Unfortunately Sterns almost certainly right i think,

ENVY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEyDlgJYIF8

Argh, selfish bugger :P Hopefully it might make its way over to the UK at some point in the future though. Hell, if it's money they need, I'm sure there'd be no shortage of it. They could take a leaf out of the Vulcan's book.

I didn't actually realise this was going to the US though until yesterday though, I assumed it was staying in NZ. Unfortunately that means it'll probably stick there too, along with all the 190s and other stuff they've got that'd be great to see even just once on the UK circuit.

Still, we can hope for the future at least, or start saving up for a trip to the states.

unfortunately it's mainly due to the nature of the construction technique of the aircraft. You have to bear in mind that once you disassemble the wings of an aircraft you need to rig them back in position, making sure that the alignment is correct, or you'll have to re-trim the aircraft again. It is recommended not to do it too often though, especially with a wooden construction, which finds its solidity in its build, and is more prone to flex and expand/contract under certain scenarios. It wouldn't surprise me if once they get it to the US the re-fit of the fuselage to the wings will give them problems: the change in humidity, pressure and other mechanical factors will all come into play.
So as much as it's a shame it won't make it here, I understand them fully.
As per flying it around, good luck finding an insurance company that will cover you for that, especially if your powerplant is based on two temperamental engines like the RR Merlin, which has a TBO for heads and banks at circa 300 hours, as opposed to a P&W radial, whose TBO is around 1500 hours..

With the large number of P-51s powered by Merlins, never mind the other Merlin powered a/c, there must be some insurance companies that will insure the a/c.

Would have loved to have seen it at Legends :(

I have heard rumour of another Mossie over here being restored, shhhh!;)

I know, but at the pace things move here (cough Blenheim cough)who knows when that will be done!

it's not only a matter of engine per se, it's a series of things:

1) the plane has very low flying hours since new, so problems might still arise
2) the route to follow would mean a lot of risks, not only geographical/political ones, but also environmental/meteorological ones.
3) it's a tricky plane to fly which is very unforgiving when low and slow, and there aren't many good pilots for it out there.
4) You need to make sure that for every stop of the journey you have the correct fuel, oil, suitable runways, alternates and possibly spares.. it's a HUGE logistics work to make things right. And still you'd have to fly over a huge portion of ocean and territories that might not like you to fly in their airspace at certain altitudes, cos let's not forget that you'd have to take the Mossie at high altitude for it to be very efficient.

I could carry on, but I think this is enough as it is to scare any insurance company, even the ones that are specialised in this sort of things. Things can be done, but common sense must prevail when dealing with extremely rare machines.

Another (very likely) option is that the owner is gonna get tired of it and will put it on the market in a couple of years' time, and the Mossie will finally head back home (provided Kermit Weeks or some other minted collector decides he wants it!).

In the end of the day it's all down to how deep the pockets of the owners are. You mentioned the Blenheim, but at least that one has flown.. think about the Beaufighter or the Cr.42 in Duxford.. They'll be done, but some of these projects can take up to 20 years!