who owns the moulds for making the plywood parts !there must be a few aircraft around that could be made air worthy again !
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 21, 11:13am
Reminds me of a doco I watched about some guy's restoring a rare WW2 Bomber (I think). The sad thing was the manufacturer still had the original plans that they needed sitting in a filing cabinet, but they wouldn't give them a copy because they were scared of liability issues.
Its a sad world sometimes.
nzdoug,
Dec 21, 11:15am
Ive got the plans as my mom and aunts were on the assembly line in Toronto.
serf407,
Dec 21, 11:29am
There is an article in the elocal about the Mosquito.
serf407,
Dec 21, 11:29am
There is an article in the elocal about the Mosquito.
all i know is that the kiwi guy had a mossi, and started making the moulds for forming the plywood parts ages ago,then all of a sudden some yank ends up with the bloody thing !or is this a different plane !i get pretty pissed when i see this sort of thing happen, same with cars etc . if it's rare and valuable, should stay here.but,. there's always a blastedBUT
elect70,
Dec 21, 1:33pm
Moulds for plywood !you mean patterns. I understand the plane was shipped here for restoration . A lot ofbig $vintage cars are donehere toocosts are much lower . Evidentlyit has to fly so manyhours before its allowedinto USA.Itwill probably be at the Wiarapafestivalfor its last flight here.Was great to see& hear itdo low levelpasses at Puke in nov . along with theVampire .
the-lada-dude,
Dec 21, 3:15pm
NO . moulds
rob_man,
Dec 21, 3:34pm
Here's how it went, a Canadian millionaire paid a company based at Ardmore to restore a mosquito which had been rescued from a barn somewhere. The restorers had to build new moulds to form the plywood and laminate it but once the aircraft was completed they still have possession of those moulds and are now in a position to make more airworthy craft with a lot less labour than the first one required. This is already underway and the second, according to reports, is well along. The example that is flying is now the only fully operational mosquito in the world since the only other one crashed at an air show a couple of years ago.
The moulds were actually well under way and the first parts made before the now flying restoration was started . The NZ man who made them was restoring one for himself .
rob_man,
Dec 24, 11:03am
OK, the question of ownership of the moulds has now been settled then.
martin11,
Dec 24, 11:13am
Glynn Powell was the man that started making the moulds about 18 years ago to rebuild his own one which is now the 2nd one being built to fly . originally he made a fuse for a static restoration for a musem in the northern hemisphere as a trial to make sure the moulds worked the static one made is not I believe able to be used in a flyable plane
the-lada-dude,
Dec 24, 2:13pm
hey, that video was great !what was the warning buzzer about !I would say there will be quite a few people / museums etc lining up to get there mozziesairworthy / rebuilt as any thing like this that flies is now worth a fortune
rob_man,
Dec 24, 5:04pm
The biggest barrier to building an airworthy example is not the plywood and fibreglass component, it's the myriad small metal parts and pressings and probably the engines. Merlin V12s are probably getting a bit scarce.
sterid01,
Dec 24, 5:14pm
Yes Ive been there many times , the biggest problem now is all the metal parts and merlins , the other is the $$$ to pay for the massive amount of labour .
Wow, what a colossal task. This guy must be overendowed with the perseverance gene, the amount of work and energy involved in this is staggering.
the-lada-dude,
Dec 25, 11:11am
you know the govt fund some f.n stupid time and money wasting things, but here's something that could be funded to really get it up and running.it's an industry in its self, it requires a talented pool of workers / apprentices these are the people we let slip through our hands.bloody crazy
sw20,
Dec 25, 11:21am
Yet they give $30 million to some people in boats so they can lose again!
morticia,
Dec 25, 11:23am
A few hundred lucky people got to see it in action at Classic Flyers last Wednesday and inspect it afterwards. I've been up close and personal with a lot of lovely old aircraft in the last 5 or 6 years but that one was something very special and I'm so pleased we had the opportunity before it leaves NZ for good.
berg,
Dec 25, 12:45pm
Wonder if the one in a shed west of Nelson is still there. Amazing what's in sheds and garages in NZ
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