A deHavilland Mosquito T Mk III, which was restored and test-flown in New Zealand, flew for the first time in the U.S. last Friday in at Paine Field, in Everett, Washington. The Mosquito now is based at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, where it received a fresh coat of paint on arrival, plus a full suite of 20mm cannon and .303 machine guns. The first flight lasted 18 minutes, but all went well, according to a report in Warbirds News. “It was an awesome day having the Mosquito and the Corsair flying together for the first time here at the museum,” said Cory Graff, military aviation curator at the museum. “The Mosquito is a great addition to our Hurricane and Spitfire.”The pilot for the first U.S. flight was Steve Hinton, well-known air racer and president of the Planes of Fame Air Museum.
The Flying Heritage museum opened in 2008 as Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection. It was rebranded with the new name in March. At the time, the museum said it would expand its offerings and build a third hangar, to create a total 80,000 square feet of exhibit space. Flying Heritagesays more than 40 artifacts are due to be introduced this year, turning it into the largest operational military vehicle and warbird collection on the West Coast. All of the aircraft are kept in flying condition.
