Ithappenedbyaccidentreally,Jet Arts Chris
Wilsontoldmewithabroadgrin asweshelteredfromtheautumnalwind
andraininhiswarmoffice.Outside,the rhythmicsoundof
malletonmetalcontinued asothermembersoftheteamworkedona
myriadofex-militaryjets,slowlyturningthem from wrecks to valuable
relics.WhenIlefttheRAFIthoughtIdmakea
livingbymakingaviationthemedfurniture, Chrisrevealed.
Mywife,MelandIthought thingslikecoffeetablesmadeoutofengine
ringsorpolishedpropellerswouldbepopular
butthemoreresearchwedid,themorewe
realisedthatpeoplewantedtobuythepart
initsrawstateinstead.Iguessyoudsaythe
asflownlookwasmorepopularthanthe restored look!ChrisformedJet Art
Aviationandstarted sellingsmallitemssuchasenginebladesand
instruments. That,inturn,ledhimtobegin
refurbishingandsellingejectorseatsandas
thecomponentsgotbigger,itwasperhaps
inevitablethatChriswouldhaveaspirationsto start working on
airframes themselves.ThefirststepwastakenwhenaSeaHarrier
nosesectionwasacquiredandwhentheart
ofcockpitrefurbishmentwasnailed,itwas
anaturalprogressiontoworkonanentire
airframe.ThefirstairframewehadwasaFalklands
veteranSeaHarrier[XZ459]Chrisrecalled. It was pretty heavily
stripped of spares when it arrived with us but we put it back
together.ItwasMelsfaultreally,helaughed, she
shouldvetalkedmeoutofit,butsheactually
encouragedmetobuytheShar[SeaHarrier].
Wemadeabidfortheairframeandwere
successful,butthenwediscoveredthatit
wouldntevenfitdownthedriveathome,so
wespoketothefarmerwhoownedthefields next to our house and he agreed
to let us put a jet fighter on his land!I called in a load of
ex-RAF lads who helped usrebuildthejetatweekendsinreturn
forbeerandaBBQattheendoftheday.
Effectivelywetookapileofpartsandturned
thembackintoacompleteairframeandit was a really satisfying
feeling.Perhapsunsurprisinglythelocalpressheard
aboutthecouplewhohada JumpJetand turned up in their droves.It sort
of grew from there,Chrisadmits. Oneairframeledto
two,thenanotherandwevenowcompleted eightHarriers!
Weendedupmovingtoa newcomplexnearSelbywhichenabledusto
restoretheairframesandstorethemillionor so spares that weve
amassed. InthosedaysSeaHarriersandspareswere
fareasiertocomeacrossthanHarriers,which 66 JETS January/February
2013Fast & FlashyJet Art AviationPRESERVATIONIn deepest,
darkest Yorkshire a small team is turning unloved aircraft hulks
into the aviation equivalent of artwork.Steve Bridgewater visits
Jet Art Aviation and speaks to its founder, Chris Wilson.The source
of controversy.Harrier T.2 XW269 was withdrawn from eBay after
being deemed to be in breach of the websites rules on selling
weapons of war.The scandal resulted in unheard of publicity for Jet
Art Aviation and a new owner for the aircraft.Jet Art
AviationDestination Wales.The Harrier T.2 was moved to the
Caernarfon Air World museum in September, marking a happy
conclusion to the restoration and subsequent eBay scandal.Jet Art
AviationA seven-year-old had inadvertently purchased the
jet!January/February 2013 JETS
67PRESERVATIONwerethenstillinsquadronservicewiththe RAF.We had to
take damaged airframes if we wantedHarriers,butthedemandwasthere,
sowetookanairframethathadlostitsnose
leginagroundaccident[ZE691]andanother
[ZD580]thathadbeendamagedinamid-air collision with an
F-16.Inyearsgonebythese wreckedairframes would have been scrapped,
but today collectors seethehistoricalvalueinthesedamaged
artefacts.eBay ScandalJet Artsworkwasheldinhighregard,but
onlybythesmallnumberofcollectorsand
enthusiastswhoknewabouttherestorations they were undertaking,
however, that was about to change. InFebruary2011JetArthadrecently
completedHarrier T.4XW269toremarkably
highstandardandChrisdecidedtosellitfor 69,999 on the eBay internet
auction website.Hesoonreceivedasurprisewhenabidder selected the Buy
it Now button and purchased theHarrieroutright.Allwasnotwhatit
appearedthoughandChrisreceivedaphone call from the bidders
father.It transpires that a
seven-year-oldhadinadvertentlypurchasedthe jet and it went back on
sale!Needl esstosay,thej etrecei veda phenomenal amount of interest
but the auction site eventually decided to withdraw it from sale,
claimingitwasa weaponofwarandwasin contravention of its sales
policy.Ofcoursetheenginelessandweapon-lessjet was far from capable
of being used as a weapon butthisturnoffateactuallyworkedinfavour
forJet Art,whomadeheadlinesinnational newspapersaroundtheworld.
