JF DH-98 Mosquito released

[hairyspin]

...and replaced with standard Merlin exhausts on most of the Mosquitos of the strike wing squadrons for higher top speed.

Standard exhausts for Mossie FB.VI Merlins that is: the sixth and fifth port on each side were vented to one stub so only five stubs each side. Later Mossies with longer two-stage supercharged Merlins had six stubs each side, like the B.35.

[JensOle]

That is correct :-) I just went back to the model to count and see if JF got it right and yes it is 5 exhaust.

[JensOle]

I just followed a clue from a forum with that Aitken flew himself the first mosquito seen taking of from Banff at 7.36 in the video "De Havilland: The Mosquito (3/3)" on youtube. the give away is that the group captain pennant is clearly seen on the nose and MA is seen flashing by very quickly. It looks like very crudely overpainted D-day stripes. strange for a commander aircraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b771...media%5B/media

It shows some of the MA

[IanP]

Aitken was repeatedly told not to fly on operational sorties - an instruction he regularly ignored. As such, his personal aircraft was subject to exactly the same limitations as the "line" aircraft were.

You'll also find - unsurprisingly, given who Aitken was - that the Banff Strike Wing is one of the most photographed and filmed units of the entire war. Many of the Mosquito photos and films were actually of aircraft being flown/taxied by Aitken himself, as well. There was one documented incident where a film crew and photographer turned up, expecting the same treatment that they had at other stations, only to have Aitken greet them personally and then after a staged "operational" takeoff, he beat up the airfield in his personal aircraft for well over an hour, to allow them to get as much footage as they possibly could. The Wing also had a permanent camera-equipped Mosquito (which flew operations, armed, the same as every other aircraft) which was modified to take footage for RAF Press Relations, until it was destroyed, getting too close to a ship that was destroyed by the aircraft before it.

I discovered a fantastic book on Banff a couple of months ago, which I was then lucky enough to buy cheap via a charity shop. Les Taylor's "Banff Strike Wing at War (Halsgrove, 2010) is well worth finding!

Cheers,

Ian P.

[JensOle]

Some more about Aitken:
From all Sources I have read he seems to have been a highly regarded and respected Commander. He has also "one of the few" from the Battle of Britain and a 14 victory ace himself. From Banff he flew with the callsign "Bayhound Leader". He was son of Lord Beaverbrook which was an influential Canadian newspaper tycoon in Britain and also held important government post as minister of aircraft production and minister of war production during the war. Aitken could easily have lived a comfortable and safe life during the war, but choice to fight and used his family influence to get equipment and support for the Banff wing. It was a hard fight to get Fighter command to release Mustang squadrons for escort service for the Banff and Dallachy wings.

As a station Commander Aitken had all possibility to personalize his Mosquito as was the tradition in the RAF for wing commanders and above. Sources say it was HR366 was maintained by 235 Sqn.
Close up of Max and his Mosquito:
http://www.gettyimages.no/detail/new...photo/79028728

A well published picture from Banff which very likely shows HR366. The group captain pennant is visible bellow the canopy.
http://www.gettyimages.no/detail/new...hoto/159139344

I believe the take off film you mention is what we see in the clip I posted above as I think it is very likely that we see Max Aitken and his personal Mosquito as the first to take off. As it shows what looks like D-day stripes it might have been shot earlier than the Charles E Brown photos.

[IanP]

According to the book I mentioned before, barely a week went by without the press visiting Banff. Heck, one the first aircraft assigned there was an Airspeed Oxford, bearing the insignia of "CCPR"; Coastal Command Public Relations. The Daily Express (Lord Beaverbrook's newspaper, which Gp.Capt. Aitken later inherited) were there less than a week after the first airmen arrived. They had a Mosquito specially modified to shoot film for the RAF Films Unit as I mentioned before. Unfortunately its crew were killed when the aircraft was caught up in the explosion of a U-boat they had just assisted in destroying, again as I said above. If you've ever watched documentaries on the Mosquito, chances are you saw a fair amount of that aircraft's secondary role in action.

The descriptions I've heard and read of Aitken are very much "Tough", "Fair", "Excellent Commander". He also stayed in touch with the locals after the war, in an entirely personal capacity, rather than just his own 'flock' that he commanded during the war. Apparently he wasn't much one for correct uniform and had a really annoying habit of disappearing off on the most hazardous operations though, which didn't endear him to all of his superiors, but much more to his command.

Ian P.

[AussieMan]

I am trying to do an RAAF Mosquito repaint but have a problem. The aircraft is painted in an all over silver scheme. The RGB combination I used for the propeller spinners worked perfectly and got the shine I wanted.

