And Then There Were TWO Mossies.....

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

From Todays Avweb.....

Second Flying Mosquito Takes Off

The only two flying examples of the De Havilland Mosquito flew on the same day in the same country last week, albeit 2,500 miles apart. A newly restored Mosquito took its first flight, with Reno race pilot Steve Hinton at the controls, June 16 at Victoria International Airport. The same day a Mosquito owned by Jerry Yagen's Fighter Factory in Virginia Beach took off for home from Hamilton International Airport in Ontario after performing at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's night airshow the previous weekend. Ironically, both aircraft were recovered from the same British Columbia boneyard owned by Ed Zalesky before taking divergent routes back to the air.

The newest Mosquito, a bomber-only variant, was built in England after the Second World War and went straight to storage before being purchased by Spartan Air Services and modified as an aerial survey plane. It flew grid patterns over Canada's North for 20 years before being retired in excellent condition. It ended up at Zalesky's Vancouver-area facility before being purchased in 1995 by current owner Bob Jens. Yagen's Mosquito was rotten beyond repair when he found it at Zalesky's and he essentially had a new airframe built in New Zealand around the metal parts salvaged from the British Columbia wreck. The British Columbia Mosquito was test flown at Victoria and delivered to Jens' hangar in Vancouver, where its flying future is not known.

Good to hear.....(Quick Blue, get the Mortein.....)
Cheers:ok:

[Pinky the pilot]

Really wish there was one flying in Aussie M`self.:ok:

I recall a story told to me by my late Father about an incident at an airfield `somewhere` in England around late 1944 involving an inpromptu flyoff between a Mosquito and a Lockheed Lightning. Too detailed to describe here now but once related the story as told by Dad to a bloke who completed a full tour as a Navigator in Lancasters on a Pathfinder Squadron!:ooh: (He got the DFC for that.:ok:)

After telling him the story he said that he had heard the same tale about half way through his tour so there may be some basis to it..

Either way, the `Wooden Wonder` was really something!:ok:

[Capn Bloggs]

involving an inpromptu flyoff between a Mosquito and a Lockheed Lightning.
So what happened? Don't leave us hangin'. What beat what?? :E

[kookabat]

Too detailed to describe here now
No it's not. You should see what sort of detail we're getting over on this thread (http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/329990-gaining-r-f-pilots-brevet-ww11-294.html)!

[4forward8back]

Fantastic news! :ok:

And soon there could be three - A52-1054/NZ2308 is under restoration with Glyn Powell in UnZud. For a lazy $3.5mil you could bring her home...

[Critical Reynolds No]

Some nice pics here:
airliner-civil-aircraft-modeller.com ? View topic - mosquito MK35 (http://airliner-civil-aircraft-modeller.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=403)

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Many Thanks for those pics Mr CRN,

L U V - L Y is all I can say....:ok:

[nitpicker330]

Cue the music for 633 Squadron........:ok:

[gassed budgie]

A very impressive restoration of one of the iconic aircraft from WW2. Fantastic to see them flying again.
However, as lovely as the Mosquito is, perhaps the most beautiful piston twin to ever the grace the skies was the the DH 103 Hornet.

http://imageshack.com/a/img842/9609/rp2im.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img819/4640/zha0.jpg

Eric Brown had this to say regards the Hornet.

Just after VE Day the first semi-navalised Sea Hornet PX 212 arrived at the RAE, Farnborough. Eric Brown initiated "work-up to deck-landing" trials. 37 years later, he was still impressed:

"...the next two months of handling and deck landing assessment trials were to be an absolute joy; from the outset the Sea Hornet was a winner!"
"The view from the cockpit, positioned right forward in the nose beneath a one-piece aft-sliding canopy was truly magnificent. The Sea Hornet was easy to taxi, with powerful brakes... the takeoff using 25 lb (2,053 mm Hg, 51" Hg) boost and flaps at one-third extension was remarkable! The 2,070 hp (1,540 kW) Merlin 130/131 engines fitted to the prototypes were to be derated to 18 lb (1,691 Hg, 37" Hg) boost and 2,030 hp (1,510 kW) as Merlin 133/134s in production Sea Hornets, but takeoff performance was to remain fantastic. Climb with 18 lb boost exceeded 4,000 ft/min (20.32 m/sec)"...
"In level flight the Sea Hornet's stability about all axes was just satisfactory, characteristic, of course, of a good day interceptor fighter. Its stalling characteristics were innocuous, with a fair amount of elevator buffeting and aileron twitching preceding the actual stall"...
"For aerobatics the Sea Hornet was absolute bliss. The excess of power was such that manoeuvres in the vertical plane can only be described as rocket like. Even with one propeller feathered the Hornet could loop with the best single-engine fighter, and its aerodynamic cleanliness was such that I delighted in its demonstration by diving with both engines at full bore and feathering both propellers before pulling up into a loop!"[13][N 2]
During this series of tests Captain Brown found that the ailerons were too heavy and ineffectual for deck landing and there were some problems with throttle movement, brakes and the rubber-in-compression undercarriage legs were still fitted. De Havilland were quick to modify the aircraft. Eric Brown:

"Landings aboard Ocean had been made without any crash barrier... Yet, in the case of the Sea Hornet, I had felt such absolute confidence that I was mentally relaxed... Indeed, there was something about the Sea Hornet that made me feel that I had total mastery of it; I revelled in its sleek form and the immense surge of power always to hand..."
"Circumstances had conspired against the Sea Hornet in obtaining the recognition that it justly deserved as a truly outstanding warplane...in my book the Sea Hornet ranks second to none for harmony of control, performance characteristics and, perhaps most important, in inspiring confidence in its pilot. For sheer exhilarating flying enjoyment, no aircraft has ever made a deeper impression on me than did this outstanding filly from the de Havilland stable."

....a bit OT there, so back to the Mozzie.

[Pinky the pilot]

Capn Bloggs; Long story cut short: The Mossie won.

Really don` t have the time to put up the whole tale just now. Will try to do so in a few days.

[OZBUSDRIVER]

Sex on a stick!:ok:

[ruddman]

The Sea Hornet sounds like a scary beast to fly.
Climb with 18 lb boost exceeded 4,000 ft/min (20.32 m/sec. :eek:


Sounds like the Piper Warrior 11 I beat around the skies in way back when. Oh, hang on. You said 4000 ft/m. Not 400. :p


Lucky bastards who got to fly one. :ok:

[AtomKraft]

Gassed budgie.
Wonderful pix, esp. The top one.

Should I ever win the lottery, you can look forward to seeing one fly.

Only thing is, there's only the bits of VX250 (?) at London Colney to go from.
There's no identity left anywhere. :sad:

[JandakotJoe]

What happened to the Mosquito in NZ, is that one of these two?

[flyinkiwi]

What happened to the Mosquito in NZ, is that one of these two?

Yes FB.26 KA114 is Jerry Yagen's one and now lives in Virginia Beach.