Well, in the summer of 2016 the project acquired a second complete cockpit section, adding to the rear monocoque fuselage section of RB396, and with an engine on the horizon, a second engine to make up spares, not to mention the huge amount of other parts including undercarriage, control surfaces, brackets, etc the team decided that it was time to launch the project officially into the public eye. Plans were set to hold this launch event on the 29th October 2016 at the Boultbee Flight Academy hangar at Goodwood in West Sussex due to links with one of the trustees being a pilot at Goodwood. The launch was a huge success, around 150 people attended, including three guest of honour WWII Typhoon pilots. There was magazine coverage as well as plenty of social media coverage, the Supporters’ Club was launched with around 40 people signing up on the day, a silent auction was held as well as plenty of merchandise sales and donations. All in all a good start!
As a result of the launch event, and coverage in the local Chichester paper, we were contacted by the Nephew of a previously unknown (to the project) Typhoon veteran, Warrant Officer “Alex” Gilbey. Alex, as he likes to be known, flew the Typhoon in the latter stages of the War and when he was invited along to the engine unveiling he recalled how he flew his aircraft home to Lasham, in order for them all to be scrapped. The project is aiming to keep in touch with Alex as things develop.
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Phase one contact has already been made with the industry professionals who are going to be conducting elements of the rebuild. A two month period in Feb-Mar saw the trustees visiting establishments all over the country, and even on to the Isle of Wight, to go and meet the teams who will ultimately carry out the work. The meetings were incredibly beneficial and it reinforced the budget that has been set for the project, phase two meetings will be carried out when the time is suitable.
The Supporters’ Club was officially launched at our public launch event on the 29th October 16, and since then it has grown in size and strength considerably. It now numbers over 300 with approximately 15% Lifetime members and 85% Annual members. This level of support is great to see for the project, and it is the primary source of fundraising for the project at this time. The project is recruiting volunteers who wish to help out formally on the project, from within the Supporters’ Club and as such we have formulated a small team to augment the Trustees in their work, but specifically at this stage to organise events, visits and our air show attendance, and to help man the air show stand. The trustees are very grateful to all those who volunteer for the charity, and more people will always be required. The project will primarily recruit volunteers from within the Supporters’ Club, so if you wish to take the next step, then please consider joining the club for this, and many other benefits.
The fundraising effort is, and will continue to be key to the project moving forward and it has been hard work in the last year raising sufficient funds in order to progress. It is worth remembering at this point that every penny required for this project has to be raised, the trustees have all used some of their personal funds to purchase things beneficial to the project, such as the drawings, rear fuselage section and other parts that were purchased by Dave Robinson many years ago, at a combined cost of over £30,000. When the charity was formed, the bank account read zero, and that is not conducive to rebuilding an aircraft, particularly a Typhoon!
In the year since the charity was formed the social media presence has grown steadily, allowing us to reach out further and further, there are now 16,000 followers on our Facebook, over 2,000 on Twitter, an Instagram account has recently been set up to document the finer points of the rebuild in photo for, and a YouTube channel has been starter in readiness for the build. Facebook was the platform that initially gave the project the springboard to hold the public launch, what seems like a lifetime ago in October 2016 and so it is something that shall continue to be grown steadily over the years. The highest page reach for the project was after the announcement of the engine acquisition, where that one post on Facebook was seen by 110,000 people. Now, if every one of those people had decided to join the Supporters’ Club to really get behind the project, then it would be accelerating at a vastly different rate…
Going forward into the next year, the project’s aims are to get fully established in the new base, and establish phase one of the planned visitor centre. That unit will allow the entire collection to be brought together for the first time and for visitors and supporters to come and view it. The attendance at UK Air Shows will continue, in order to spread the word, raise awareness and generate sufficient funding to continue to develop, allowing attendance at more shows in subsequent years going forward. The target for the Supporters’ Club membership base is 1000 members by the end of this calendar year, and the project will be holding a raffle for Annual membership number 396, more details will follow shortly.
As soon as the unit is established, the team intends to hold phase two meetings with the industry professionals who are going to be conducting the rebuild work. Phase one has already been held, and with the project all located in one place, it will be ideal to ask the shortlist of companies and individuals to come down to the unit to be able to see first hand just how much Typhoon there is. From this next phase of meetings the team will develop an accurate project plan, something that has not been possible up until now, due to the locations of the various parts of the collection. This plan will focus on the key questions of:
- How much – will the respective elements and overall project cost?
- How long – will the respective elements and overall project take?
- Where – will the work be completed? And,
- Who – will carry out the work?
These questions are the most important ones, and will form the basis of the plan. On completion of the plan, fundraising will step up a gear in order to raise enough money to formally begin the rebuild. It is hoped, that within this next year a major part of the aircraft will be in production, should funding be secured.
The project hopes to reunite Frank Johnson with “his” aircraft. He is a very private man, but the project has had much communication with him, and his family, and it is hoped that the team can fundraise specifically to bring him over from Canada, to come and see his aircraft again, possibly one last time. This naturally relies on Frank’s permission, and supporters will be updated with more information when it becomes available. It is hoped to collaborate with airlines, hotels, and transport providers and even news channels in order to make this a reality.
Continuing the fundraising theme, the main aim for the project is to raise sufficient funds in order to commence the build, this is reliant on the factors previously mentioned. It is hoped that, following on from establishing our base and our presence at Air Shows, one or more large financial backers may be found for the project. This aircraft is a unique opportunity to rebuild a key piece of British heritage, a sight not seen, or heard, in the British skies since 1947 and as a project, charity and team we do appeal to any interested parties who may wish to consider some form of donation or sponsorship of the project, fully, or in part.
The next year post formation promises to be a very exciting one, the team are all working incredibly hard behind the scenes to constantly drive the project forward. With your support, this next year can be the best one yet, and take us ever closer to our aim of a Typhoon being airborne for the D-Day 80th anniversary in 2024.
You can find out more about the Supporters’ Club HERE.
View the photos of our event launch, and the Napier Sabre engine, in the gallery HERE.
To make a one off donation to the project, or set up a standing order, please go to the DONATE page.
To find out more about the history of the project, and view us on the Charity Commission site, please click HERE.