The Peoples Mosquito

[Inverted81]

Hi everyone,

I've just caught wind of a POTENTIAL project to finally get a Mosquito back airborne here in the UK. Initially started via the social media, the project appears to be gaining a pace in a pretty short time.

Details on this early website Wix.com PeoplesMosquito created by varcs4 based on reg-top-menu-3 (http://www.wix.com/varcs4/peoplesmosquito)

Would the BBMF take on a wood laminate airframe? As i guess its would be a specialist skill outwith those already held?

I for one would love to see this happen, but we'll see ! :cool:

[Boss Raptor]

Having also recently investigated in depth suitable airframes and all other options such as the New Zealand rebuilds (...newbuilds) - the options are limited and costly unless you get a half decent airframe of which I believe all bar 1 are in the hands of museums/collections and even then it is an expensive but do-able project

I have to say my personal concern is that although the above project seems well intended - to be looking for donations monetary or otherwise without (as far as I can see from the website) identifying an aircraft and/or path it is intended to take - seems a bit premature!?

[mmitch]

This has been extensively discussed on the Key Historic forum by people with the experience to do it. Read the long thread.
Proposed Mossie rebuild in uk - discussion - Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums (http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=113965)
mmitch.

[GQ2]

I think it's fair to say that seeing a Mossie back in the air must top any poll. There have been aspirational websites before, one even boasted that they were going to build a whole squadron of Mossies.... Well, all is do-able with enough bunce, but it's a lot easier to aspire and build a website than create a Mossie virtually from scratch. No end of piles of rotting wood will help. All of which adds to the achievement of the current projects which are actually happening. Having an 'identity' etc is a detail, - the money isn't. If they are starting broke, the chances of success are, sadly, minimal.

[mr fish]

maybe this is a dumb question (trust me...i'm good at em!!) but since childhood i've wondered what mossies would have performed like built in the "normal" manner..i.e alloy and stressed skin.

anyone brighter tham myself care to add an opinion??

[Dr Jekyll]

Wasn't the prototype built in less than 12 months? But I suppose that's having the whole of DH behind you.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Wasn't the prototype built in less than 12 months? But I suppose that's having the whole of DH behind you.

10 months and 26 days - which given we're talking late 1939 and the first 3/4 of 1940 is pretty impressive: everybody was a bit busy at the time!

G

[Megaton]

Project is still ongoing and looking for donations:

https://peoplesmosquito.wordpress.com

[Fantome]

Genghis . . .. . seem to remember reading in SIGH FOR A MERLIN that Alex Henshaw was livid almost daily in the 1939-1941 period at the lack of drive and commitment he saw from some of the 'workforce' in aircraft factories, such as at the big works near Southampton.

Different story at Hatfield and Salisbury Hall, as you imply.


212 Mossies were built at Bankstown in Sydney, or at least assembled there, as much of the manufacture was farmed out to companies such as the Beale Piano Factory in Camperdown and General Motors in Pagewood.

On this You Tube clip there is some spirited demo flying by the late Brian ('Blackjack') Walker, one of the test pilots. (If you go to Tocumwal, down on the Murray, where Walker was based for a short period, they will tell you at the museum that he flew a Mossie through one of the huge hangars , built by the Americans.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7cVvYdLeek