ex-extinct de Havilland Sea Hornet to be restored to fly

[Total loss]

The largest amount of remains existing of a d H Hornet/Sea Hornet have been purchased from Canada by Pioneer Aero in NZ to be restored & to fly. The timescale is said to be 3 years. So from extinction/no examples of a Hornet/Sea Hornet existing we will have one flying in about 3 years

[Simpo Two]

Good stuff; NZ has an interesting warbird scene.

[Eric Mc]

That would be pretty incredible. The only "Sea Hornet" I've seen is a section of rear fuselage which is owned by the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

[aeropilot]

I've yet to see any mention by Pioneer regarding engines, so I assume, they have a 'deal' in place from any of the current owners of the ultra-rare engines prior to buying the centre-section of TT193...?

[Eric Mc]

The Hornet had different versions of the Merlin on either wing - each drove their respective propellers in opposite direction, in an effort to counter torque. I wonder how much of a problem that would be if a Hornet was to be recreated.

[lufbramatt]

Eric Mc said:

The Hornet had different versions of the Merlin on either wing - each drove their respective propellers in opposite direction, in an effort to counter torque. I wonder how much of a problem that would be if a Hornet was to be recreated.

The difference is an extra idler gear in the reduction gearbox rather than the engine itself. This also makes one of the engine nacelles slightly longer than the other (starboard nacelle about 50mm IIRC, you can see a extension ring just behind the prop on photos). When I have spoken with David Collins (he has built a very impressive replica nose section) he didn't seem to think it was a problem and there are several Merlins of the correct type still in existence.

Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 19th September 10:24

[Eric Mc]

Sounds encouraging.

Any chance Airfix might tackle a Hornet or Sea Hornet in future?

I built the old FROG kit many decades ago and Special Hobby did a short run kit in more recent years.

[aeropilot]

lufbramatt said:

When I have spoken with David Collins (he has built a very impressive replica nose section) he didn't seem to think it was a problem and there are several Merlins of the correct type still in existence.

5 known to be in existence.

However, don't what the spilt is between the Merlin 130/131 (Hornet) and Merlin 133/134 (Sea Hornet) among those 5 engines.......

[FourWheelDrift]

Info on Sea Hornet F20 TT193 - http://users.skynet.be/BAMRS/dh103/survivor.htm



I assume there's more they have got together.

[Eric Mc]

Looks like all the metal bits.

[aeropilot]

FourWheelDrift said:

Info on Sea Hornet F20 TT193 - http://users.skynet.be/BAMRS/dh103/survivor.htm



I assume there's more they have got together.

Nope, that's as much as survived.

As mentioned, the biggest single item of surviving Hornet left.

There are other bits and odds n ends floating around in various people's/museum collections, but how much of that stuff they may have been able to acquire (if any) is unknown.

I would guess, that prior to this announcement they will have tried to hover up as much bits as possible through 5rd parties, as now they made a public announcement of the project, the 'value' of any possible Hornet parts left will go up exponentially in the eyes of the current owners knowing that there are no other bits.

What they don't have by now they will likely have to borrow to use as patterns or make from scratch.

I think 3 years is hugely optimistic, (it took Avpecs twice that long to build their 1st Mosquito from a better starting point!) but on the other hand, given their reputation, if pioneer reckon 3 years then it probably will be 3 years!

Can't wait

[Eric Mc]

I'm sure that this will be a recreation rather than a restoration. I hope they can pull it off.

[aeropilot]

Eric Mc said:

I'm sure that this will be a recreation rather than a restoration. I hope they can pull it off.

No different to the recent trio of Mk1 Spits that have be done recently - virtually a new build built around the data plate dug out the ground.

A hell of a lot of the P-51's/F-4U's etc currently flying are pretty much the same.

[Eric Mc]

It doesn't matter to me at all. I would love to see a Hornet fly, no matter how it was put together.

[aeropilot]

Eric Mc said:

It doesn't matter to me at all. I would love to see a Hornet fly, no matter how it was put together.

Likewise.

[kurt535]

wowowowoowowowowowooww

How the hell does NZ have the appetite etc for these kind of restos? Their WW1 aircraft builder is amazing enough!

[Total loss]

aeropilot said:

FourWheelDrift said:

Info on Sea Hornet F20 TT193 - http://users.skynet.be/BAMRS/dh103/survivor.htm



I assume there's more they have got together.

Nope, that's as much as survived.

Not quite, the photographer has stated that when he took the pic. there were other parts stored at the property. The windscreen & frame off this Sea Hornet came back to the UK many, many years ago

[aeropilot]

Total loss said:

aeropilot said:

FourWheelDrift said:

Info on Sea Hornet F20 TT193 - http://users.skynet.be/BAMRS/dh103/survivor.htm



I assume there's more they have got together.

Nope, that's as much as survived.

Not quite, the photographer has stated that when he took the pic. there were other parts stored at the property. The windscreen & frame off this Sea Hornet came back to the UK many, many years ago

I know, I was stating that as much as survived in terms of the structure, not in terms of miscellaneous parts.
As said there's lots of miscellaneous Hornet components spread around the globe, hopefully, most of those that are usable or as patterns will be heading to NZ for this project. I know Dave Collins has been involved with Pioneer on this as has others around the globe.
There's probably more chance of seeing a Hornet fly again, than a Beaufighter despite the tantalising sight of an almost complete one sitting in a hangar in Duxford for nearly 20 years

[KurtB]

There are Beaufighters (!) under restoration to fly in the Southern Hemisphere...

[aeropilot]

KurtB said:

There are Beaufighters (!) under restoration to fly in the Southern Hemisphere...

Not sure what the current situation is with the HARS one regarding engines though, I know a few years back they had 5 which were being stripped and assessed by a guy in Brisbane, but there was still a slight question mark over having enough servicable sleeve valve assemblies, and HARS still have the same issue as TFC, no props and hubs.

The ex-RAF Halton/Skysport/Tim Moore Beaufighter project was sold to Australia about 5 years ago, but I've not seen any news on that at all since it went down under.

I know there was a deal to sell the TFC one as well back down under but that fell through pretty quickly after it was a done deal.

The think is with 3 projects, it would make sense to pool resources to get a batch of hubs/props done at at the same time, like was done with the recent Mk1 Spitfires, but, it would still be an eye watering bill.....!!