The ex-RNZAF de Havilland DH98 Mosquito NZ2308 , under long-term rebuild at Avspecs Ltd at Ardmore Airport, Auckland, New Zealand, edged a step closer to flight today. Maintenance staff fueled her tanks for the first time on February 23, 2024, in preparation for engine runs, which are set to happen next week. As is common with all airworthy restorations, it usually takes a fair bit of time from the first engine runs to the first flights, but it is a major milestone on NZ2308’s journey back into the air. However, it seems likely that we can now measure the time to that happy day in weeks, rather than months, or years.
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On Sunday, February 19, 2024, Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow announced that one of the world’s most iconic WWII fighter-bomber aircraft will take part in its Easter 2024 airshow. The ex-RNZAF de Havilland DH98 Mosquito NZ2308 is weeks away from the end of a fifteen-year restoration in Auckland and the American owners have generously agreed to allow the aircraft to fly at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest Warbirds airshow before it is dismantled and shipped to its new home in the US.
This Mosquito was built by de Havilland Australia at Bankstown, Sydney, Australia, for the Royal Australian Air Force. Originally planned to become an FB.40 fighter-bomber version (essentially the Australian-built equivalent of the very successful FB.VI) it was given the RAAF serial number A52-20. However, the decision was made to convert a batch of partly constructed FB.40s to dual control trainer status, and this aircraft was converted to a Mosquito T.43 while still on the production line. At that point it was renumbered with a new RAAF serial, A52-1054.
The aircraft will be test-flown at Ardmore and then displayed at Wanaka by accomplished American pilot Steve Hinton. Steve, a former Reno Air Race champion, has flown numerous Warbird types, including the last Mosquito from the Avspec’s workshop, and is currently President of the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino in California.