ISTAT Donates 1919 Vickers Vimy
The ISTAT Foundation has donated its replica 1919 Vickers Vimy aircraft to the Brooklands Museum of Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Through this gift, the historic Vickers Vimy will be returned to the place of original manufacture to be permanently preserved as a testament to the skills of the British aeronautical industry and the strength and will of the British people during World War I. The aircraft will be shown both as a static and flying display. The Foundation hopes that through the public display it will inspire young and old in the science, art and excitement of aviation.
The Brooklands Museum of Weybridge in Surrey is based at the sight where the original Vimy bombers were built in 1917. This is also the location of the famous Brooklands Motor Raceway. The aviation and motoring museum at Brooklands symbolizes the first great era of aviation and motoring achievement of the 20th Century. The Museum displays numerous motor cars and early aircraft and includes a recent arrival of a complete Concorde. The Vimy will be flown on occasional flights and public displays.
The Vimy was first seen at the annual Wings and Wheels display at Dunsford Park Aerodome in Surrey. The largest airworthy bi-plane in the world, this aircraft has had an illustrious history in its own right and was admired by the many aviation and motor enthusiasts at the Dunsford Park event.
An accurate replica build in California in 1994, the project was fathered by Peter McMillan, who became fascinated by the possibility of re-creating an example of the first aircraft to fly directly across the Atlantic. Upon completion of the replica, McMillan and others also created an re-enactment of the aircraft's historic flights from England to Capetown and the Trans-Atlantic flight emulating the first Atlantic crossing by Alcock and Brown in 1919.
The design of the Vimy is essentially the same as used by the Vickers Aviation Company of Brooklands, based on the original drawings and with the same dimensions but using updated and longer lasting materials.
The ISTAT Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education and interest in all aspects of aviation.