deHavilland Mosquito KB161 - Canadian Hist. Aircraft Assc.

[Richard W.]

I wonder what that farmer paid for the Merlins and what he had in mind for them.

[Rhino-9-3]

Pretty sure those are the only three on the go at the moment.

Ours is being done to airworthy standards so there is a slight possibility if the funding is there down the road she may take to the skies. Worst case she'll be able to taxi.

[rcaf_100]

Looking good Ryan!

Just curious, but when did the identity of the project change from TA661/CF-HMR to KB161?

EDIT: About a year old, but some pics of the wing construction found on the CHAA Facebook page here

To avoid confusion, CHAA is the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association in Tillsonburg, and CH2A is the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association in Windsor.

[Rhino-9-3]

I actually have no idea, over the last few years I've always heard that it was going to be completed as KB161. I'll have to ask around about that one.

[Rhino-9-3]

Couple photos to post of the progress here on the Mossie, things are coming along quite nicely. I'll get some better photos this week.
All the assessments we had done on the work went extremely well and it's been decided to go for airworthy standards on this bird as well. Whether it flys or not will depend on funding much like our Lancaster project. There are a few little things that need to be done to the fuselage but nothing major for it to be signed off on. Everything else was already up to standards except the hardware that was installed towards the beginning of the project.

We're currently in the process of tracking down, converting and replacing any of the previously installed hardware to AN/NAS/MS standard hardware throughout the plane.



Horizontal stab seen here, pretty close to having all of the leading edge ribs installed.



Here is the aft bulkhead removed to replace all of the previously installed hardware.

More to come soon!

[DaveM2]

Ours is being done to airworthy standards so there is a slight possibility if the funding is there down the road she may take to the skies. Worst case she'll be able to taxi.

Hi Ryan

Have you guys consulted Glyn about this??- IIRC he built this, the first fuselage, to test the moulds and not to air worthy condition.

cheers
Dave

[Rhino-9-3]

Hey Dave, I don't believe anyone has yet, BUT we had an AME that specializes in wooden aircraft inspect the fueslage, apparently it's the correct materials and he's more than happy with the quality of work to sign it off after a few minor fixes. It's going to end up with an experimental rating up here so there is more lee-way with the work as long as you can prove everything is as good as original quality materials or better.

Cheers

[DH82EH]

Thanks for the update Ryan.
I love to see updates on this awesome project.
Completing everything to airworthy standards is particularly exciting.

Andy

[Rhino-9-3]

Going to try to keep the updates coming for this project as well as the Lanc when I'm in town on my 3 weeks off of rotation from work up North.

Here are a few more shots, the first two are of the aft bulkhead that I've been working away on the last few days.





The guys did some amazing work making the tail fairing, which turned out great.



And one more of the progress on the horizontal stab.



If everything goes as planned we hope to have the wing and horizontal mounted with the fuselage by the end of this year or early next year.

Last edited by Rhino-9-3 on Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[PropsRule]

Whether the finished product is a flier or not, the amount of experience gained by completing this aircraft to airworthy standards will be invaluable.

It's great to see so many viable Mosquito projects ongoing.

[Rhino-9-3]

Big update for you guys! The crew reached a huge milestone early last week when we mounted the wing with the fuselage for the first time since beginning the project in 1995! Everything went extremely well and fit perfectly on the first attempt.









Along with that huge accomplishment progress has been flying along with the horizontal stab which has just been covered with its skins!





More to come soon!

[ripcard]

Awesome! Congrats on the progress so far. Keep us in the loop.

[kalamazookid]

Holy cow! I've got to get over there sometime to check out progress on this and the Lanc.

[DH82EH]

Shut the front door!!
That is way too awesome.
Congrats on the milestone and thanks so much for the update and photos!

Way cool.

Andy

[Rhino-9-3]

Looking good Ryan!

Just curious, but when did the identity of the project change from TA661/CF-HMR to KB161?

Just for those wondering about the identity of the aircraft, I had the chance to get all of the info the other day. Basically it was never intended for the aircraft to be completed as TA661/CF-HMR, that was just a wreck that was acquired by the organization to gain whatever parts were salvageable up in the NWT. It has been the plan since the beginning to complete the aircraft as KB161 "City of Vancouver" since that was the first Canadian built Mosquito to land on English soil during the war. It's pretty well going to be an entirely new build aircraft when it's completed, very few parts from HMR are actually re-usable.



Here's a little history of the original KB161 from our website:
"The original Mosquito KB161, nicknamed "Vancouver British Columbia" was a Mosquito Mk XX manufactured by de Havilland's Canadian subsidiary in Downsview, Ontario. The first five Canadian-built Mosquitoes were named after the cities that donated the most money in the last Victory War Bond drive.

The aircraft named – “Acton, Ontario”, “New Glasgow, Nova Scotia”, “Moose Jaw” and “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan”, and “Vancouver, B.C.” arrived in Hatfield, England on 13 August 1943. KB161 "Vancouver" was the first to land on English soil.

KB161 took part in its first raid on 2 Dec 1943, an attack on Berlin and was flown by Canadian pilot G.W. Salter. The aircraft was allocated to 139 Squadron flying from RAF Wyton until Feb 44 and then RAF Upwood airfield, Huntingdonshire. On the 11th of May 1944, the squadron was involved in bombing operations at Mannheim and Ludwigshaven, where the target was the I.G. Farben chemical works. It was piloted by F/O G.W. Lewis and Navigator F/O A.J.A. Woollard. KB161 (Sqn code XD-H) was tasked to drop a pattern of Target Indicator flares. On returning from the mission, it was found that one flare had not dropped correctly and was lodged in the bomb-bay. It ignited and caught fire to the belly of the aircraft. F/O Woollard was able to bale out with the help of Pilot Lewis, who was himself not able to escape. The aircraft crashed at 0125 hrs at Field View Farm, Chittering, 8 miles NNE of Cambridge. KB161 had also become the first Canadian-built Mosquito to be destroyed in Bomber Command service."

Lots more to come soon, things are really moving forward!