Canberra to fly again - BBC video

 

Record-breaking 'celebrity' jet bomber to be restored

• 19 May 2016
 
• From the sectionEngland

 Check video here: http://tinyurl.com/h3dlqsn

Media captionRestoration work is expected to start in early 2017

A record-breaking jet from Britain's golden age of flight is to be restored.

The Vulcan to the Sky Trust has launched a fundraising campaign to bring the English Electric Canberra WK163 back into action.

Trustees have already assembled the engineers and spare parts, including six engines, needed to get the project off the ground.

Fans will be able to see the work as it is carried out on at Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster.

More on this and other stories from Coventry and Warwickshire

The Canberra once held the record for the highest flight, and the WK163 has been described as a "celebrity" in the golden age of post-war British flight.

The announcement for the restoration project was made at Coventry Airport by the team who put a Vulcan bomber back in the air.

Image copyrightRUI VIEIRA/PA

Image captionThe trust hopes to raise enough from public funds to restore the Canberra WK163

Robert Pleming, Vulcan trust chief executive and leader of the restoration project, said the aim is to have the Canberra ready for the RAF's centenary in 2018.

"WK163 embodies so much that is remarkable about British courage and innovation in the jet age - qualities that she can continue to inspire in us all," he said.

Once the project is finished, the WK163 will be the only plane of its type operating in Europe.

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English Electric Canberra WK163

• The jet first entered service in 1951
• In August 1957 it broke the world altitude record by flying at 70,308ft (21,430m), 13 miles above ground
• It was replaced as a bomber by more modern aircraft, but continued to act in reconnaissance missions until it was retired by the RAF in 2006
• WK163 last flew in 2007

PRESS DAY AT COVENTRY AIRPORT TODAY REVEALS NEW RESTORATION PROJECT The team that returned Vulcan XH558 to flight is to return another iconic all-British jet  to the airshow circuit Canberra WK163 – Holder of the World Altitude Record in 1957 – our next return to flight project photographed in 2006 before she was grounded due to engine issues. One of Britain’s most important jet-age aircraft is to be returned to flight. English Electric Canberra WK163 spent most of her life playing a central role in the development of advanced propulsion technologies followed by a period with the Royal RADAR Establishment, at the heart of British scientific and engineering innovation. In 1957, she shot into the headlines around the world when a prototype Napier Double Scorpion rocket motor fired her to 70,310ft and a new world altitude record. In 1957, she shot into the headlines around the world when a prototype Napier Double Scorpion rocket motor fired her to 70,310ft and a new world altitude record.Since her final flight in 2007, this famous aircraft, with ‘holder of the world altitude record’ proudly written on her nose, has faced an uncertain future. Now she is to be restored and returned to the airshow circuit with the aim of helping to celebrate the centenary of the RAF in 2018. The restoration will be undertaken by Vulcan to the Sky Trust, the award-winning charity responsible for the restoration and operation of Vulcan XH558. Click image to enlarge “WK163 embodies so much that is remarkable about British courage and innovation in the Jet Age; qualities that she can continue to inspire in us all,” states Dr. Robert Pleming, who led the team that returned XH558 to flight and is now chief executive of Vulcan to the Sky Trust. “I am thrilled to announce that the Trust plans to restore and fly her for the British public, as we did with Vulcan XH558, with an education programme around her to inspire new generations of engineers and aviators.” Entering service in 1951, the Canberra was the RAF’s first jet bomber, the answer to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a high-speed, high-altitude aircraft to replace the de Havilland Mosquito. It was the first aircraft to be powered by the new Rolls-Royce Avon, the company’s first axial flow jet turbine, a configuration that greatly improved fuel efficiency and is still at the heart of jet engine design to this day. This pioneering engine allowed a Canberra to become the first jet to cross the Atlantic without refuelling (in 1951), and gave the de Havilland Comet sufficient range to inaugurate the world’s first no-stop transatlantic jet airliner service in 1958. The all-British Canberra was so effective that they were operated by at least 17 nations including France, Germany, Australia and the USA. Demand outstripped production capacity at English Electric (later to make the astonishing Lightning, building on Canberra and Avon experience), so many Canberras were constructed by other companies under licence. WK163 was built in 1954 by Avro at Woodford, at the same facility that built Vulcan XH558. The Americans admired the Canberra so much that they also built a significant number. They can fly so high for so long that NASA still uses three US-built Canberras for satellite development. Sadly, today, despite being operated in 17 countries, there are only five Canberras known to be flying in the world, including the three highly modified, US-built aircraft at NASA. Only two of these are English Electric Canberras and currently, none are flying in Europe.

Historic video footage shows importance of early British jets and Canberra WK163 Enjoy this look at times we ought to celebrate and aspire to (or inspire to) again!

How will this restoration be achieved? WK163 has already been surveyed by both Vulcan to the Sky Trust and independent specialists, all of whom agree that a return to flight is possible. Along with the aircraft, the Trust has acquired a considerable stock of spares, critically with the provenance necessary to allow them to be used in a flying aircraft. This includes six engines and a complete set of documentation and RAF maintenance procedures. The first stage will be to remove the wings and transport WK163 by road to the Trust’s engineering facility at Hangar 3, Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, where the restoration will take place in a dedicated area behind XH558. We intend to celebrate the beginning of this project as the aircraft travels from Coventry to Doncaster and are launching a fundraising campaign today to make this first phase possible.

• Nasa still uses three American-built WB-57 versions to carry out satellite testing missions