De Havilland Mosquito Restoration & First Flight

Media Release - Friday 28 September 2012

De Havilland Mosquito Restoration & First Flight

The first flight yesterday of the restored World War II de Havilland Mosquito in Auckland, prior to the airshow celebration at Ardmore Airfield tomorrow, is of international significance in the aviation industry.

One of the fastest aircraft of World War II, the Mosquito was an innovative wooden design by the British de Havilland company whose previous pre-war products like the DH83 Fox Moth, DH84 Dragon and DH89 Rapide/Dominie were prominent airliners used in New Zealand’s pioneering airlines of the 1930s.

During World II the Mosquito was flown by many Kiwi pilots in combat and it is very appropriate that the first Mosquito to fly in the world since 1996 should fly here in New Zealand - surely a tribute to the New Zealand contribution to the allies success in World War II.

Glyn Powell and Warren Denholm and his team Avspects are to be congratulated for a magnificent effort. Ironically at Auckland’s MoTaT museum another recent Mosquito restoration was completed in 2011 – but only for static display.

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