The People's Mosquito

^^^^^^^^  Does this mean we MAY end up with 2 Mossies in the UK ? 

It might also have to do with position in the production line. As the Late Glyn Powells is tipped to be headed to the other Mossie group the TPM might see this as a quicker way to get the aircraft flying. 

What a fantastic sight. Well done to all concerned 

It appears to be very important to TPM, certainly ever since it has been considered a viable option.

I wish them luck, however I have a question.

How important is it to build the airframe in the UK?

Making molds and doing work for the first time that has been already done in NZ seems a bit counterproductive for a group subsisting on donations.

In other words, by using existing molds and the considerable experience of the ND workers, wouldn’t there be some, perhaps substancial, savings?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hi All,

These via PMM Facebook page :- https://www.facebook.com/peoplesmosquito/

5/11

Thanks to http://warbirdsnews.com/tag/de-havilland-mosquito for some excellent coverage of our latest update and for the continued support of our project.

We’re immensely proud of the work being delivered by the team at Retrotec. Seeing the fuselage moulds take shape represents a giant leap forward for the project and the start of something special for all those who have backed us and continue to back us in returning a de Havilland Mosquito to the skies over the UK and Europe.

Can you help support this remarkable work? 

(Click News.com link above for article and more photos)

19/10

This week I managed to pop into Retrotec to visit Guy Black and check the progress on the Fuselage Moulds…. well I was amazed and cannot tell you the sheer size of these things! We still need your support to finish them off so please if you can spare that £1 go to our website www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk for links to donate.

We will be organising for Club Members early 2020 a chance to see these engineering beauties up close!

Geoff.

I suspect that if Glyn Powell had had his magnificent rebuild operation underway a decade or so earlier, TFC would have had TV959 in the queue for their operation rather than selling her on.

It would take several trainers to equal the cost of a new Mosquito…but only two or three Spitfires….hence my suggestion.
My reason for mentioning the trainers was simply to show that there is a great deal of warbird invested wealth out there.
If 2-3 Spitfire/Mustang owners really wanted one, they could certainly get one.

What we seem to have is the rich folk not having the same desires as the “enthusiasts”…and the average air show punter isn’t happy about it…the same way they’re upset when something is sold abroad or painted in a scheme not of their liking.

Really, I’m surprised no one (or group/partnership) has one yet.
Certainly, it would make the owners the envy of the UK warbird scene and would give them a unique cache (all the better for “bragging rights” at their club :)).

I asked on Facebook, after the TPM person posted that spiel, how long they’ve been fundraising. No answer yet. Perhaps they guessed what I was thinking.

I’ve never seen any photos of the parts that make up DZ542 but as it’s one Glyn was collecting I expect there’s much, much more for MPT to work with than RL249. Considering TPM isn’t even restoring their aircraft to its original state surely they’d consider a different airframe? Even if they still don’t have enough for it…

The recent thread here about the number of flying warbird around the world told us the UK is home to:
27 Spitfires
8 Hurricanes…and
numerous Sea Furys, Mustangs, P-40s, Buchons, a Corsair and who knows how many Tiger Moths, Harvards, Stearmans….

How many Tiger Moths, Harvards and/or Stearmans would one need to sell to finance the purchase and operation of a Mossie? I’m guessing the owner wouldn’t have quite enough to make up the difference! For that matter, it would take a Biggin Hill (remember that?) or TFC-sized operation to sell off some of its fleet. Then again, I do like the idea of a syndicate or partnership as J Boyle suggested further on.

If nothing else TPM is interesting to follow on social media if you like pictures of a merchandising tent at different airshows during the season.

Change the goal/business plan to purchase an almost complete aircraft, shrink the timeframe, and potential investors will gain a tangible quick return on their efforts.

I’m guessing this is the plan of the new Pathfinder Mosquito group, with their aim of raising 750k by end of year/early next which is clearly the price of remains of DZ to kick start the project.
That’s a lot to raise in such a short time, but, I agree, the best way to do it….probably the only way to do it….as unlike the Peoples Mosquito, there’s something visibly tangible to see early on, rather than just a data plate dug out the ground.