But the problem arises when I try to get a silver scheme for the fuselage and wings. I am finishing up with a grey colour scheme but no alpha shine. I have the alpha set right back to 20 but still no joy. I feel if I try to go any further I am going to start to have transparency problems. Any ideas as how to get silver to show up on a wooden fuselage?

[jankees]

if the model does not support alpha's for the textures I fear you're in trouble. Maybe Baz can tell if the model has active alpha's?
Maybe, you can do something with the specs then? It worked a bit for the A2A Corsair...

[bazzar]

The textures are produced with alphas. They also run fresnel ramps which you can modify to vary reflection and specularity. There's a whole section on it in the manual and the original paintkit. There's a silver version in the liveries which will give you a head start.

[AussieMan]

Thanks JK and Bazz. Will have to keep experimenting with the RGB until I get the right match. In the meantime I will work on some other schemes too help my sanity .

[Ian Warren]

I was playing around with aluminum dope last week but this is what was achieved, I had issue with upload screens but generally shows this working.

[peterwatkins2]

OK. I have finally finished adapting the first JF paintkit to PSP compatibility. First four paints, all available at Flightsim.com. Yes I know RR299 was a T3 but I felt I should do it anyway.

[Bomber_12th]

Very nice, Peter! I've been really hoping someone, such as yourself, would make a repaint of KA114 (the only currently flying fighter-variant Mossie), so thank you very, very much!

BTW, the Flying Heritage Collection's trainer-variant Mosquito TV959, which has been under restoration at Avspecs in New Zealand (same company that rebuilt KA114), is scheduled to be completed/flying in just a couple months. After flight tests are completed, it will be shipped to Seattle this winter (northern winter) where it will be flying with the rest of the FHC collection next year. Avspecs has as many as 3-4 more Mosquitoes in the queue - the next one, which is slated for completion by Easter 2018, is also owned by a US-based operator (Rod Lewis/Lewis Air Legends), but then there are at least two more that are destined for the UK following completion.

[peterwatkins2]

Thanks for the comments John. I could not let the brilliant work being carried out by Avspecs go without painting their first completion. I had to paint RR299 as a tribute, because I worked at the Leavesden site (then owned by Rolls-Royce) and that was where RR299 was built. Will be great to see a Mosquito flying in the UK again, even if it will not be for a good few years yet!
cheers, Peter W

[YoYo]

I was playing around with aluminum dope last week but this is what was achieved.....

.... but it was Wooden Wonder .

[Ian Warren]

.... but it was Wooden Wonder .

Yeah Yeah Chuckle ... they painted it with an aluminum/silver dope paint , fresh out out the paint shop they did look almost metallic , the best examples would be museum Vampires

I have to go back to the paint shop on this one ... I lost the work due to a PC Funky Chicken .... BUGGER ME!

[Bomber_12th]

As was standard in such an application, once the wooden fuselage/wing were completed, they were covered in fabric and brushed with multiple coats of standard medium-type red dope. After that was completed, then the airframe was painted in silver dope, which was applied to serve as UV protection from the sun. After that, then the camouflage was applied. This whole process is of course done in the Mosquito restorations today as well (of course leading to some confusion as well, for those that don't know about that process, to see these Mosquitoes 'painted' silver for so long during restoration, only to be painted in camouflage after the restoration is completed).

[Bomber_12th]

Continued...

[Bomber_12th]

Here is a two-month old photo of the Flying Heritage Collection's trainer-variant Mosquito T Mk.III TV959, which will be the next flyer, slated for completion/test flights as early as August/September (according to Avspecs and FHC). No word yet on what the exact details of the paint scheme will be (FHC tend to paint their aircraft in an original scheme worn by that specific airframe, if one that is "interesting enough" can be found, otherwise they'll source a more interesting/historic paint scheme from a like-type). RR299, the last Mosquito to fly in the UK (up until the Barton crash), was also the same trainer variant as this one. Photo by Gavin Conroy:

[Ian Warren]

An area saw with the Airspeed Oxford build at Wigram using the very same paint technique on the wooden structures, Great photos John.

[WarHorse47]

I purchased the DVD from this restoration project. Quite interesting.

http://gainingaltitudedocumentary.com/

[Ian Warren]

Great trailer Jock, Shows to good affect the aluminium/silver dope affect

[manfredc3]

Lovin' those pictures John

[peterwatkins2]

Next paint, FBVI HX914 based at Hunsdon and flown by No 464 Squadron,Royal Australian Air Force in December 1943. Available at Flightsim.com

[WarHorse47]

Thank you, Peter. Great repaints.

Cheers