Building a new wooden wonder

There are just a few flying examples of the De Havilland Mosquito around the world, but The People’s Mosquito project in the UK is building a new one which is expected to fly as early as 2027. Ian Parker reports.

Aircraft were hugely significant in the Allies’ victory in the Second World War and several types remain close to the hearts of Britons. These include the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster, but less well known is the De Havilland Mosquito, which out-performed them all. Why? Because it was made mainly of wood.

Initially decried as Freeman’s Folly, after the Air Chief Marshall who defended the design, it later became known as the ‘Wooden Wonder’ as it flew past every other type in the sky. There are just a few flying examples around the world, but The People’s Mosquito project in the UK is building a new one which is expected to fly as early as 2027. The fuselage moulds are complete.

Far from being outdated, its structure and manufacture have caught the attention of Airbus, which is contributing to the build, because the techniques are applicable to current aircraft and spacecraft.

“Airbus is a strong believer in preserving wider aviation heritage and we are proud to be supporting The People’s Mosquito in this endeavour,” says Jeremy Greaves, vice-president, Corporate Affairs and Strategy, Airbus UK. “For us, the Mosquito is more than a beautiful and iconic aircraft; Airbus has a direct relationship to it as more than 90 were built at our Broughton factory in Flintshire. That passion and dedication is reflected today in our skilled workforce whose talents are focused on building wings for the Airbus commercial aircraft fleet.”

A gift to our heritage

Legendary test pilot, Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, adds: “Any attempt to restore, particularly to flying status, a Mosquito, would be a real gift to our heritage.”

As the editor of Aerospace Materials magazine in the 1990s, I often looked into how old and new could come together, in terms of the materials and their processing and application. There was a fashion to use the new stuff, but it didn’t always make economic sense. If a new material is 50% better than its predecessor, it’s no good if it costs ten times as much.

Engineers often pride themselves on advanced developments. They think they’ve got something completely new. But then a wider view reveals that nature got there millions or sometimes billions of years ago. Composite materials (fibres in a resin) have become increasingly popular in aircraft production, in some cases for the whole airframe of carbon, aramid or glass fibre. Wood has been described as nature’s own composite and if different types are put together, they can produce an amazing material combination, particularly for airframes.

Since the Wright brothers first flew in 1903, wood has been an important material for aerospace and it remains so today. The Chinese have used oak for ablative re-entry shields on their spacecraft. Wood continues to be excellent for many applications. The new ‘Wooden Wonder’ is proof of that. The aircraft is effectively glued and screwed together, so its fasteners and fixings are part of the reason that it was - and is - a brilliant aircraft.

So building a Mosquito involves many skills outside the aircraft industry. Furniture makers, cabinet makers, coachbuilders, and even, coffin makers are being used. The car industry also played a vital part.

Power to the people

The People’s Mosquito is a UK-based charity, which plans to put a Mosquito back in the air by working with appointed contractors, Aero Vintage, through their Retrotec division. It’s building the UK’s first new Mosquito for over 70 years, designated RL249. In doing so, it’s recreating parts from over 22,000 original De Havilland drawings to ensure the aircraft meets strict UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) airworthiness standards.

Under the expert guidance of Guy Black, Retrotec has established a reputation for delivering some of the most authentic aircraft restorations in the world over the past 30-plus years. The business, which is fully accredited by the CAA, offers services including design, parts manufacture and reconstruction of complete aircraft, all delivered by highly experienced engineers.

The Retrotec workshops are situated a few miles north of Hastings, East Sussex, where the company employs a small team of dedicated and highly skilled staff. In 2022 the company advertised for woodworking staff.

Late last year, The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, visited Retrotec and spoke to former ‘Mossie’ pilot 101-year-old Flt Lt George Dunn DFC, LdH. She asked him if it was difficult to fly. He said: “No. The only slight snag with the Mosquito, it would tend to swing on take-off.” He added that the aircraft was “beautiful, versatile, you had everything: speed, height, you name it, it was there. It was my favourite aircraft. I’ve flown Spitfires, but the Mosquito was absolutely out of this world. I can’t believe that the aircraft is being renovated, resurrected and is going to fly again. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll still be here when it is completed.”

The Princess Royal said of the rebuild: “The skill sets you had to find to do this are pretty impressive. There’s a lot of boatbuilding techniques here, old skills… and very sensible use of materials.”

John Lilley, chairman and managing director of The People’s Mosquito says: “Our charity has three pillars - to fly, to educate, to remember. We’re doing it for joy; we’re also doing it for future generations, not only from a heritage point of view, but a British engineering point of view as well.”

The project is being funded by public and corporate donations and anyone wishing to help can find out more via the project website below. The charity needs to raise a great deal of money to complete the project and the website details how individuals and companies can assist, so that future generations can wonder at ‘The Wooden Wonder’.

www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk