Category: Museums / Organizations

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Newly Restored Mosquito PZ474 Performs First Port Engine Test [Video]

On November 8, Avspecs, Ltd. rolled out Mosquito FB VI PZ474 for its first port engine test in Ardmore, New Zealand.

The machine was originally constructed at Hatfield in 1945 and used for RAF training before moving on to New Zealand in 1948, where it was overhauled and delivered to 75 Squadron as NZ2384. In the early 1950s, the aircraft was acquired by new owners and registered as ZK-BCV before being transferred to the United States. There, the Mosquito was given civil registration N9909F and, from around 1955-66, was owned by the Insurance Finance Corp. of Studio City, CA. During this time it was believed that the machine was used by the CIA for intelligence gathering in South America.

In 1970, PZ474 was abandoned and began a period of decline. It wouldn’t be saved until 2014, when it was acquired by Rod Lewis of Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio, Texas. Continue reading Newly Restored Mosquito PZ474 Performs First Port Engine Test [Video]

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FHCAM Unveils Ju 87 Stuka Being Restored to Airworthy Condition [Video]

On Saturday, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (FHCAM) in Everett, Washington unveiled a Junkers Ju 87 R-4 Stuka that is currently under restoration to flying condition.

The machine was built in 1941 and served with Lehrgeschwader 1 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 5 in northwest Russia. In April 1942 it crashed after being shot down by Soviet fighters during a mission to bomb Murmansk. Its remains were finally recovered in the 1990s and were displayed at the Deutsches Technikmuseum before being acquired by FHCAM.

Restoration began in 2013 and, when complete, it will be one of only three surviving Stukas left anywhere in the world and the only one in flying condition. The process is reportedly expected to last another 1.5 years.

Click below to check out a videos of the newly unveiled airframe.

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USAF Museum Curtiss Jenny On The Move [Video]

On Wednesday, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio lowered their Curtiss Jenny from its suspended position and relocated it to floor display in an area previously occupied by their Avro 504K.

The museum’s Avro is currently undergoing restoration and will reportedly hang above the Jenny in the museum’s Early Years Gallery upon its return to display. To learn more about the Avro restoration, check out the new Fall 2018 edition of The Flying Machine journal.

Click below to check out photos and video of the Jenny’s recent move.

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Last F-14 to Land on Aircraft Carrier Arrives at its New Home

A historically significant example of the F-14 Tomcat has arrived at its new home at the Museum of Flight in Rome, Georgia.

The aircraft (B/N 164346) “Sweet Little Miss” was delivered to the US Navy in February 1992 and went on to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom serving aboard USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Theodore Roosevelt. On June 28, 2006 it became the last Tomcat to operationally land aboard an aircraft carrier with pilot Lt. Chris Rattigan and RIO Lt. Paul Dort at the controls. In September of that year it performed its final flight during delivery to the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond.

Following the museum’s closure in 2016, the aircraft, which was on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation, was acquired by The Museum of Flight. It was cleared for disassembly for movement in November 2017 and reportedly arrived at its new home earlier this month.

Click below to check out photos of the Tomcat on the move.

Continue reading Last F-14 to Land on Aircraft Carrier Arrives at its New Home

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B-24 “Diamond Lil” Returns to the Air Following Restoration

The Commemorative Air Force has reported that their B-24 Liberator “Diamond Lil” returned to the air for the first time in over two years on October 22.

As previously reported, the aircraft (AM927) was delivered to the British in May 1941 and transferred to Trans World Airlines (TWA) to conduct training of RAF pilots out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A landing accident shortly thereafter resulted in the bomber being returned to Consolidated in San Diego. In July 1942, it returned to service as the C-87 Liberator Express prototype, acting as a personnel and equipment transport and test platform. Following the war it was modified with long RY-3 nose and PBY nacelles and saw further use as an executive and personnel transport. It was acquired by the CAF in 1968.

The machine was grounded in 2016 for work that included an interior restoration and the overhaul of three engines. It will reportedly make its first post-restoration appearance at the Wings Over Dallas WW2 airshow this weekend.

