2. Aircraft

IWM Duxford

Ross and I had a superb day at the Imperial War Museum Duxford 20 odd years after our first visit. The sound of warbirds flying all day just added to the atmosphere. The vehicles in the Land Warfare building are in the Military Vehicles folder. 10/5/2022
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    This is Hurricane BE505, it was built by Canadian Car and Foundry in 1942. Initially destined for the RAF as a Hurricane I, it was diverted to the Royal Canadian Air Force and later upgraded to become a Hurricane XII. Serving latterly in the operational training role, the aircraft was struck off RCAF charge in September 1944. It was sold post-war into civilian hands, remaining largely intact if un-flown. Hawker Restorations brought the airframe to the UK, and started restoring it at their Suffolk facility in 2005. The Hangar 11 Collection acquired the Hurricane in 2007. It took to the air for its first post-restoration flight from North Weald on 27 January 2009.
    Around 2017 Hawker Restorations were looking at converting a Hurricane to a two seat configuration for air experience flights. They decided that using an airworthy example would shorten the timescale against a ground up restoration and conversion. When BE505 came up for sale it became the obvious candidate. As a result, HR purchased the then North Weald, Essex-based ‘Hurribomber’ – Hurricane Mk.IIb from the Hangar 11 Collection in late 2018. With the sale finalised in December, the aircraft was flown to Elmsett on January 19 2019. Not only did the airframe offer several attributes that made it particularly suitable for conversion, including being powered by a 1,300hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 29 engine with a Hamilton Standard Propeller, HR had returned that very aeroplane to the skies 11 years before.
    Following more than 11 months of work, BE505 finally emerged complete from the Hawker Restorations hangar on December 5, 2019. Following extensive ground testing, it flew for the first time as a two-seater on March 17 and during July it had its first flight with another Hurricane pilot in the back. The pair then swapped seats to give an evaluation. Both claimed it is as good as a single seat Hurricane. It appears that the hard work by all at Hawker Restorations has paid off – they have produced a Hurricane that gives an almost full experience of a single-seater for the passenger in the back. G-HHII