K8203 (G-BTVE) Hawker-Boulton Paul Demon I, RAF COLOURS -banking left. The Shuttlewoeth Collection and K3661/562. Hawker Nimrod II FAA COLOURS -banking right. The Historic Aircraft Collection. 18.06.03. OLD WARDEN. SHUTTLEWORTH TRUST.

            1 Hawker-Boulton Paul Demon I, s/n K8203 RAF, c/n K8203,  (G-BTVE). Demon G-BTVE took to the air after an 18 year restoration on 23rd June 2009.  Painted in the colours of 64 Squadron RAF and with serial number K8203, the Demon is the sole remaining flying example of this important interwar type.  One of a batch of 37 built by Boulton Paul Aircraft in Wolverhampton, K8203 was originally assigned to 64 Squadron at Church Fenton before passing to No. 9 Maintenance Unit at RAF Cosford and then to No. 9 Air Observers School (later renamed No. 9 Bombing & Gunnery School) at RAF Penrhos.

K8203 was struck off charge in September 1940 but served on as a ground training aid.  The aircraft was finally retired properly in 1943.  Acquired first by Guy Black and then Demon Displays the Demon was restored by Skysport Engineering and is now based at Old Warden in the United Kingdom.

2 only one Nimrod II survives today, K3661 (G-BURZ), the penultimate Nimrod II to be manufactured for the FAA, issued in 1936. Like many historic aircraft, K3661 was discarded and moved from one RAF facility to another after its decommission in 1939. After thirty years in the wilderness, it was discovered in a rubbish dump in Ashford, Kent, in 1972, remarkably almost complete but badly corroded. Subsequently donated to the RAF Museum the fuselage was sold following the closure of RAF Henlow and eventually obtained by Guy Black of Aero Vintage/Retrotec, who set about the awesome task of restoring the Nimrod II to its former glory. The search for original drawings was a long one, but eventually, a large collection was obtained from the Royal Danish Air Force Archive to help progress the project. Fortunately, this was not Retrotec’s first Hawker rodeo, and the company had developed extensive experience in Hawker engineering techniques, allowing them to reverse engineer parts where needed and rebuild many of the Nimrod II’s complex elements to exacting original specifications, such as the dumbbell-section wing spars. 

In November 2006, 14 years after restoration began, K3661 took to the skies again as part of the Historic Aircraft Collection, based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. It is a truly historic and inspirational aircraft in every sense, from its beautiful lines to the powerful engine sound which can easily be confused with that of a Merlin! Fully aerobatic, K3661 is a regular show-stopper at air shows; it is simply wonderous to watch the Nimrod II’s silver wings glittering as it dances through the air, for although it is silver, this rare beast is the sole survivor of an aircraft that represents the golden age of biplane fighters.

Taken on: June 3, 2018

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AVIATION AIRFIELD OLD WARDEN SHUTTLEWORTH TRUST

AVIATION AIRFIELD OLD WARDEN SHUTTLEWORTH TRUST FLY NAVY DAY 2018

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