The Canberra should be ready to fly in 2018 to commemorate the Royal Air Force’s centennial.
The Vulcan To The Sky Trust (VTST), which has already restored the renowned Avro Vulcan B.2 XH558, is planning to rebuild another plane from Britain’s golden age of aviation.
The English Electric Canberra WK163 was obtained by VTST from the Coventry-based Classic Air Force (who received it in March 2000) with the goal of restoring it to flying conditions.
VTST has begun a funding effort to support this new project, much as it did for XH558.
According to Robert Pleming, VTST chief executive and leader of the restoration project, the Canberra, which has not flown since an engine failure in 2007, should be ready for the Royal Air Force (RAF) centenary in 2018, as stated in the August issue of FlyPast magazine: “We are going to return WK163 to the air, with the aim of flying for the centenary of the RAF in 2018. Nothing could surpass the Vulcan, but we’ve chosen to do something unique and relevant to our aviation heritage. It still has a lot of structural life, and will be the only Canberra flying in Europe.”
Only five Canberras are known to be flying across the world, three of which are extensively modified US-built Martin WB-57F aircraft used by NASA for satellite research.
Pleming believes that the Canberra restoration will be faster than that of the Avro Vulcan XH558. He also stated that VTST plans to restore other historic aircraft in the future, as well as provide technical services and assistance to other classic jet owners.
According to Vulcantothesky.org, Canberra WK163, a B.2 built by Avro in 1954, made headlines on Aug. 28, 1957, when it set the world record for aircraft height at 70,310 feet (21,375 meters) while testing the Napier Scorpion Rocket Motor. In April 1966, WK 163 was modified to B.6 specification.
Photo by Kev Slade
