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World War One replica plane takes off after 25-year labour of love

Joanne MacAulay
BBC Scotland News
Making the plane airworthy again has been a 25 year project

It has only taken 25 years to get her in the air, but a replica World War One plane built by a group of volunteers in East Lothian is finally flying.

The team behind it started the ambitious project from scratch in 2000, meeting up almost every week to work on the Sopwith Strutter - which they affectionately call Sophie.

After years of painstaking work, Sophie is now undertaking a series of test flights.

Once she is cleared, she will be able to carry engers.

It's one of these test flights that brings us to RAF Kirknewton, in West Lothian, on a sunny May morning.

Tim Rayner, a white-haired man with a beard and glasses, stands in front of the plane, wearing a khaki flightsuit and a leather and sheepskin flying jacket. The plane's propeller is on the left of the picture.
Aircraft inspector Tim Rayner has been the solo pilot on test flights

Sophie's engine is warming up and her propellers start to turn as she prepares for take off.

There's no hiding the delight in the faces of the team who have put years of work into finally getting her off the ground

The ambitious project by the Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland was not something that could be rushed, according to chairman Mike Harper.

The Sopwith Strutter, a World War One small biplane, sits proudly on the grass at RAF Kirknewton, with all of those who worked on the project lined up along the wingspan, mainly mature gentlemen in yello hi-vis vests.
The team at the the Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland has taken 25 years to get the World War One Sopwith Strutter into the air

He said: "Every single nut and bolt has been checked, every single bracket has been checked, every single piece of wire has been checked. You don't cobble these things together.

"When you're going to fly it, it has to be done right. If it was for a museum, if it was just going on display we would probably have finished it within a few years.

"But the meticulous attention to detail to get this thing in the air is what's taken the length of time. Who can say they've achieved this sort of thing, a bunch of guys who've retired":[]}