Work begins to restore first commercial airliner in UK

A team of aviation enthusiasts from north-east Hampshire have started work restoring an aircraft which helped pioneer passenger air transport in the 1950s.

The Blackbushe Heritage Trust was hurriedly put together last year when it became known Vickers Viking G-AGRW 'Vagabond' was facing the scrapyard in Austria.

A fund-raising campaign helped make around £30,000 to bring the aircraft back to its home at Blackbushe Airport near Yateley on the Berkshire-Hampshire-Surrey border.

The Vickers Viking - which was manufactured at Weybridge in Surrey - was the first post-war commercial airliner in Britain, and in the 1950s was operated by nine different airlines which flew to destinations across Europe and into north Africa from Blackbushe.

Blackbushe was known then as London's second airport and by 1955 there were more than 36,000 flights in and out of the Hampshire airfield every year.

Now nearly seventy years later the trust is hoping to restore 'Vagabond' and place it outside what they hope will become a heritage centre to honour the airport's rich history.

They want the aircraft to be a place where school children can come and learn about the history of aviation and be inspired to follow a career in the industry. It may also be made available for afternoon teas and even luxury dining!

When the team visited the aircraft in Austria it was in a sorry state, it had once been used as a children's play area for a fast food restaurant and in recent years left outside exposed to the elements.

Now work has started on what could be a 5-6 year project to bring it back to its former glory.

The trustees of the charity include aviation historians, engineers, pilots, and management from Blackbushe Airport.

Along with an army of volunteers they are determined to make the Viking a regular sight at the airport once again.

For details of how you can support the trust click here

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