Why don't we buy a Mossie for the BBMF?
 

I was at the Virginia Beach Military Aviation Museum last week:-

Military Aviation Museum | Home

Certainly I can recommend a visit if you are in the area as the planes are easily accessible to a point where you can walk up to them in the hanger and actually touch them. Spitfire, Hurricane, Aerocobra etc etc. All in suburb condition.

However what took my eye was an immaculate Mosquito, it last flew in July this year and like any of the planes in this collection is up for sale:-

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...pse77f3c43.jpg

Va. Beach museum owner selling plane collection | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

I began to think and realised that the UK actually is quite a rich nation wouldn't it be great if our Leader put his hand in his pocket (or discounted the Indian aid by a few million) and handed it over to the BBMF to add to their flying collection?

What's your views?

Well our PM certainly has no power or jurisdiction to do such a thing with tax-payers money.

However, it would certainly be a nice gesture on behalf of many of those multi-billionaires who live in UK but don't pay UK taxes. It would certainly get them a lot of very favourable publicity.

Hint, hint.;)

in the grand scheme of things it won't cost too much will it?

'The only airworthy Mosquito in the world' - it would be lovely to see it flying in formation with the Lancaster, the Spitfire and the Hurricane........

Well, Jerry would want at least US$10m for it for a start.........which would be a bit of an issue.

The other big issue is this a/c couldn't be operated on a UK CAA permit, because it's effectively a new build that hasn't been built to original specs (modern glue) so even though the BBMF operate on mil reg, I'm not sure how support from BAe to the BBMF would be arranged unless BAe did the new calcs inspections etc to OK it etc.........any currect/ex-BAe bods on here care to comment on such a theoretical proposition...?

BBMF came oh so close to getting RR299, but it sadly crashed a few months short of being handed over to the flight by BAe at the end of that years display season or so the story goes.

Would be the perfect excuse to have the entire CAA management taken out and shot. God knows they deserve it.

(disclaimer - joke. O Tempora O Mores)

The country must be broke - the football clubs only spent £630,000,000 on new players during this transfer window!

(I wonder how much of this we will get in tax? - charge the clubs VAT at 20% and we could get 633 Squadron - never mind a solitary Mossie).

That's already happened......... just not with 'our' Lanc, Spit or Hurri ;)

Keep answering please
 

Yes I understand all the issues but this is an opportunity?

The BBMF I think has stagnated and a Mossie would fit in nicely (along with a few more WW2 planes).

Concerning the PM and what he can do, he appears to be able to magic money to many places including monies to kidnappers etc. There are many sources of government monies that are routed to obscure uses, however I understand the politics.

Perhaps we could have a Vodafone Mosquito?

Mosquito FB.26 N114KA is based at Virgina Beach painted in Royal Air Force markings as KA114. Manufactured in Canada in 1945 KA114 never saw combat in Second World War and in 1948 was sold to a farmer in Alberta, Canada, where it deteriorated in a field until purchased by the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transport in 1978. It was bought by the Military Aviation Museum in 2004. Restoration work was done over an eight year period by AVspec in New Zealand. Most of the metal parts were reused, and Glyn Powell, of Auckland, New Zealand built the new fuselage, wings, and tail sections from wood. It took almost three years to build the wooden airframe. The Mosquito is painted with the markings of 487 Squadron RNZAF as EG-Y in honor of the Royal New Zealand unit flying Mosquitos during WWII. Registered in New Zealand as ZK-MOS the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued the aircraft a Certificate of Airworthiness in September 2012. It took its first flight in over 60 years on 29 September at Ardmore Airport near Auckland, New Zealand. It arrived in Virginia Beach in March 2013 and was registered in the United States as N114KA, it received its FAA Certificate of Airworthiness on 30 April 2013. It is the only airworthy de Havilland Mosquito.

Couldn't we sell a couple of the BBMF Spitfires to pay for it. It would certainly make a welcome change to the current displays.

The trouble is it's in danger of not being airworthy as jerry has now parked his entire collection, and sold off/selling off a lot of it.

There were rumours that Rod Lewis had done a deal to buy the Mossie, but that doesn't appear to have happened, and Jerry seems to be more keen on the idea of parking KA114 up indefinately than selling it on to someone who will fly it...........although I'm sure if the required US$10m was forthcoming it would be sold in a flash.

It's possible that by the end of the year, the only airworthy Mosquito may be a different one as the first post restoration flight of Bob Jens B.35, VR796 in Canada is getting very close.

Recent photo.....

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psafb845bd.jpg

Sadly though the rumour is this aircraft after having a close on 20 year restoration back to flying condition, will undertake a single flight and then be permantley grounded......

Again leaving the world without a flying Mossie :rolleyes:

Name forward Fox3 for the ferry trip :ok:

Well it's only going to get worse LOL, it's not exactly a growing market is it, there are only so few British types we operated during the war and only a finite amount of those airworthy, as for Stagnation, well they added a DAK and a couple of Chippies which are display aircraft in their own right, as well as useful trainers / hacks.

As said the Mossie has not been done to a recognised approval, hence why it couldn't do its delivery via here in its way to the USA.

Wasn't there originally plans i read somewhere for the BBMF to have been gifted the BAe Mossie before its tragic loss? It wasn't far from coming to fruition at the time.

Thanks Coffman - I'm certainly up for it.:ok:
I've ferried a Cessna 152 across the Pond via Greenland; a Mossie should be a doddle.
My granddad was in charge of the engine electrics at Salisbury Hall during WWII, so there's a family link too.

Hmmm, is that really true though?
Hats off to the crews on Saturday at Dartmouth, particularly the Lanc who transited nice and low over my back garden, (50.496N, 3.547W on the way to Bournemouth presumably).
Shivers down my spine for ages at the engine sound and even a black labrador woofing at them as they went over :cool::cool:

I wonder whether an approach to the Heritage Lottery Fund might be in order?

Could the owner be persuaded to loan the aircraft to the BBMF? That way it would be preseved at no cost to him:ok::ok::ok::ok:

Take the money from the tin Triangle pot - oh what heresy. I'll get my coat!

BBMF obviously doesn't have enough funding to acquire a Mosquito. Besides, the Lancaster was a pretty big exception to the "BBMF" mission, but to add another non BofB aircraft to the collection would be stretching a point. Likewise, the general public knows what a Lancaster and Spitfire look like (and a Hurricane to some degree) but a Mosquito? Maybe not.

Personally, I don't know why the whole lot isn't sold off. It's not as if they wouldn't re-appear in civilian hands, and the cost of operating the Flight could be saved. BBMF is a great idea and I agree with its aims, but as the subject of this thread illustrates, you get into a situation where lots of aircraft have a legitimate claim to preservation and operation by the RAF. It would be difficult to argue that a Spitfire is somehow more significant than lots of other aircraft types, so given that the RAF can't operate them all, why operate any at all?