DH Mosquito FB.VI PZ474 At Avspecs

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With Mosquito T.III TV959 moved out of Avspecs in preparation for shipping to FHC, PZ474 (later NZ2384/ZK-BCV/N9909F) has moved into the main Avspecs hangar at Ardmore, New Zealand

Photos from Avspecs engineer Derek Smith's Facebook

Wings Over NZ thread

For flight possibly late 2017, MAYBE at Warbirds Over Wanaka 2018, then to Rod Lewis.

Original post

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They don't hang around, do they?

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Hi All,
Oxcart,
They don't hangar ound, do they?

Fixed that for you.....:D

Geoff.

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So, 2019, remake of 633 Squadron?! :D

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They don't hang around, do they?

Indeed, and this is the best time to "process" as many flying Mosquito re-builds as possible. The knowledge held by the few people involved in re-creating these fliers is a valuable commodity.

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So, 2019, remake of 633 Squadron?! :D

How about a tale of skulduggery, forged paperwork, and rushed departures ahead of the authorities? Add a love interest and a war in the jungle and you could be on to a winner!

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How about a tale of skulduggery, forged paperwork, and rushed departures ahead of the authorities? Add a love interest and a war in the jungle and you could be on to a winner!

For those wondering what Errol has been smoking..... PZ474 has an interesting, if slightly illegal history.

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To save people chasing through the links at the start of this thread, handy summary at the bottom of this page.

Of course, you are required to add extra stuff if you are making a movie, right?

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To save people chasing through the links at the start of this thread, handy summary at the bottom of this page.

Of course, you are required to add extra stuff if you are making a movie, right?

A TV channel in the U.K.is showing tonight a dramatisation of the. Discovery of the tomb of Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 now apparently we find that Howard Carter was having an affair with the daughter of his patron Earl Carnarvon a point in history that has apparently been missed in all previous retellkng of this story!

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Forget a remake of 633 Squadron - it looks as if it's a live action remake of Disneytoon's Planes

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Thanks 1FB - they popped a couple of posts up since I looked early in the week.
There are also some nice views in the video interview in the post before - https://vimeo.com/225830265
Mentions estimated completion in ~12 months - edit: from interview date presumably!

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Hi All,
ErrolC - Thanks for the video matey I saw that but I thought the initial picture/Video still (05:19 in the video)was about modelling......:stupid::D

Questions:- Is it simply because the 'USA' is easier to reach than the 'UK' the engines are overhauled there ? or because it all depends on who can do it quickly and having time ?

Was the B-25 used as a demonstration of forward firing gun placements or a mistake do you think ?

Geoff.

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I think it is just that there are well-regarded V12 restorers in the US (eg California) - why ship it further? Hmm if the GBP drops enough? And they are most likely Packard Merlins anyway - KA114's certainly were. Are there any issues with RR vs Packard in FB.VI's?

B25 showed the concept quite well I thought! :-) Presumably the clip was available for cheap! Definitely a low-budget show, but doing a fine job IMO.

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Hi All,
ErrolC - Many thanks for answering my questions matey...:eagerness:

Geoff.

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No problem, just my semi-informed rambling :-)
Having now watched all of the interview, Warren calls out that the Spitfire's Merlin is a Packard, so PZ474's are home-grown.

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Hi All,
ErrolC - Yes that bit of info took me by surprise also!....:rolleyes:

Geoff.

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Brilliant to see PZ474 coming back together.

Back in 1987 or so, when Stuart Howe's 'Mosquito Survivors' came out, this was mooted by Stuart as possibly the next one to fly. A composite fuselage was well advanced we were told. Of course that never happened, and the next I heard of the aircraft was when a couple of guys turned up at the hanger with pictures of a Mosquito wing they had found at Chino. Much had been done, but it was a long, long way off being good enough for flight. So it was great to hear that Warren and his team had done a deal to acquire the remains, and work their magic on them.

Which is the really great thing about what they are doing - they aren't affecting the preserved aircraft in museums - the original aircraft remain for posterity, whilst Avspecs use those whose airframe has become seriously compromised, and build a living, breathing machine from the parts that remain. Here's to many more. I heard there was one more underway once 474 was complete. Lets hope for a good few more after that.

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That's a nice take on it - I feel much the same about the current train of Spitfire rebuilds such as P9374 and N3200, or Hurricanes such as P2902 that contain comparatively low proportions of wreck-recovered material. They're not of all that much interest as heaps of wreckage corroding into dust in museums, and we're not really losing much original material by rebuilding them simply because there wasn't much left to begin with. Compare the loss of some lumpy corroded aluminium with the pleasure and interest gained by seeing an airworthy Spitfire I, Hurricane or Mosquito, and to me there's little contest. As Bruce said, the complete static examples in museums suffer not one jot.

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Other than the wing detached for display at Lambeth, is it true to say that TV959 was seriously compromised, it seemed pretty complete otherwise. Presumably the original fuselage was destroyed upon completion of the restoration -or was it?

Totally agree Bruce and Tin , and it would be wonderful to see one flying in Europe eventually; preferably not just a visitor...