Here is the May 06 report on our work on the Mosquito. Mostly fabric work and wiring yet again, but also some system work.

1. The fabric work is now all finished on the fuselage. This month saw that application of the final tapes around the door cut-outs etc. and the spraying of the silver dope. Lots of masking and rubbing down involved. After the silver was dry we then masked out the fuselage to enable us to finish the green interior paint over the fabric that was wrapped into the cockpit etc.

2. The horizontal was the next to get the fabric treatment and it is now fully covered and finished in silver dope.

3. The wiring has continued with a number of small components overhauled, starter and booster coil switches, mag. switch boxes and prop feather switches. The major area of attention has been the conduit plugs and sockets and we seem to have now sorted the full set of 30 individual assys.

4. We have fabricated and installed the ground power adapter socket. This required rebating a hole in the fuselage, attaching the mounting block, fabricating the reinforcing ring and starting on the cover plate. On going work.

5. We have had the seals for the main selector valve fabricated and the valve is now ready for assembly. We have dis-assembled the hydraulic system junction block for cleaning and inspection and continued work on the replacement flap flow valve. We have sent and had returned the four rams that needed to be re-chromed.

6. Overhaul completed on the fuel tank pressure venting and relief valve.

Woodwork

Work has continued with fabrication of the spar members this month and have completed the construction of the components for the rear unit. The pear spar is swept forward quite radically to accommodate the forward sweeping taper of the wing. The lower boom of this spar is laminated from a number of plies of spruce similar to the front spar lower boom. These laminates are spliced together to form a long plank then these planks are clamped down onto the laminating jig and all glued together. After the glue has cured the beam is then planed down on all four sides to give it the correct taper, dihedral and sweep forward as well as the correct angle for the curve of the wing section. A very tricky task when you consider the length and awkward shape this beam is.

The spacer blocks that go into the spar assembly providing the bolting points and rigidity of the box spar section have been fabricated. The spar can now be completed when the ply from England arrives.

Work has continued on the wing ribs, with the engine bays ribs basically completed except for the ply. These ribs are built up from spruce laminated cap-strips upper and lower that form the rib profile and incorporate a number of hard points where the fittings are attached. In the pictures you can see the dark walnut wood and the phenolic sheeting. These framed up sections will have ply sheeting on either side.