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:

[View with PicLens]

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.