Update 15 - April 2025 - Easter update

Our first main fundraising event of the year took place on 19th March when we hosted an evening of live music, “Vagabond Rocks!”, at the Login Lounge in Camberley. As the night went on the dance floor filled up as Guildford-based band Straight Circles provided 2 great sets of Rock’n’Roll. It was particularly encouraging to see lots of new faces supporting us from the local community and we were thrilled to receive a superb painting by Brian Stinton of G-AGRW in the sunshine over the Swiss Alps. A particular thank you to RPM Aviation for sponsoring the event, volunteer Jacqui Grantham for taking the lead to organise and all the staff at the Login Lounge for making the evening such a success.

Brian Stinton presents Trustee Pat Marchant (left) with his painting of G-AGRW

Passionate aviation enthusiast Steve Thirkettle will be our guest speaker at The Pathfinder Cafe on the evening of Thursday 17th April at 7pm. Steve had a fascinating and rewarding career as a 747 Flight Engineer and amassed over 10,000 flying hours. Do come and join us in a very friendly informal setting, £10 cash or card on the door which includes free hot drinks. See you there!

We returned to Safran Landing Systems at Gloucester Staverton Airport in early March to collect the fully restored undercarriage which apprentices have spent the last year overhauling to a very high standard as part of their training course. This involved stripping it back to the bare metal, testing the compound to determine which paint to use, drilling out the old bushes and replacing them, spraying the assembly and repairing the tyres using a rubber compound. Getting young people involved is one of our key objectives and we are very grateful to the team at Safran for supporting our project.

“Vagabond’s” superby restored landing gear being presented back to BHT

Meanwhile the Tech Team continues to make excellent progress with work parties at Blackbushe on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Work continues on the windows, preparing the undercarriage bays, painting the cockpit surround and volunteer Alan Timms has designed a 3D printed jig which is being used to ensure holes are drilled in the correct place for the main spar repair. Below are some pictures of recent activity.

Engine nacelle refurbishment

Main spar rebuilding

Flight Deck area refurbishment

Preparation for Flight Deck rebuild

Window refurbishment

The shop team have been busy restocking ahead of the busy summer season. We have new BHT key rings, pin badges and mugs joining our existing range of merchandise. Model sales are going particularly well at the moment both on our eBay shop and at recent enthusiast events at Kempton Park and Gatwick. If you have any aircraft models which you no longer want please do consider donating them to BHT.

We are already looking ahead to the Blackbushe Air Day on 14th June where we get to showcase our project to a much wider audience than normal. Tickets are still available but selling fast so if you want to attend do not delay your purchase at the Blackbushe Airport website. BHT will have a big presence with volunteers on hand to talk about the ongoing restoration. We’ll have an expanded shop, Spin the Wheel and new this year is a Shaky Hand Buzzer to add to the entertainment available!

We have also recently published what we hope will be the first of a number of publications. Titled ‘Viking Reflections’ it tells the story of BHT, our Viking G-AGRW and takes a detailed look at the Viking operations of BEA and Eagle Airways. Volunteers Gary Browne and Pete Vickery have worked hard on this project and we have already sold over 150. Copies are available at our shop (open Sundays) and through our website.

The picture by volunteer James Burton which inspired the naming of our first publication

Finally our Summer Raffle 2025 is set to be our biggest to date with over 20 great prizes, see details below. The draw will take place during the Blackbushe Air Day on 14th June. Tickets are available online (at the link shown below) or at any of our shop openings or events.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Peter, Dave, Pat, Paul, Chris, Becky and Mark
Trustees