The MoD has spent £1.4 million for a specialist engineer to keep Britain’s only flying Lancaster bomber in the air.
The 74-year-old Avro – The City of Lincoln – is part of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF)
The Aircraft Restoration Company (TARC) won the contract to construct and fit new tailplanes to the Lancaster PA474.
TARC company boss John Romain said:
“We are one of the very few companies in the world who can do this sort of work.
“We became experts in doing maintenance on the Lancaster a few years ago when it needed a major overhaul.
“We do work that goes beyond normal line maintenance done by the RAF.”
Parts for the Lancaster stopped being made decades ago.
TARC must dig through engineering archives and drawings for exact specifications and designs.
The company, based at RAF Duxford, then must make the parts.
