Summer must be on the way, when do self builders typically emerge from winter hibernation?

 

p.s. The mozzie had D-Day stripes.

Gosh, must admit it’s a nice sunny day down here in Devon, but not that warm!!! (Wife just told me snow and ice on the way?)

Plan A was not to hibernate. Even did a bit of work on Christmas day. But there've only been a few decent days since the first week of this month and I was not feeling well for the only run of more than one consecutive one so actually I have hibernated since about the 6th. Just a matter of how the weather goes when I start again.

Just had the coldest week of the winter so far. Don't give the midges any ideas about coming out early.

 

I am a bit like @Ed Davies finding it hard to get motivated to do much other than potter about at the moment.

 

Still waiting for any meaningful sun to illuminate my solar panels for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Didn't know we had any flying in the UK.

 

Aren't they a bit difficult to fly - astonishing performance but will bite your bum off, like a 911?

F

There aren't any Mosquitos in airworthy condition in the UK.  The only ones flying are a couple in the USA AFAIK, and they've only recently been restored to flying condition.    There's at least one that's under restoration to an airworthy condition here in the UK, but AFAIK it's a fair way away from being test flown.

So where did Epsilon get one from? 

 

Or am I being wound up !

1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

There aren't any Mosquitos in airworthy condition in the UK.  The only ones flying are a couple in the USA AFAIK, and they've only recently been restored to flying condition.    There's at least one that's under restoration to an airworthy condition here in the UK, but AFAIK it's a fair way away from being test flown.

 

 

Well that is odd though I don't doubt what you say, the aircraft that flew over my house had two lovely peering prop engines and the fuselage was a little portly. I know enthusiasts visit my part of Lincolnshire to see a Mosquito but seems I jumped the gun about its flying state. I wonder what it was, the Meteor had two jet engines.

 

Hmmm a little reading up on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight suggests it was a Dakota. I will ask my ex. RAF neighbour to clarify. 

1 minute ago, epsilonGreedy said:

[...]

suggests it was a Dakota. I will ask my ex. RAF neighbour to clarify. 

[...]

 

You would not needed to have seen the aircraft. They both have uniquely different sounding engines.

5 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

So where did Epsilon get one from? 

 

Or am I being wound up !

 

 

Not a wind up, I just need to improve my plane spotting.

 

Fly pasts by the Lancaster and Spitfires are so common around here I no longer leave the house to look. Then there are the far more numerous training runs by loud fighter jets from Conningsby, fortunately they are usually coasting on idle on final approach as they pass over.

15 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

So where did Epsilon get one from? 

 

Or am I being wound up !

 

No idea.  Mosquitos were scrapped en masse when they went out of service, with very few being kept and even fewer being stored in conditions that allowed them to be restored to flying condition.  Only people with extremely deep pockets have been able to attempt to get one flying again, especially as many of the particular skills needed to restore one seem to have been lost over the years.  There was a TV programme on a while ago following the restoration to flying condition of one in the USA, and it was essentially a complete rebuild from the ground up.  It's a heck of a lot easier to do this sort of thing in the US, and the reason we chose to build our first kit aircraft prototype there, as they have their catch-all Experimental category, which removes about 90% of the airworthiness hassle we have to deal with here.

 

11 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

Well that is odd though I don't doubt what you say, the aircraft that flew over my house had two lovely peering prop engines and the fuselage was a little portly. I know enthusiasts visit my part of Lincolnshire to see a Mosquito but seems I jumped the gun about its flying state. I wonder what it was, the Meteor had two jet engines.

 

Hmmm a little reading up on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight suggests it was a Dakota. I will ask my ex. RAF neighbour to clarify. 

 

The C-47 that BBMF have as their communications ship used to be on my charge years ago.  Back then she carried the name "Portpatrick Princess".  When we stopped using her for our trials work, (she was replaced by two Devon C Mk2s), she went back into the general Farnborough/Boscombe Down trials fleet and then ended up at BBMF.  C-47s/DC-3s are pretty indestructible, one of the very few metal aircraft with an infinite fatigue life.

5 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

You would not needed to have seen the aircraft. They both have uniquely different sounding engines.

 

This (not a Mosquito) was being chucked around at an airshow last summer visible from my plot by a pilot who seemed to be saying "I deserve a seat in the Spitfire".

 

5 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

Summer must be on the way, when do self builders typically emerge from winter hibernation?

 

p.s. The mozzie had D-Day stripes.

We do seem to get some interesting planes flying over the Wolds - I'm no spotter but can appreciate it all the same.

It would be far mor interesting if someone had stolen one and brought it back 

4 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

It would be far mor interesting if someone had stolen one and brought it back 

 

 

Just had a quick check and even the two UK aircraft that are being restored to airworthy condition are both in New Zealand at the moment.  There seem to be three flying in the US and one flying in Canada, so the sum total of airworthy Mosquitos in the world seems to be four.  Given that nearly 8,000 were built, this seems a pretty sorry state of affairs, but probably reflects the way the airframe is constructed; it was never really intended to be a durable aeroplane, just light and fast. 

12 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

It would be far more interesting if someone had stolen one and brought it back 

 

 

This one was just a few miles from my house in September and looks ready for take off.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxb6aTOOcTg

 

 

Edited January 28, 20197 yr by epsilonGreedy

@epsilonGreedy  if it wasn't that one on a cheeky flight, i can see how you could have been confused.

 

 

1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

[...]

one of the very few metal aircraft with an infinite fatigue life.

 

Very interesting indeed. And the others are?

Dakota that was part of BBMF at Coningsby in 2018.

1 hour ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

Very interesting indeed. And the others are?

 

 

The venerable AX3 for one...

So, the Comet isn't one of them?

I was told by an ex mosquito pilot that most were sent out to asia after the war ,sold onto the commonwealth countries 

unfortunately not a good climate for wooden aircraft 

most got eaten by the bugs in very short order.

he was one of the few that flew the anti tank version fitted with  a 4lb field gun 

he said he had to be ready to get nose down and full throttle when you fired it .

cos the recoil nearly stalled it every time,due to going slow to get it lined up on target    LOL

11 minutes ago, Ed Davies said:

So, the Comet isn't one of them?

 

Not if the Nimrod experience is anything to go by.  The main spar "spectacle frames" were always a fatigue concern, especially with the added fatigue factor from operating at relatively low level over the  sea for long periods.  All sorts of ways to try and extend airframe life were explored, when the MRA4 started to look dodgy and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a cost effective way to keep those old airframes flying. The decision to kill off the MPA role, as an end of the Cold War benefit, was as much to do with the high cost of keeping the Nimrod fleet operational as anything else.

2 hours ago, Simplysimon said:

@epsilonGreedy  if it wasn't that one on a cheeky flight, i can see how you could have been confused.

 

 

You are being generous, I will snap a picture next time.

it was sad when the Dakota left West Freugh, it was always nice to see and hear her on a regular basis. it was the same when the range vessel left Portpatrick, could hear the engines throbbing for miles.