aussie merc
Well-known member
splash the tank kick the tyres then light the fires V12 merlin what a sweet sound hope they are restored and not just stuck in a shed and forgotten again sadly we are big on dreams and slow to act down here
off topic barnfind
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Karl
Well-known member
There is an interesting story behind the Mosquito in the collection. In the 1950's the New Zealand Airforce sold off their Mosquitoes . The sale occurred at Ohakea just up the road from where I live . Many of the planes were brought by local farmers for the rubber tires or the hydraulic fluid. The guy who had the collection showed up to buy one which he did but his trailer was to small to accommodate the wingspan . He therefore requested that he come back and collect it another day . The air force refused- they all had to be gone that day . What he did was buy another one and then he cut the wings of the first one and the fuselage off the center section/wings of the second . They then fitted nicely on his trailer
There is a restored Mk IX Spitfire at Ohakea which is flown by one of my friends . It was restored by Brendan Deere to honour is uncle WWI Wing Commander Al Deere. Brendan also has a nice Avenger in his hanger as well as a Harvard ! I know Brendan has looked at buying the Mosquito in the past but it never eventuated. The cost of restoration would be huge -I believe that the Merlin alone in the Spitfire cost over NZ$ 1,000,0000 to restore some years ago and the Mosie has two to restore !
There is a restored Mk IX Spitfire at Ohakea which is flown by one of my friends . It was restored by Brendan Deere to honour is uncle WWI Wing Commander Al Deere. Brendan also has a nice Avenger in his hanger as well as a Harvard ! I know Brendan has looked at buying the Mosquito in the past but it never eventuated. The cost of restoration would be huge -I believe that the Merlin alone in the Spitfire cost over NZ$ 1,000,0000 to restore some years ago and the Mosie has two to restore !
tubman
Well-known member
I really did, mainly because I have a book with that exact same picture. I remember it because of the pilot looking right into the camera. I will admit to having a great interest in WW II aircraft. You can be sure that if I could afford a couple of "warbirds", you would never have seen me on this forum.
(Maybe someone will now buy me a couple.)
Hal Beatty
Senior Member
FlatheadTed
Well-known member
Mapua is my home town lots of Flatheads but never heard of this when I was there ,lots of apple orchards I did see a bren gun carrier towing a orchard sprayer tho,Here's some shots of a early Ford club visit when they were building a Mosquito in Auckland . in 2019 could be the one referring to ,the workmanship was right up there ,
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Hoop
Well-known member
It should be noted that the Mosquito was a very demanding aircraft to fly. The fantastic Merlins required skilled, experienced pilots to handle their power.
Single engine operation, especially at low speed and close to the ground, usually produced very bad results. Re: Manchester 1996.
Not sure how much time a guy would need to become proficient in a restored Mosquito.
(Still one of my favorites.)
Single engine operation, especially at low speed and close to the ground, usually produced very bad results. Re: Manchester 1996.
Not sure how much time a guy would need to become proficient in a restored Mosquito.
(Still one of my favorites.)
Talkwrench
Well-known member
V8COOPMAN
Well-known member
True scoop! Things can turn ugly QUICKLY if one allows oneself to get behind the curve in ANY [high performance] airplane, as seen here in the inadvertent loss of control and eventual crash of this Mosquito in Manchester, England in 1996 that Hoop refers-to above. Click the link below for the video.....GRAPHIC! DD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag5ut3tP3ZM
Karl
Well-known member
Horrific -I understand it was something as simple as a carburetor problem on one engine .
My friend who flies the Spitfire has talked about learning to fly the Spit Essentially you train on Harvards ( Texans -I think they were called in the States) and then you hop into the Spitfire and fly it one day. Interestingly the owner of the Spitfire although a qualified pilot doesn't fly it - leaving it to a more experienced pilot -which I sort of understand but personally I would still struggle to spend millions to restore a plane and let someone else fly it exclusively -Karl
V8COOPMAN
Well-known member
Part of the final determination in a nutshell, copied and pasted. The fully-detailed final report notes that the left engine had previously (but not always) shut itself down during SOME negative 'g' maneuvers. It is believed that loss of control was induced by asymmetric thrust causing un-commanded yaw during critical phases of maneuvering, first at the apex of the wingover, and secondly, much closer to the ground during the recovery phase with the left engine's sudden increase in thrust as it's fuel flow returned to previous levels. The lengthy full report is available in a PDF file. DD
_________________________________________________
Investigating agency: AAIB
Narrative:
The last airworthy de Havilland DH.98 T.Mk. III Mosquito (G-ASKH, ex-RAF serial RR299) crashed on 21-7-1996, 1 mile west of Manchester Barton Airport (EGCB) during an air display. Both occupants were killed (pilot Kevin Moorhouse and engineer Steve Watson). According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident.
"The aircraft left Hawarden at 11:30 hrs on 21 July and flew to Barton Airfield where, after a short period holding off, the pilot started his display routine at 11:56 hours. The main display axis was along Runway 09/27. The routine consisted of a series of non-aerobatic manoeuvres such as climbs, descents, medium turns,level flight at 220 to 240 knots, along the display axis not below 100 feet agl and 'wing overs'; the latter is a manoeuvre which involves the aircraft reversing its course by climbing and rolling to the left or right.
