G-AMSV Returns to Coventry
An old friend returned to Coventry yesterday when G-AMSV, in her striking Indian Air force livery, landed here for extensive maintenance by our engineers. Sierra Victor was part of the Air Altantique fleet here for many years. She'll...
Baginton Air Pageant
The initial details for the Baginton Air Pageant are up on the website! As we don't have the space for a full-on air show attracting 20,000 or so people, we're aiming for low-key, themed days like this. A couple of thousand people,...
Newquay Pleasure flights
We promised we'd be back to fly in Cornwall, and here we are. We'll be heading south with a Rapide and Chipmunk to spend a week at Newquay from 25th July, with a further visit planned in August. The flights are bookable in the normal...
New Dakota Book
Geoff Jones just told me that his new book on the DC-3, released to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Dak's appearance, is now available. The cover sports a lovely shot of G-ANAF, shot by Simon Westwood before her radome goiter was...
Nimrod Engine Run
We've just confirmed plans by NPT to run all four of the Nimrod's Rolls-Royce Speys on Saturday 9th May. We expect the thunder to start just after lunchtime. Come along and enjoy some audio power - and please dip into your pockets...
| Status: | Static Display |
| Owned by: | The Classic Aircraft Trust |
| Current location: | Newquay |
| Available for pleasure flights: | No |
Our two hunters are a perfect example of Spitfire designer R. J. Mitchell's oft-quoted saying, "If it looks right, it is right." There's a harmony of proportion, and essential "rightness" that suggests a vice-free, effective combat aircraft. Even when its proportions are distorted by the two-seat cockpit on WT722, it's still a beautiful aircraft.
WT722
WT722 started life as an F4, flying for the first time on 4th February 1955 before delivery to the RAF on 25th May 1955, where it served with 54 and 26 Fighter Squadrons.
Hawker repurchased the aircraft in 1957 and it was one of the first Hunters to be converted to T8 specification. In her new form she was delivered to the Royal Navy on 10th April 1959. She served with 703 and 764 Naval Air Squadrons at Lossiemouth and 759 NAS at Brawdy.
She moved south in 1970 to join RNAS Yeovilton where she served with the Air Direction Training Unit. The merging of FRU and ADTU to form FRADU in 1972 brought WT722 into the FRADU fleet. By 1983 she was the world's oldest airworthy Hunter.
Entering well-earned retirement in 1995, WT722 was bought at auction by Classic Jets of Exeter. By this time her logbook showed 9,500 flying hours and 12,500 landings.
On the expiry of the aeroplane's Certificate of Airworthiness in 1997 she was relegated to a static role and in 2006 she went into storage with Delta Jets at Kemble.
Air Atlantique acquired her in 2010 for their AIRBASE collection and she moved to Coventry. With the advent of the Classic Air Force museum in Newquay she moved in 2012 to her present home in Cornwall.
WV256
WV256 is destined to become our gate-guardian here at Newquay.
She first flew on 5th May 1955 and was delivered to the RAF on 20th May 1955 where she served with 26(F) Squadron and 229 OCU.
Like our T8, she was bought back by Hawker who converted her to a GA11 in 1960. She also joined the Navy and moved to RNAS Lossiemouth in 1963. She moved with her squadron to Brawdy before transferring to 764 Naval Air Squadron in 1969 and moving back to Lossiemouth.
In 1972 she joined ADTU, and in 1973 became part of FRADU's fleet, retiring in 1995 and being flown to RAF Shawbury for storage.
In 2000, Barry Pearson bought her at auction, registering her as G-BZPB. She flew to Exeter on a ferry permit and a full restoration to airworthiness was carried out. She was granted a Permit to Fly in 2001 and became a regular performer at air shows, resplendent in the sky-blue of the original prototype Hunter.
WV256's Permit to Fly expired in 2003 and she moved to Kemble as a spares donor aircraft.
She was acquired for Air Atlantique's AIRBASE in May 2010 and took up duty as gate guardian at their Coventry base. Now transferred to the Classic Air Force fleet, she arrived in Newquay by road in 2012.