Some of the Volunteer team who have worked so hard to restore Z2389 over more than 20 years and 60,000 hours.
O
n the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, Brooklands marked a much happier chapter in the history of
the Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft. The 3 September, 2019 celebrated the Topping Out Ceremony of the Brooklands Museum’s very own Hurricane MKIIA, Z2389, after a restoration spanning more than 20 years and 60,000 hours.
This image clearly shows the simple steel tube construction of the Hurricane’s airframe that made it robust and easy to repair after any damage when it was in service.
Almost all of this work has been undertaken by Volunteers who have painstakingly rebuilt Z2389 from a wreck that was recovered from Russia. One of the leading lights in this work is Bob Borchardt, a former BOAC and British Airways flight engineer who has been involved with the Museum’s Hurricane project since 1998. ‘It was long-time project leader Roy Lomax who got me helping with the Hurricane’s restoration,” explains Bob. “I’ve
been interested in aircraft since I was a boy and I worked with aircraft as an adult. I started working on the centre section build back in 1998.
“Over the years, I’ve also helped with the general build, electrics, instruments, engine preparation and maintenance, pneumatics and painting. Like many of the Volunteers, I’ve helped where I can and where my previous experience has been most useful.’
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN
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