Hi All,
dcollins103,
What about scouting out museums who find it hard to stay afloat, would welcome an injection of cash and are willing to part with their Mosquito ?
so long it passes any tests to examine whether or not it would be a viable candidate for returning to an airworthy status ?…..:confused:

Geoff.

This project might have a better chance of success if it were more ambitious – with a real target, such as the nearly-complete Mosquito in New Zealand. Buying a tangible Mosquito for the nation might get bigger contributions flowing – rather like the Vulcan – rather than trying a scractchbuild/dataplate job which will take many years to complete.

Just my 2p.

Absolutely agree!

Change the goal/business plan to purchase an almost complete aircraft, shrink the timeframe, and potential investors will gain a tangible quick return on their efforts.

There is no established resale market yet for the Mosquito as a type. So anyone who ploughs the money in from the start is not necessarily looking at a return but purely wants to own and fly a Mosquito. Most other single engined warbirds are easier to operate financially and have known resale values.

Our fundraising total is in the region of £125,000 currently

In August 2014, apparently £3000 had been raised. By my calculations, to date this project has raised an average of approximately £40,000 per annum. Its website states that its budget for the project is £7,000,000. If its fundraising continues at the present rate, I calculate that they it will have raised the necessary sum by 2192. Unfortunately I will not then be around to see it fly.

The recent thread here about the number of flying warbird around the world told us the UK is home to:
27 Spitfires
8 Hurricanes…and
numerous Sea Furys, Mustangs, P-40s, Buchons, a Corsair and who knows how many Tiger Moths, Harvards, Stearmans….

Clearly, there are many warbird owners in the UK with a lot of money.
Why not ask two Spitfire owners to sell their aircraft and go together to buy a newly restored Mosquito similar to the two in the U.S.?

This fund could be used to “prime the pump” to encourage (bribe is such an ugly word :)) them to do so or to buy a project/bits and pieces to give the new airframe an identity.

I’m not being critical of this laudable effort, but suggesting an different way to achieve the same goal.
I’m just leery of a loosely/volunteer community funded effort that will, in all probability, be under funded to meet operating and maintenance requirements. Aeroplanes are expensive to own, operate, maintain, store and insure. I’m not sure “passign the hat” is a sound way to operate a money intensive piece of kit.

To be plain, can we avoid a perpetual funding crisis with dire predictions of what will happen if money isn’t sent now!?
We just suffered through years of that with the Vulcan…with dire threats of scrapping it or it leaving the country in respond to vague offers from Americans.

The owners could each have an engine to call their own, and with two seats, they could both fly in it and be treated like big shots at various events. 🙂

Discuss.

I’ll put my helmet on and await incoming fire. 🙂

Speaking of that killer, I asked them on Facebook how much has been raised so far:

“Our fundraising total is in the region of £125,000 currently. Over the past two months we have raised an average of ~£500/day. Still a long way to go, but we are making good progress. We plan to provide more info on our fundraising in the near future. With the air show season coming to an end it will give us time to analyse our progress in more detail than we have been able to do during what has been for all of our volunteer board members an extremely busy few months. Our club membership is now approx. 750, of which over 80 are Life Members. Our last weekend at Duxford produced around 40 new members. Great to see the amount of support that we have.”

That one’s always a killer !

They held talks to buy Glynn Powell’s Mossie but the deal fell through because of their lack of money!

This project might have a better chance of success if it were more ambitious – with a real target, such as the nearly-complete Mosquito in New Zealand. Buying a tangible Mosquito for the nation might get bigger contributions flowing – rather like the Vulcan – rather than trying a scractchbuild/dataplate job which will take many years to complete.

Just my 2p.

Indeed. At least if they have a tangible project in progress they may be able to build some credibility and start attracting sponsorship and donations.