Band of elderly brothers see WWI plane lift off after 24 year labour of love

The Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter, a WW1 biplane credited with levelling the playing field in the Great War, has been lovingly replicated in a shed in Congalton, East Lothian, by a determined group of volunteer retirees, many of whom are in their eighties.

The aeroplane - nicknamed Sophie - has now flown at RAF Kirknewton during a successful top secret operation.

The 15-minute flight was undertaken by pilot Tim Rayner, 71, of Tranent, who has been with the project from the start.

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Mike Harper, 68, chairman of the Aviation Preservation Society Scotland, said: “There was excitement but anxiousness too, desperately hoping that nothing was going to go wrong.

“Everything was tested to the absolute best of our abilities and it was all done professionally, but you still have that feeling in the back of your mind of what could go wrong, but it didn’t.

“After the flight we are absolutely jubilant, relieved and delighted with the way it went and especially with the pilot's description of how she ultimately handled.

“It is probably one of the most unique hobbies that somebody could have but the guys who started the project had real ambition and vision. When you see the finished article, it is hard to believe that it started with a couple of brackets and a few bits of wood.”

Watching the aircraft fly was bitter sweet for the men given the loss of nine colleagues who passed away before witnessing the aircraft take flight.

"We salute the men who worked for years on Sophie's construction but passed away before she took to the sky,” Mr Harper added.

The aircraft was painted in the livery of Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies who became the first aviator to land a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter on an aircraft carrier at sea when he descended onto HMS Argus in the Forth in September 1918.

It was a manoeuvre that changed the face of global warfare.

Mr Harper added: “Richard Bell Davis took off from Turnhouse and flew over the Forth.

“He was a VC winner during World War One and he is credited with being the first aviator to land on an aircraft carrier.

“We are still in touch with his family. We have had Richard Bell Davis’ great, great grandkids in the cockpit.”

The team had a budget of just £5,000, plus £50 for lighting and heating their shed, to build the Sopwith Strutter.

All members once volunteered for the National Museum of Flight Scotland, which commissioned the plane, and honed their skills over the years to complete their monumental task.

While not trained in aeronautical engineering, they pieced together more than 2,700 plus parts with the timber framework fitted with modern electrics and an Australian rotec engine.

The fitting of the wings marked a significant milestone and retired surgeon John Guy, 87, stitched the canvas coverings in place.

Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutters emerged at the height of the Great War in 1916 to counter the German aerial control of the skies as the notorious Red Baron spread panic across Europe.

The biplane was deployed in Scotland to protect the Forth coastline and Rosyth dockyards against German zeppelins.

It was the first British two-seater fighter plane to have a machine gun synchronised with its propellor, meaning the pilot was able to aim the aircraft at the enemy rather than the gun.

It effectively brought to an end a period called the Fokker Scourge when Germany had the upper hand with monoplanes planes that had a similar capacity.