Originally posted by Bruce

RS712 is not having wings remade in New Zealand or anywhere else. I understand there is some delamination, much of this is probably the fabric covering coming loose on the airframe. It has never been recovered, so this is highly likely! Kermit keeps a maximum of eight aircraft licensed at any one time (TomW correct me if I am wrong), and the Mossie is not high on his list of priorities!

Anyway, my two pennorth – A well flown flat display is often more impressive than aerobatics. A good pilot can keep an aeroplane in view of the crowd at all times without having to enter into aerobatic manouevres. One of the finest displays I ever saw was Charlie Brown flying a flat display in BM597 at Salisbury Hall – very, very good.

Bruce

Hi Bruce, as far as I can gather Kermit has shown interest in bringing the Mossie back from Wisconsin but as of yet has nowhere to put it what with all the new hangars going up etc, once all the building work is completed I’d say that more of the aircraft will get some much needed TLC. The Mossie itself has, so I’ve been informed, got some de-lamination problems with woodwork and not just the fabric covering, the Florida climate isn’t the greatest place on the planet for wooden a/c 🙁 a bit like the trouble with Mossies in the Far East I assume. A well flown ‘flat’ display is much more applicable to a vintage type (unless it’s a vintage aerobatic type, Zlin etc) than an aero routine in my book, after speaking to a few ‘old boys’ I know who flew them during wartime and their responses to what they’ve seen during the routines is that even with their hundreds of hours on the type they wouldn’t think about doing such manoeuvers at low altitudes if they wanted to stay alive, low and fast was about as far as they’d go but even the greats made mistakes durig such passes, remember the pictures of Don Gentile’s Shangri La after the display for the press? Shuttleworth and The BBMF have it about right as how many types, and more to the point pilots, have they lost to display causes? There will be changes made this I’m sure of but I, like everyone else, am waiting to see just what will be changed.

Tom.

Written by David Burke:Firstly you are talking about putting someone’s life at risk when they fly it . Secondly there are the people on the ground and the family that gets left behind. Documentation is all important when it comes to keeping aircraft in the air

Forgive me if I’m wrong David but I don’t know what the CAA would have to say about one of those restorations, they thrive on paperwork as we saw with the TFC Hurri which was still having paperwork trouble last time I heard so I can’t see why a reputable firm would even think about doing a shoddy job such as that

Tom.

David, any aircraft flying for 60 years will need major work doing to it after all that time, AR213 HAD to be taken apart totally because rivets were falling out everywhere and there’s no way you can re-work such a problem without dismantling at least part of the structure, take a look here if you’re not sure about 434’s rebuild
http://www.arc-duxford.co.uk/completed_projects_4.htm

Tom

Originally posted by David Burke
There is a big difference between a rebuild and a restoration.
Spitfire MH434 is a prime example She has been restored and overhauled over the years
but she hasn’t been ‘rebuilt’ to the extent that she went into a hanger and emerged as a fresh new machine.

Ahem forgive me if I’m wrong but I’m sure that I heard that she’d just had her first major rebuild in 60 years a couple of years ago courtesy of ARC? I stood next to her on the flightline at Dux just after she came from the hangar and she certainly looked a lot less battered than before, looked like a full, ground up restoration to me but I could be wrong…..

Tom.

Jerry Cooper’s example may well fly next year if Vintage V12s pull their fingers out and overhaul his Centaurus as the airframe is now finishing wiring and radio fit and all that’s left to do is the cowls so he said recently. Kermit’s MKV won’t be flying for a few years yet, might be taking a trip across the atlantic quite soon but that’s all to come. Meanwhile here’s a progress shot of the tailplane from ‘693

Tom

I doubt that it was the Waltham 108 as she’s got a Lycoming up front and sounds nothing like a Benz or Merlin and I think that Simon, one of the syndicate members, said that she’s grounded at present having work done on the vertical tailplane a while back, hmmmmmm:(

Tom

It’ll go to America

Originally posted by Chad Veich
I hope so!!! 😉

Not on your Nelly me old son 😉

Tom