Why More Aircraft Hangars May Be Needed For Vintage Planes

Air shows are among the most enduringly popular of all the different events that take place over the summer. Aircraft old and new, civil and military alike, put on displays that delight and amaze crowds, whether through nostalgia, speed, pilot skill, or a combination of these things.#

A prime example was the RAF Duxford air show, held over the August Bank Holiday. Cambridge News described the event and the firework display that followed when night fell as “spectacular”, praising the display of aeronautics as well as the ground-based displays at the museum that includes a Spitfire, Lancaster Bomber and Concorde.

Indeed, there will be more to come from Duxford before the summer season wraps up, with the Battle of Britain memorial flight on September 15th, traditionally featuring a Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster flying in formation.

The appeal of this trio of historic aircraft has never faded, with thousands flocking every time to see it, hairs standing on the back of their necks as the distinctive shapes and the familiar hum and throb of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines fill the air.

Places like Duxford have plenty of large aircraft hangars to keep their planes in. But, 121 years after the Wright Brothers first got off the ground, the number of planes one might class as vintage is growing, which means more hangars may be needed by those collecting, displaying, or even still flying them.

True, there are rare instances such as the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire that have some of the earliest aircraft ever flown, but the further back one goes, the fewer vintage aircraft remain, not least warplanes as so many that were built didn’t survive the global conflicts they fought in, were not maintained well enough, or simply scrapped.

Consequently, there is a greater quantity of younger but still vintage planes from the later years of the 20th century still around and remaining popular with enthusiasts. A good example of this is an RAF Lightning that first flew in 1965 and has been restored before going on display this summer at RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire.

In this case, the plane was already housed at an established site, having been at the base throughout its working life, which ended in 1991, before being mothballed until the open day brought the crowds flocking.

Commenting that the engines needed a lot of work after being inactive for the last 17 years, Josh Mortimer, a volunteer at the Lightning Association, told the BBC: “We had a good engine run a few weeks ago. It will be here for the future, it’s iconic, so people will want to come and see it.”

The enduring popularity of vintage planes is, therefore, not in doubt. If you or your organisation has acquired one because of this, it will be vital to get a hangar that meets all its needs, providing adequate space and giving engineers and other staff easy access to it to ensure it maintains its appearance and, if you intend to keep it flying, its air-worthiness.