UPDATE ON METEOR T7
Photo Courtesy of Peter March
At the Kemble Airshow on the weekend of 20th and 21st June 2009 one of our most prestigious restoration projects ever was rolled out into the sunshine. After 15 years under restoration, what has affectionately been referred to as the “Yatesbury Meteor”, was finally seeing light of day and the end in sight.
The old gymnasium at the now long disused RAF Yatesbury airfield near Swindon, (where Guy Gibson did his first solo) had been the home of this Meteor T 7, built in August 1949 by Armstrong Whitworth at Coventry.
A group of enthusiasts known as The Meteor Flight had started a very bold rebuild to fly under the leadership of one Hal Taylor, who had flown this aircraft as an instructor in the RAF at Strubby, Lincolnshire in 1958. Many hours (and years) of disassembly and rework had taken place by ardent volunteers, enthusiasts, even the RAF at Lyneham, before the turning point came in 2004 which was, “it is now time to start putting it back together”. This is where Air Atlantique came in with the wherewithal to make it happen. Sandy Mullen, a long time Meteor Man joined the team to do and lead, the rebuild, ably assisted by Colin Bates another Meteor expert. The gymnasium was a huge concrete building with a corrugated iron roof, bitterly cold in winter and hot in the summer. A marquee was assembled under the original lights of the boxing ring so heating and a controlled working environment could be provided. Work progressed unabated for four years until the time came to join the nose section and tailboom to the centre-section.
A small hangar at Kemble was leased and everything moved to the new location. The engines had been part overhauled at CFS Aeroproducts Ltd at Coventry under the watchful eye of the CAA Propulsion Department, Gatwick, and test run at Charlgrove on a purpose built test vehicle. On a freezing foggy morning in November 2007 the first engine was test run successfully at full throttle for 15 minutes using 130 gallons of fuel. Now engines are fitted and the aircraft is in one piece and complete save for the intricate task of final wiring, plumbing, avionics fit, rigging and painting, weighing and flying. The exciting part.
The certification is being progressed by Delta Jets under their A8-20 Approval assisted by Air Atlantique Ltd`s Classic Flight Maintenance team. Watch this space for more information as the first flight approaches, but remember, after spending almost ₤200,000 so far, further direct and indirect costs need to be met or sponsorship found to cover such things as, CAA fees, certification costs, paint, radios, hangarage, insurance, and last but not least, fuel and oil.
If you would like to go along and see the aircraft at Kemble, please call Hal Taylor on 01491 872205. There will be people working on the aircraft on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
