LANCASTER RESTORATION Lancs for the memory


We spoke with Andrew Panton, Accountable Manager of the Lancaster Restoration Company, and the General Manager of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.


“T


he Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre was established by my grandfather and great uncle, Fred and Harold Panton in memory of their brother Christopher Panton who flew


as a Flight Engineer on Halifax bombers during WW2 but was lost on the Nuremburg raid on 30/31st March 1944. The Centre is a living memorial with a taxying Lancaster and Mosquito aircraft offering taxy rides during the Spring to Autumn months. We have now started the project of restoring Avro Lancaster NX611 to an airworthy condition.” “The Centre is an entirely family run business with the memory of Christopher and Bomber Command at its heart. The project to restore NX611 is the ultimate tribute that we can pay to Bomber Command and completing the project would be in honour of both the Command and the achievements of Fred and Harold Panton. My interest in aviation was inspired by the family involvement with the Centre and watching the Lancaster come to life over the years. I decided to join the Centre when leaving education and continue the work of my grandfather and great uncle.”


WHAT IS THE HISTORY BEHIND THE RESTORATION PROJECT YOU ARE UNDERTAKING? “The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre opened in 1989 by Fred and Harold Panton as a memorial to Christopher Panton and RAF Bomber Command during WW2. We took delivery of Avro Lancaster NX611 in 1988 with a view to her sitting static as the centrepiece to the museum but the plan soon changed


as the aircraft was inspected by an ex-BBMF engineer to assess the possibility of restoring her to an engine running condition. Between 1990 and 1994 all four engines were restored to a ground running condition and we advanced to taxying the aircraft. Over the years Fred and Harold were asked many times whether NX611 would fly again and back in 2009 they decided to make the push towards restoring NX611 to airworthy condition. The first steps made were the restoring of four airworthy engines ands a parts search all around the world. In 2016 we started the main structural work with a full paint strip and survey of the airframe enabling us to plan the work ahead of us ready to approach the CAA with the project.”


FLYING HERITAGE


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Pictures: LAHC/Silksheen Photography


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