Plane, chisel or saw, enthusiasts sought for project at Blackpool Airport to rebuild vintage aircraft

The team from the Hangar 42 museum at Blackpool Airport are appealing for any one with woodwork skills and time to spare to get involved in the project to rebuild a rare Airspeed Oxford.

The aircraft, a wartime trainer which would have been a common sight in the skies above Squires Gate and Lancashire during the 1940s, was bought by the team last year from the Midlands Aircraft Recovery Group.

One of only six Oxford's in existence, it is now stored in pieces to be renovated at the museum, but work has been hampered by the coronavirus restrictions

World famous female pilot, Amy Johnson, after whom a road on the airport's enterprise zone is named, went missing on January 5, 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford from Prestwick, via RAF Squires Gate to RAF Kidlington near Oxford.

John Coombes from the Lytham St Annes Spitfire Ground Display team which runs the museum, said: "The project has stalled as we are struggling to find carpenters and joiners to help us progress the building of the wooden airframe.

"This sounds daunting, but actually the aircraft was designed so that workers with average wood working skills could become part of the construction teams. Cabinet and coffin makers swelled the ranks on the assembly lines during WW2.

"We are therefore putting out a recruitment notice to all Fylde Coast residents, young or old, who have skills in wood working, from hobby to career wood workers to get in touch.

"Our project leader is Eric Watkiss, a former RAF aircraft rigger, who hopes to attract a team of volunteers to Blackpool Airport to help rebuild this rare and mostly forgotten WW2 Trainer. This would be a first for Blackpool as no such project has ever been undertaken on the Fylde Coast."

He said anyone interested can get in touch via the Hangar 42 or Saving Amy Facebook pages and that the team would be assembled in the New Year as coronavirus restrictions allowed.

John added: "The Hangar 42 Spitfire visitor centre has been hit very hard by the coronavirus Tier 3 restrictions and the loss of an entire event season, but we are making plans for 2021 to restart our first Sunday of the month opening hours next year when possible."

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