Fly Past

10 FLYPAST April 2018

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Suffolk’s Hawker Restorations has

acquired Hurricane IIB ‘BE505’

(G-HHII) from North Weald’s

Hangar 11 Collection, and plans to

convert the ‘Hurribomber’ into a

two-seater.

With the sale completed in

December, the aircraft was fl own

by Stu Goldspink to Hawker

Restorations’ facility at Elmsett

on January 19. This fi ghter was

originally restored by the same

company, and was assembled at

North Weald for its fi rst post-

restoration fl ight in 2009. Andrew

Wenman of Hawker Restorations

was pleased to see the Hurricane

returning ‘home’ and outlined plans

for the Canadian-built fi ghter.

“The aircraft is in superb condition,

having been lovingly operated by

[Hangar 11 boss] Peter Teichman,” he

told FlyPast. “To create a two-seater,

it was better to buy an already

airworthy aircraft, effectively

reducing the timeline from three

years to one.

“We are just about to start

the design stage, looking into

the engineering challenges the

conversion will present. The matter

of balance is important here, so we

need to study the centre of gravity.

Then of course we have to create

seating, making sure there’s leg room

and that it’s possible to get in and out

with a canopy modifi cation.

“We have another two-seater project

in progress, and that’s been used to

mock up the concept of installing

a second seat behind the pilot. The

indications are that it is possible, so

we now have a great deal of work to do

in order to produce the required data

to satisfy our design partners and, of

course, to meet CAA requirements.”

The company plans to retain the

fi ghter’s distinctive ‘Hurribomber’

confi guration as much as is possible.

An elongated canopy is likely to be the

most obvious change.

Hurricane Mk.I V7497 (G-HRLI) is

also progressing well at Elmsett, with

wings fi tted and fuselage painted.

The next stage will be to install the

undercarriage, and the aircraft is likely

to fl y later this year. This fi ghter –

which fl ew in the Battle of Britain – is

half owned by Peter Kirkpatrick and at

the time of writing Hawker Restorations

was in the process of selling another

quarter share. This still leaves a fi nal

quarter share available – the company

welcomes serious enquiries.

http://www.hawkerrestorations.co.uk

DARREN HARBAR

Hurricane

to be converted into a two-seater

Hurricane IIB ‘BE505’ arriving at Hawker Restorations’ facility on January 19.

ALL DARREN HARBAR

Hurricane Mk.I V7497 with ‘BE505’ in the background.

Peter Teichman fl ying ‘BE505’ in 2015.