Oh no, now my secret is out. Perhaps my massive buying of shares in “Balsa’n’Plywood-R-US” of Hatfield, Downsview and Bankstown has revealed my true intentions. The stack of Merlins I have been collecting from around the country and the endless watching of ‘633 Squadron’ has given the game away.
Whilst an airworthy Mosquito would be very nice you have to remember it is not the easiest plane to work on. The glue is the main weak point and checking that the glue is OK cannot be done that easily. Of all warbirds the Mosquito is one where the fact it was not designed to last seventy years is a real consideration. You can easily see problems in a metal airframe and rectify them but a plywood and balsa monocoque is far more difficult. The new build option is about the only way you are going to see one fly.
Kermit Weeks bought his at an open auction where everyone had an equal chance. The fact that Kermit does not tend to fly that many of his aeroplanes applies to some of his other aeroplanes but it does mean that are not currently in danger of crashing.
Doug Arnold was entitled to sell his to whoever he wanted and it would almost certainly have been part of a larger deal that brought something into the country. Airworthy aeroplanes have been going into museums (and sometimes coming out) for years and talking of the Rearwin, the NASM have mentioned they would like me to donate mine to them. It is the oldest survivor, was flown by one of the family, we have all the papers and it is airworthy. They consider it a historical artefact. I consider it transport!
The Fighter Collection Mosquito seems to be the catalyst for this latest round of “what if?” and as others have pointed out, you are not going to stop the trade in warbirds. It is a fact of life and has been happening for ages but as for whether this is a contender for restoration to airworthiness, that is another matter. Let us not forget the wing has been chopped. This was done just inside of the nacelle and there is no current repair procedure for this and the position of the cut makes it very difficult to write up a new one. Several organisations have looked at this over the last ten years or so and so far no one has wanted to take it on. We could, therefore, deduce that this aeroplane is not, at the moment, even a potential flyer. Just look at how long the Mosquito Museum have been working on the wing for the FBVI and that had all its spars!
So, an airworthy Mosquito would have been much more likely if they had not been made of wood and caesin glue, and if the IWM had not cut the wing in such an awkward place (but let us also remember they did this at a time when a Mosquito was virtually worthless anyway) and if Kermit Weeks had pulled out of the bidding at £109.999.95p.
Incidentally, the Cloudster is one of only four still flying and is the only one in Europe. It was imported from the US.
As were a large number of Mustangs, the P63s, P38, P40s, P36, P47, B25’s, A26, at least one Spitfire, F4Us, Bearcats, Tigercats, Hellcat, Wildcat, Avengers, lots of Luscombes, another couple of Rearwins, Beech Staggerwings – the list goes on.
These all fly, or have flown, and are as important to some Americans as the Mosquito is to us. Just a fact of life.
And I am not selling the Rearwin. I am still paying off the loan that bought the two Defiants, Westland Whirlwind and Martin Baker MB5 that I had to swap for it.
You told me you still had one of those Defiants. 😡 😡
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