De Havilland Mosquito to fly again.

[Al Schlageter]

With the large number of P-51s powered by Merlins, never mind the other Merlin powered a/c, there must be some insurance companies that will insure the a/c.

[JG52Uther]

Would have loved to have seen it at Legends

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by JG52Uther

Would have loved to have seen it at Legends

I have heard rumour of another Mossie over here being restored, shhhh!

[JG52Uther]

I know, but at the pace things move here (cough Blenheim cough)who knows when that will be done!

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by JG52Uther

I know, but at the pace things move here (cough Blenheim cough)who knows when that will be done!

In the end of the day it's all down to how deep the pockets of the owners are. You mentioned the Blenheim, but at least that one has flown.. think about the Beaufighter or the Cr.42 in Duxford.. They'll be done, but some of these projects can take up to 20 years!

[fruitbat]

i have a dream.......

Lancaster, Mosquito, Spitfire and Hurricane side by side flypast at Duxford.......

The Merlins !

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by Al Schlageter

With the large number of P-51s powered by Merlins, never mind the other Merlin powered a/c, there must be some insurance companies that will insure the a/c.

it's not only a matter of engine per se, it's a series of things:

1) the plane has very low flying hours since new, so problems might still arise
2) the route to follow would mean a lot of risks, not only geographical/political ones, but also environmental/meteorological ones.
3) it's a tricky plane to fly which is very unforgiving when low and slow, and there aren't many good pilots for it out there.
4) You need to make sure that for every stop of the journey you have the correct fuel, oil, suitable runways, alternates and possibly spares.. it's a HUGE logistics work to make things right. And still you'd have to fly over a huge portion of ocean and territories that might not like you to fly in their airspace at certain altitudes, cos let's not forget that you'd have to take the Mossie at high altitude for it to be very efficient.

I could carry on, but I think this is enough as it is to scare any insurance company, even the ones that are specialised in this sort of things. Things can be done, but common sense must prevail when dealing with extremely rare machines.

Another (very likely) option is that the owner is gonna get tired of it and will put it on the market in a couple of years' time, and the Mossie will finally head back home (provided Kermit Weeks or some other minted collector decides he wants it!).

[bongodriver]

I thought Kermit already had one which is technically flyable.

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by bongodriver

I thought Kermit already had one which is technically flyable.

It was untill its been rotting in his hangar.

[Sternjaeger II]

yeah, whatever happened to his Mossie? I heard he kinda gave up on it, but don't know the details.