The Meteor Flight - History
The founder of the group was South African born Colin Rhodes. After completing the restoration of a steam locomotive he turned to his first love, aircraft. Originally trying to buy a Vampire to restore and fly, he eventually purchased Meteor NF14 WS760. A group of shareholders was formed, and restoration commenced at Cranfield. Initially out in the open a decision to build our own hangar was made and within six months, using old scaffold poles and scrap steel from factory skips we had a 60 ft x 50 ft hangar (now occupied by Kennet Aviation).
When the authorities at Cranfield wanted rent for ground space WS760 was impounded. Back to square one with no money and nowhere to go, we were offered a small factory unit in Loughborough for restoration to continue. After liberating WS760 one dark November morning with a lorry and crane, work continued until the lease ran out and WS760 had to be placed into storage. Eventually the offer of a new home came from the Avon Aviation Museum at Yatesbury and the Meteor Flight was formed.
They converted the former gymnasium (the only building left from the Second World War) into a suitable restoration centre and after many years of hard work it has evolved into a busy workshop/ hanger area, secure stores, engine, hydraulic & electrical bays and a crew room area. It is a well organised facility as is required for such a major project as rebuilding a jet aircraft. Prudent wheeling and dealing over the years means that the group now owns three aircraft, 12 engines and probably the largest store of Meteor spares in the world ('Meteor Mountain'). The first privately owned project, night Fighter WS807 was started but had to be abandoned when corrosion was found in the main spar, it was later sold off. In 1995 the structure of the group was changed into a democratic unit and Meteor T7, WA591 became our first major asset.
WA591 was the gate guardian at RAF Woodvale when it came up for sale but the buyer only wanted the cockpit section and asked if we would like any spares from it. On seeing the condition of the airframe it was agreed that it would be a tragedy if this Meteor was scrapped. A deal was therefore struck and we became the owners of WA591. Its restoration began in earnest and under Colin's direction was progressing well when on 8th August 1997 Colin was tragically killed in a freak accident. Restoration of WA591 continues with the group and its assets protected from any take-over by appointed preferential members who have the power to stop any action likely to destroy the group's aims or independence. Most private items have now been sold or transferred and all the remaining assets are owned by the group. In 2007 WL360, one of the spare airframes was sold to Malta and Air Atlantique agreed to help fund a fulltime engineer to speed up the progress of the restoration. The group moved the project to Kemble at the end of 2008. It is likely that its first flight will take place their and that it will go on to join Air Atlantiques classic flight.
The original workshop at Yatesbury was a sight to see with Meteor & Meteor parts stacked to the roof in the cavernous background. It wasn't the best place to progress the restoration but nevertheless a great deal of the work was completed here. In the background the rear fuselages of WF825 and nightfighter WS760 can be seen. The second image shows the center sections of three of Meteors which were a valuable source of spares and a visual clue as to how all the systems fit together which no diagram, no matter how detailed could duplicate.
The final airframe to arrive at Yatesbury was the cockpit and center section of WL405. This was gifted to the group by Martin-Baker who had used it as a spares source for many years, The group already had the rear fuselage although having been stored outside at Yatesbury this was in a poor state and was scrapped when they moved to Kemble in 2008.
The majority of additional spare parts and spare airframes collected by the Meteor Flight during the early years of the restoration have now been disposed of although many important parts have been retained to support WA591 now that it has returned to the air. The original plans to restore more than one aircraft have been abandoned as impractical given the advancing age of many volunteers and the limited funds available. The work on WA591 has however been to the highest standard and it will have a long post restoration operational life ahead of it.
This website is independant of Meteor Flight operations although it is hoped that we will be able to establish a relationship with Air Atlantique in order to have advance notice of the appearance of the aircraft at flying displays in the future.