We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the last flight of WR963 which departed RAF Waddington and touched down at Coventry Airport on this very day in 1991. This marked the start of the next era in the life of this Avro Shackleton with the airframe being purchased at auction as one of a pair (the other airframe being WL790) by the late David Liddell-Grainger. The intention was to fly one of the airframes in civilian ownership with the other acting as a spares source.
After a few years of struggling with bureaucracy in vain, WL790 was flown out to the USA where she operated under FAA rules for 14 years until retirement into Museum life...
WR963 had been the chosen spares ship for WL790, and as such had been a test-bed airframe and stripped of many parts. In 1997 the Shackleton Preservation Trust took over looking after this airframe and set about returning the airframe to working condition as best they could...
Eventually, in 2008, a taxy run was achieved down the runway at Coventry which proved the viability of continuing to work towards returning WR963 to full working order once more!
In 2012, after a huge amount of careful research and gathering documentary evidence, the CAA was approached again to gain approval for a “Return to Flight” status... Amazingly, this time it was approved, and the hard work really began for the team!
In recent years WR963 has proved she wants to fly again with several taxy runs taking place, many ground runs, and an influx of dedicated volunteers increasing the ability of the team to overcome all the obstacles in our path!
Interest in our project soon reached higher places, with the recent surprise announcement that WR963’s old squadron (Number 8 Sqn Royal Air Force) wished to forge a unique working partnership with us to push forward this project! On July 9th they will be coming back to see their old aircraft for the first time in 25 years as a result, and we want you to be there too!
We will not only be welcoming the Royal Air Force at Coventry, but also have members of 8 Sqn Association attending too! Several VIP guests will be coming, who have been involved with WR963 in various ways over the years.
There are plans to have some airborne visitors too (though sadly not a current Sentry aircraft due to operational circumstances)
The entire team at the Shackleton Preservation Trust would love you to come and see what we have achieved and what our plans are for the future!
To celebrate this special anniversary with us, our Chairman has even discounted the admission price especially for this event too!
Public entry will be just £15 per person for the entire day’s activities where you can take a close look at our aircraft, meet the team, witness WR963 perform on the day, and be part of an historical occasion!
We do ask that if possible you book your place online via our website, and remember to include a message with paypal payments telling us that the payment is for “July 9th 25th Event” please!
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You will not get an actual ticket, but your name(s) will be on a list at our gate as proof!
We will allow admission on the gate too, but it helps us to know who is attending if we know in advance!
You will be on a live airside apron at Coventry Airport for this event, so our team will be looking after you at all times for your own safety and airport security too of course.
Light refreshments will be available in our Cabin, but we would also recommend the adjacent DC-6 Diner for great value food too, although pre-booking a table might be advantageous as we expect them to be busy on this day!
DC-6 Diner can be contacted on: 07944 512305 or 02477 459020
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