.... carry on Mate!
Well, if you insist!
I visited Ardmore for the first time in November and was taken to the AvSpecs hangar. Much to my surprise, I was allowed to sit in the Mossie's cockpit. Not the world's greatest picture, but one I will treasure since those are my knees!
A picture from the nav's seat:
In mid-December, the Mosquito visited Tauranga for the first time (unfortunately a week after I left). This Youtube video records the event, including short speeches by Glyn Powell, who built the fuselage moulds and Keith Skilling, one of the test pilots:
After my Ardmore visit, I spent a week in New Plymouth, flying the Vampire (and a Yak-52).
The Vampire is in beautiful condition and is great fun to fly, if you can forget about the 1000 litre per hour fuel consumption (220 gph in old money - about half a pint per second!). Brett says the Goblin is aptly named, since it gobbles fuel.
An effortless way to climb a volcano (Mt. Egmont)
A volcano makes a great aerobatic reference point
I had a great time. Now if I could just win the lottery and fly one on a regular basis.
aah de Havilland....