dehavilland mosquito restoration project
Early 2009:
The deHavilland Mosquito arrives at the shop and the work begins.
Project Update November 2009:
Work has been moving along during the last few months on the restoration of the deHavilland Mosquito. Below are some pictures from the last few months of assembly. The fire walls are installed, the cowlings are going on, the radiator structures are installed. Work is being done to install fuel lines and fuel selector cables. The air filter system on the lower cowlings has been removed, overhauled and reinstalled. The engine mounts have been paint stripped and inspected by means of ultrasonic and magnetic particle testing. These are the original engine mounts for the aircraft. The results of the engine mount inspections came back as great news, they were found to be as good as new! The mounts have since been primed and painted and are ready to be re-installed on the aircraft. The 2 Rolls Royce Merlin 113/114 V-12 piston engines have been shipped to Vintage V12s in Tehachapi, California for complete restoration. Vintage V12s has been restoring vintage aircraft piston engines for 30 years and is one of the world’s leading vintage engine restoration companies.
As you can imagine building a Mosquito isn’t an easy task. The mechanics have been faced with many challenges in the assembly due to the lack of reliable reference materials available for the Mosquito. Working off old microfiche and manuals has left the mechanics a bit puzzled. To get a better understanding of what they are facing, Mel and Martin traveled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in October to visit the EAA AirVenture Museum. The Museum is one of the most extensive aviation attractions in the world. The museum is home to a de Havilland D.H. 98-B Mosquito. With the kind permission of Kermit Weeks, Mel and Martin were able to take over 500 pictures for reference.
We would like to thank the EAA AirVenture Museum staff for all of their help! THANK YOU!
Work has been moving along during the last few months on the restoration of the deHavilland Mosquito. Below are some pictures from the last few months of assembly. The fire walls are installed, the cowlings are going on, the radiator structures are installed. Work is being done to install fuel lines and fuel selector cables. The air filter system on the lower cowlings has been removed, overhauled and reinstalled. The engine mounts have been paint stripped and inspected by means of ultrasonic and magnetic particle testing. These are the original engine mounts for the aircraft. The results of the engine mount inspections came back as great news, they were found to be as good as new! The mounts have since been primed and painted and are ready to be re-installed on the aircraft. The 2 Rolls Royce Merlin 113/114 V-12 piston engines have been shipped to Vintage V12s in Tehachapi, California for complete restoration. Vintage V12s has been restoring vintage aircraft piston engines for 30 years and is one of the world’s leading vintage engine restoration companies.
As you can imagine building a Mosquito isn’t an easy task. The mechanics have been faced with many challenges in the assembly due to the lack of reliable reference materials available for the Mosquito. Working off old microfiche and manuals has left the mechanics a bit puzzled. To get a better understanding of what they are facing, Mel and Martin traveled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in October to visit the EAA AirVenture Museum. The Museum is one of the most extensive aviation attractions in the world. The museum is home to a de Havilland D.H. 98-B Mosquito. With the kind permission of Kermit Weeks, Mel and Martin were able to take over 500 pictures for reference.
We would like to thank the EAA AirVenture Museum staff for all of their help! THANK YOU!
Project Update January 2012:
Work has been progressing on the restoration of the deHavilland Mosquito. The canopy glass is installed and complete. Wheels and tires are installed, the gear doors are installed and rigged and the gear swing is complete. The pneumatic system has been checked. Wiring is complete in the cockpit. Window piping is completed and the air drier installed. The engines have been overhauled by Vintage V12s and are back and ready to install.
Work has been progressing on the restoration of the deHavilland Mosquito. The canopy glass is installed and complete. Wheels and tires are installed, the gear doors are installed and rigged and the gear swing is complete. The pneumatic system has been checked. Wiring is complete in the cockpit. Window piping is completed and the air drier installed. The engines have been overhauled by Vintage V12s and are back and ready to install.
Project Update 2012/2013
Engines have been installed. The bomb bay doors have been fitted and plumbed. The fire suppression lines on each engine have been installed. The aft fuselage door has been fitted. In preparation for paint, the flaps and ailerons have been removed, all the inspection panels have been installed and the fuselage has been sanded. The paint has been completed. The propellers installed and all the finishing touches completed.
Engines have been installed. The bomb bay doors have been fitted and plumbed. The fire suppression lines on each engine have been installed. The aft fuselage door has been fitted. In preparation for paint, the flaps and ailerons have been removed, all the inspection panels have been installed and the fuselage has been sanded. The paint has been completed. The propellers installed and all the finishing touches completed.
April 15th 2014
This is a pretty exciting month for all of us at VAM. We fired up the Merlins for the first time. We'd like to say a big thank you to Mike Nixon of Vintage V12s for coming up to start the engines for the first time. Mike and his crew rebuilt the engines at their shop in Tehachapi, California, what an amazing job these guys did! The engines sound awesome!
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Click here to see the post restoration & First Flight photos
Spartan Air Service
Photos kindly provided by Paul Lachance and taken by Ray Lachance throughout Northern Canada mostly around Resolute Bay.
Photos kindly provided by Paul Lachance and taken by Ray Lachance throughout Northern Canada mostly around Resolute Bay.