Update 7 - ‘Vagabond’ Arrives home to Blackbushe
Tuesday 2nd May was a historic day at Blackbushe as our Vickers Viking G-AGRW ‘Vagabond’ finally returned home, completing a 950 mile journey from Bad Voslau, Austria. The two lorries carrying her wings, engines, nacelles and tail plane arrived first around 0600hrs. These were followed by the low loader carrying her fuselage which arrived through the gates of the airport around 1120hrs. The three lorries and support vehicles gathered for a procession along the runway whilst air operations were temporarily halted. She received the traditional water cannon salute from the airport fire service.
G-AGRW arrives safely back home to Blackbushe.
This memorable arrival was the conclusion of a huge effort over a two week period by a small team of volunteers and professionals. Central to this effort was Pat Marchant and Rich Coleman of RPM Aviation who carried out the recovery on behalf of BHT. They were ably assisted by volunteers from BHT and the Austrian Aviation Museum. The preparation began on Friday 21st April and lasted until the final truck was loaded late on Thursday 27th April. All three trucks had arrived in Dover by Saturday where the low loader had to park up to await the escort vehicle booked for Tuesday morning.
It’s not everyday that a 77 year old aircraft arrives back in the UK and we were thrilled that so many people came to Blackbushe to share the occasion with us. We really enjoyed listening to the many Viking stories and experiences being shared amongst the crowd. So many people have a personal connection to the post war workhorse that the Viking was.
We are very grateful to BBC South reporter Matt Treacy who spent the whole of Tuesday with us and produced a news piece which aired on the evening news beginning 1830hrs on Tuesday. Chairman, Peter Brown, was also interviewed live on BBC Radio Berkshire that afternoon. Recordings of both are available on our Facebook page. ‘Vagabond’ is now in her new hangar, kindly supplied by Blackbushe Airport and painted by a team of volunteers lead by Pete Vickery. She does remain out of bounds at present while a full health and safety assessment is carried out. This will take a couple of weeks and then we will be able to begin the next exciting stage, her restoration.
If you would like to donate so you can so via our Crowdfunder page here:
https://www.bacommunityfund.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond/updates/202025#start
All donations are very much appreciated and help towards restoring G-AGRW, thank you for your support.
G-AGRW is loaded onto the back of a low loader in preparation for the journey back home to Blackbushe.
Team shot - A big thank you to all those involved in helping bring back G-AGRW back home to Blackbushe.
Farewell Vagabond - A water cannon salute from the Bad Voslau Airport Fire Service.
