If you haven’t been, the De Havilland museum has finished an excellent preservation of the forward section of Trident 2E G-AVFH in BEA colours, with a full interior and cockpit. I’d fully recommend a visit.

Most of the spare parts have apparently come from former Channel Airways Trident G-AVYE and British Airways Trident 3B G-AWZO. They are surplus to the museum’s requirements, so we are free to use them on G-ARPO wherever we can. Most are luckily standard across the Trident 1, 2 and 3 variants.

The North East Aircraft Museum is based on the site of the former RAF Usworth / Sunderland Airport and has a wonderful collection of aircraft which are looked after and well supported by visitors and volunteers. Plans to expand the size of the site includes building a hangar which would house G-ARPO, keeping her protected from the elements.

The museum hopes to restore G-ARPO in the colour scheme of Northeast Airlines, who flew from nearby Durham Tees Valley Airport and Newcastle Airport with their fleet of Trident 1E aircraft. Although G-ARPO never actually flew with the airline, we feel this would be a fitting tribute to the region’s association with the type, and the region which has been home to Papa Oscar for the past 26 years.