Yesterday, we managed to move the starboard wing and the horizontal stabiliser. Today, the port wing and tail fin were moved, along with the remaining bits and pieces that had been removed (flaps, engine casings) and a set of aircraft steps.

A minor setback on the first day saw the tail unable to fit onto the trailer as it was too long. In a last minute stroke of luck, we were able to hire the assistance of an employee at Cobham, a company based on the airport site, to cut off two small sections of the tail. We thank Chris at Cobham for his help with this – it saved us another day delivering parts and hiring equipment.

The team are naturally overjoyed at reaching this stage. However, we realise we could not have reached this position without the help of all of our sponsors to date.

Over these two days, we have had extensive help from MSD Cranes. Their workers have shown great dedication to the work at hand, and have been on hand to help with whatever is needed. We’d particularly like to thank Stan, who has worked with us on behalf of MSD Cranes for the past year during most of the dismantling progress. He’s an honorary member of the team, and quite an expert on the Trident by now!

In addition to MSD, we couldn’t have completed the move if it wasn’t for JDPL and Colin Best. They planned the route and arranged the escort up to the museum over the three move days. A lot of background work went into this, which we really appreciate. They organised the police support, who have again been excellent over the past two days.

St George Hotel at Durham Tees Valley Airport has helped us out with accommodation many times over the course of the project so far. For us, it was always a pleasure to stay at such a nice hotel, and the bar was always a great place to meet up and debrief.

Serco have been incredibly helpful with this project. Today marks the end of our work with them, but we’d like to think we’ve made some good friends and colleagues at the International Fire Training Centre- particularly Chris and Sean, who have always been on hand to help us whilst working on site. We thank them all for this, and for giving us the opportunity to save this historic aircraft.

Today we also had support from Auto Recovery Services, and Mick from Palis Transport. We thank them very much.

G-ARPO is now at the North East Aircraft Museum. The fuselage is currently in the car park, so you can get a close view of her. Please also have a look at the other great exhibits at the museum, and speak to the various teams working on different restoration projects. It really is a treasure trove of amazing aircraft and military vehicles.

The team will now begin planning the next stage of the project, and we will hopefully be moving the fuselage alongside the other parts in the near future. From there, we can begin work on the restoration.

Here are some pictures from the wings and tail move. More will follow soon, so keep checking back!

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She had been laid up at London Heathrow in the BA maintenance area for a while, with her stablemates all being scrapped or sent to fire grounds around the country. Finally, the call came to send her up to Teesside Airport (as Durham Tees Valley was then known) on a cold December day in 1983. On the flight deck that day was Dick Boas  as Captain, Colin Rule as Engineer and a young First Officer named Chris Barnes. He was an aircraft enthusiast as well as a Trident pilot and had to ‘bid’ for the chance to be part of the crew for this historic flight.

As luck would have it, Chris documented the day in a series of photographs showing G-ARPO at Heathrow, flying up over the wintry countryside, then making its approach and landing at Teesside. On the ground there, he was marshalled into place by our own Peter Foster, who is today part of the Save The Trident team.

As if this stroke of luck wasn’t enough (we could never have dreamed of a better display of photographs of our aircraft than those covering its last flight), Chris also happened to have a number of items of cockpit instrumentation from G-ARPO. He has sent these to us to put back in their original place!

A big thanks go out to Chris Barnes for this kind gesture and for showing us his photographs of the day. You can be sure they’ll form part of the display when G-ARPO is restored at the museum. In the meantime, have a look below:

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Painting by Michel Schou

As the 15th Trident built, she shortly began a life flying with British European Airways, and later British Airways, out of London Heathrow to destinations throug

hout Europe and the UK.

Today she is in remarkably good condition considering her age and is ready to be restored as soon as we raise enough money

to begin the process. Please help us save this piece of aviation history – the last complete Trident 1C anywhere in the world!

We recognise the harsh financial climate, and so gratefully receive any money you can spare to help us save this magnificent aircraft and preserve it for future generations to enjoy.

We have set up a page to donate to the project which details how to pay through PayPal or by sending a personal cheque. Alternatively, you can click on the link on the left side of the main page.

All money received will be spent on the aircraft and its relocation to Sunderland. We give you our word that this money will be spent wisely and in the best interest of the aircraft.

Anyone who donates will have their name displayed on the Roll Of Honour inside the aircraft when it is opened to the public. If you leave your details, we will also send you regular updates and other snippets.

Built at: Hatfield, UK
First Flight: 13 January 1965
Delivery: 31 January 1965
Operators: BEA British European Airways, British Airways

The aircraft served on the routes of BEA and British Airways for 18 years before it was retired at London Heathrow airport. Following a short period of storage, it was ferried to Teesside Airport (now Durham Tees Valley Airport) in 1983 to be used at the Civil Aviation Authority’s fire training school along with a number of other Tridents.

The school is now operated by Serco, and continues to train aviation firefighters from around the world. Unlike many of its stablemates at Teesside, G-ARPO was spared from burning (and ultimately destruction) as it was only used for evacuation and smoke training. This has meant the aircraft has suffered some neglect and heavy-handedness, but is still largely intact with many interior fittings still present.

Now, at the end of its useful life with Serco, the company has kindly agreed to donate the aircraft to us for relocation and preservation.

What the future holds for this aircraft is as yet unknown, but our plan is to dismantle and take it to the North East Aircraft Museum at Sunderland, where it can be reassembled and kept under cover. It will be painted externally in the colours of Northeast Airlines, and restored internally with original fittings and an exhibition of Trident memorabilia.

Currently based at Durham Tees Valley Airport as part of Serco’s International Fire Training Centre, we plan to move this aircraft to a museum site in September/October 2010 and restore her as a Trident exhibit indoors from the elements and with many interior fittings back in place.

To do this, we need a lot of planning and fundraising to take place. This website is just the start, but it will become the central point of information on the project. For fans of the aircraft, the site will feature many pictures and plenty of information and trivia. You will also be able to donate to the fund.

Please keep an eye on this website for more details.