Continue reading B-24 “Diamond Lil” Returns to the Air Following Restoration

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Thomas-Morse Scout’s First Post-Restoration Flight Captured in New Video

The first post-restoration flight of Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation’s newly restored, Le Rhone-powered Thomas-Morse S-4B has been captured in a newly released video.

As previously reported, The Ithaca, NY-based organization was established in order to return an example of the WW1 advanced trainer to the city where it was originally manufactured as “a symbol of Ithaca’s aviation heritage.” Their machine was generously donated by Dr. William N. Thibault of San Diego, CA in 2010 and received a meticulous restoration prior to the September 29th flight.

Click below to check out the video.

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Support Sought to Refurbish Lytham St Annes Spitfire W3644

The Lytham St Annes Spitfire Centre in Lancashire, England has launched a fundraising campaign to refurbish and repaint the full-scale Spitfire Mk Vb reproduction (W3644) adorning the Lytham St Annes Fighter, Bomber & Coastal Command Memorial at Fairhaven Lake on the Fylde Coast.

The reproduction was acquired the volunteers of the Lytham St Annes Spitfire Display Team following three years of fundraising and was placed on display in 2013. However, it was recently removed from its plinth for much needed repairs, improvements and repainting.

Funds raised during the campaign will reportedly help return the Spitfire to public display and will also be used to carry out work on the associated RAF memorial plaques, which are said to be “in dire need of repolishing and colour infills.”

Click below to learn more.

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Time-Lapse Video Captures Work on USAF Museum’s Avro 504 Restoration

The USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio is currently in the process of restoring their Avro 504K and recently released a time-lapse video detailing the process of removing fabric from the machine’s fuselage.

As previously reported, this particular example of the famous WW1 British trainer was originally constructed by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Aircraft Maintenance & Development Unit in 1966-67 using original parts, including a 110 hp Le Rhone rotary engine. It arrived at the USAF Museum in 2003 and has since been on display in its Early Years Gallery wearing the colors of an aerobatic trainer of AEF No. 3 Instruction Center, based at Issoudun, France in 1918.

The next steps will include cleaning the airframe structure and engine and replacing the fabric with a period correct linen.

Click below to check out the new video.

Continue reading Time-Lapse Video Captures Work on USAF Museum’s Avro 504 Restoration

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Newly Restored Albatros D.Va Performs First Engine Test [Video]

Yesterday, the WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust’s newly restored Albatros D.Va (G-WAHT) performed its first engine test at the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire, UK.

As previously reported, the reproduction, formerly ZK-TGY, was a regular performer on the UK Airshow Circuit in 2015-2016 and was originally constructed by The Vintage Aviator Ltd. of New Zealand, which also carried out the recent work. As seen above, it initially appeared in the colors of the machine flown by Paul Baumer of Jasta 5, however it has been repainted to represent D.2263, flown by Otto Kissenbert of Royal Bavarian Jasta 23b.

The Albatros arrived at The Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire, UK last month where it underwent reassembly. It is expected to remain at the location until the process of obtaining a flight permit is complete. Click below to check out a video of yesterday’s test.

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P-40E Kittyhawk AK803 Arrives At New Temporary Home

After being shipped from its previous base in New Zealand earlier this month, Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk S/N AK803 has arrived at its new, temporary home at the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.

The aircraft was delivered to the RCAF in October 1941 and based at an RCAF Station in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where it saw use in anti-submarine patrols. Later, it was flown 4,000 miles to Annette Island, Alaska (setting a record in the process) before moving on to Boundary Bay near Vancouver, British Columbia, where it performed fighter affiliation work with B-24s and B-25s.

Following a landing accident on Vancouver Island, AK803 was sent to Coates Limited on Sea Island, where it was stripped to bare metal, polished and used as part of a War Bond drive at Brockton Point Oval in Vancouver.

Continue reading P-40E Kittyhawk AK803 Arrives At New Temporary Home