Two suggestions would be contacting Bill Larkins (who has been photographing aviation around the SF Bay area and further afield since the late-1930s)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34076827@N00/

And Taigh Ramey

http://www.twinbeech.com/

Sadly, it appears that the Kiwis burned it! 🙁

No Merlins in this one Rick.

George Eyston’s ‘Thunderbolt’, powered by two Rolls-Royce R engines.

Is that “Hawker Hurricane” by Francis K Mason?

Yes indeed. 🙂

Back in 1981 I visited IWM Lambeth. The port half of a Mosquito was then on display. Did this find its way to Duxford during the recent shuffle?

It passed into the ownership of TFC, and moved to storage at Duxford quite a few years back. Subsequently sold to Paul Allen, it is now in
New Zealand

Congratulations. Wow, 6 airworthy Spits under one roof!

One snuck off to Duxford while you weren’t looking! 😉

It was rebuilt and iirc flew again in a very distinctive all black colour scheme.

Rob

Not so, the second Blenheim was rebuilt from another airframe.

David,

20 or 30 years ago, the same may have been said of some of the recovered wreckage in storage with the FAA Museum. Now they have a complete Albacore on display, and a Barracuda on the way. I would argue that the Ventura is unlikely to crumble away to dust where it is, and may be restored at some future point. Maybe a donation from someone “because Grandad flew Venturas” or some such – who knows? The point being, once it’s gone, it’s gone. In 20 or 30 years, once the supply of relevant restorable airframes has slowed, there may well be more motivation to restore it. Or the Museum may decide to contract it out in the interim. There seems no pressing reason to chuck it out (“de-accession” it in museumspeak).