Historic Cold War plane takes to the road to its new home near Bridgnorth
The Vickers Varsity WL679 has been housed at RAF Cosford since 1992.
An historic Cold War aircraft took to the roads of Shropshire on Tuesday after it was moved from RAF Cosford to its new home at a heritage museum near Bridgnorth.
The Vickers Varsity WL679 has been housed at RAF Cosford since 1992.
The British twin-engined military crew trainer aircraft was built in 1953 and was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1951 to 1976.
It was affectionately known as the “Flying Pig” due to its wide, round fuselage shape.
On Tuesday, volunteers from all over the country have been stripping the aircraft at RAF Cosford for the last three weeks, after the RAF museum gifted the plane to the Chetton Heritage Museum near Bridgnorth.
Julian Millington from the museum said it was a huge honour to have been given the iconic aircraft.
He said: “It is a rare aircraft being the last one of its kind to fly and is the best preserved one in the world.
“We were really excited to have been given it but it took a lot of paperwork to get it as a gift and we had a tight deadline to get it moved by December.
“It has been a huge task. We’ve had around 20 volunteers come from all over the country. Some are serving RAF members, some are retired.”
He said the Vickers Varsity was taken along the M54 through Much Wenlock and down the Bridgnorth Road before it arrived at its new home on Tuesday in Chetton.
“We had to strip it down and take the wings off, so the first part moved was the fuselage, which was pretty spectacular,” added Julian.
He said the museum hopes to have the plane on display in time for its next open day next month.
“It is in good condition but it has been outside for the last 18 months so we plan to get some humidifiers in, restore it then keep it inside,~” said Julian. “It will take centre stage at the museum alongside our Harrier. We hope to open up the fuselage and cockpit to allow people to explore and sit in it.”
The Chetton Heritage Museum’s open day takes place on December 6 at Lower Cockshutt Farm, Bridgnorth between 10am and 4pm.
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