The weather was fine, the surface wind was generally from the south at 9 knots and the temperature was 26 degrees C;the wind at 2,000 feet was 240 degrees and 10 knots. The display was nearing its conclusion with a fly past along the display axis from east to west followed by a steep climb into a 'wing over' to the right during which control of the aircraft was lost.
The aircraft was then observed to complete a number of uncontrolled manoeuvres before control appeared to have been regained, but at too low a height to prevent impact with the ground".
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Aircraft destroyed". As a result, the registration G-ASKH was cancelled by the CAA on 16-12-1996 as "destroyed".
The inquest one year after the accident found that a historic problem with this aircraft (engine cutting out during negative g) is what caused the left engine to temporarily but fatally cut out during the wing over.
V8COOPMAN
Well-known member
Kermit does own one, but it's not at Polk City. It's in Oshkosh under the care of EAA. It was flyable in the past, but is no longer deemed airworthy. He talks about a total restoration in the future, but Kermit ain't getting any younger, and already has five or six airplanes currently undergoing restoration. He's kind'a running out of time to get them all done, PLUS the major re-making of Fantasy of Flight itself. Plus, he's STILL buying more stuff every day! DD
I remember reading a technical article about the development of the Merlin engine by Rolls Royce and some of the later improvements made by Packard. One thing I specifically recall was the details around the angle and configuration of the exhaust pipes. If I remember correctly, the thrust alone from those 12 pipes equated to about 150 extra HP. Fascinating story.
One other thing I remember was that the Merlin would never have gained the notoriety it did if it had not been for the US exporting 100 octane avgas and later 120 octane avgas to the UK during the battle of Britian. In the late '30s and early 40s the British were only able to consistently produce 87 octane gasoline.
Last thing, while I do think the Merlin sounds good, IMHO it is no comparison to one of the big radials of the time (R2800 for example).
One other thing I remember was that the Merlin would never have gained the notoriety it did if it had not been for the US exporting 100 octane avgas and later 120 octane avgas to the UK during the battle of Britian. In the late '30s and early 40s the British were only able to consistently produce 87 octane gasoline.
Last thing, while I do think the Merlin sounds good, IMHO it is no comparison to one of the big radials of the time (R2800 for example).
Graeme / New Zealand
Well-known member
I saw that Mozzy fly over my work in Lower Hutt on its way to that Masterton airshow. I may never get to see one again. I remember an article in the paper saying that it had been restored in Blenheim in the South Island of NZ and was soon to be on it's way to its owner in the USA.
GB
GB
Karl
Well-known member
Wow such an amazing bit of machinery . I've always been amazed how essentially the same engine in a Spitfire and a P51D sounds so completely different-However both spine tingling.
Given my mechanical skills any pilot who got me to work on his engine would have to have a death wish. My grandfather however worked on one of The Southern Cross engines when Kingsford Smith flew to New Zealand -Boy I wish I could find the piston ring from it he kept as a momento .-Karl
V8COOPMAN
Well-known member
Several different things can cause the difference in sound, the most common of which might be propeller blade style, number of blades, blade length, pitch setting, RPM, and even the aerodynamic load on the propeller at any given time. Also, the material the blades are made from (some Spit propellers have wooden core blades that special machinery pressed a hard metal mesh coating and cellulose sheet over the entire propeller) can have an effect on resonance of the blades at speed. Some earlier Spitfires had three-bladed propellers.
A close second factor might be differences in exhaust, like stack length, shape, and even the angle or direction that the stacks exhaust into the slipstream.
Common P-51 blade shape and exhaust stack configuration below.
3-bladed propeller, and exhaust stackson early Spit!
Note the narrow blade profile (compared to P-51), and distinct exhaust stack shape on this Mark VIII Spit.
……….
This tugged at my memory. Grew up in Fostoria Ohio where Willie Snyder ran the airport & had 2 P-40 s. One actually flew out of there in the 50s. When at O S U, a P-51 flew into Don Scott field where my friend taught flying. I loved to listen to & smell the exhaust from that V-12 on start up. Being part Scott & part Welsh i natually fell in love with all Brit. war birds......
In the 60s i was blessed to help work on Bill Munceys hydro powered with a V-12.
Thanks !!!!!4 the memories !!!!!
In the 60s i was blessed to help work on Bill Munceys hydro powered with a V-12.
Thanks !!!!!4 the memories !!!!!
Hoop
Well-known member
Knew several guys who flew P-51's. One in particular who had experience flying a bunch of WW2 aircraft during and after the war ... including the Mustang in Europe.
His most fascinating assignment was flying the P-63 Kingcobra "Pinball." The aircraft had extra aluminum armor and was equipped with sensors that recorded the hits of special bullets ... fired by student gunners training in B-17's. A red light in the prop hub would also flash to indicate hits thus "Pinball."
During that time it wasn't a big deal to be flying one type of aircraft one day and switch to another the next morning ... and as they'd say, "We'll brief in the air."
His most fascinating assignment was flying the P-63 Kingcobra "Pinball." The aircraft had extra aluminum armor and was equipped with sensors that recorded the hits of special bullets ... fired by student gunners training in B-17's. A red light in the prop hub would also flash to indicate hits thus "Pinball."
During that time it wasn't a big deal to be flying one type of aircraft one day and switch to another the next morning ... and as they'd say, "We'll brief in the air."