]

Not forgetting new build DB601/605's available in the very near future.....

[Mike]

Theres still a few 109 projects waiting to be started and that have been started.
....Fighter Factory.

Essentially the ex-USAF museum Buchon with a DB attached.