Isuddenly foundmyselfbeinginterviewedonthesofa onbreakfast
TV!Chrislaughed. Wehad morethanamillionhitsonourwebsiteinthe days
following the scandal you just cant buy publicity like
that!Chrisreceivedunprecedentedinterestinthe
HarrierinthefollowingmonthsandinMay 2011itwassoldtothe
XW269Preservation Society,whobegantosearchforanew
homefortheirjet.InOctoberofthisyear
theHarrierwasmovedtotheCaernarfon Air WorldmuseuminNorth
Wales,whereitis now on public
display.StarfighterFollowingtheirproventrackrecordwith
Harriers,theJet Artteamoffiverestorers
thendecidedtoturntheirattentiontowards something very different.In
July 2011 Lockheed F-104GStarfighter32+57arrivedattheSelby facility
for restoration and the former Luftwaffe
missilewithamaninitwassoonreturned
toitsformergloryafter24yearsonoutside
displayatvariousmuseums.Iteventuallysold to an owner in Taiwan and
when Jets visited the Jet ArthangarsinNovember,thejetwasbeing
packed ready for shipping to its new custodian.
BuyingtheF-104wasprobablyheart overhead,Chrislaughed. Wedidntknow
anythingaboutStarfighters;wedidnthavethe sparestohand;wehadtothink
outsidethe boxtogetaroundthelackofmanuals,butit fitted our brief of
fast and flashy so we took it on.Im glad we did.Sea Harrier XZ455
crashed into the Adriatic Sea while operating from HMS Hermes in
1996.The jet was salvaged from the seabed and the nose is now with
Jet Art Aviation for eventual restoration.Steve BridgewaterLockheed
F-104G Starfighter 32+57 had spent more than two decades on outside
display when it arrived at Jet Art Aviation for restoration.The
team worked wonders to return it to such stunning condition.Jet Art
AviationReady to be packed and sent to its new owner.The
Starfighter has been sold to a collector in Taiwan.Steve
BridgewaterAided by volunteers, the small Jet Art team have worked
wonders on countless airframes, nose sections and component
parts.Richard FreailI suddenly found myself being interviewed on
the sofa on breakfast TV!68 JETS January/February 2013Tornado
TimesNow Chris was keen to try his hand at a much
largerairframethanhehadpreviouslytackled. I worked on Tornados F.3s
in the RAF and felt stronglythatthetypeshouldbepreserved,
hetoldJetsaswepouredanothercoffee.His
officewallsareadornedwithmemoriesofhis
RAFcareer,includingahelmetadornedwith the distinctive red arrow
motif.IgraduatedfrommyRAFmechanicscourse asthetoptraineeandasa
reward,myfirst postingwastotheRed Arrows.Istayedwith
theteamfortwoamazingyearsandthensat the Fitters course and passed
with a Certificate of Merit before joining XI Sqn at RAF Leeming.
DuringmytimeonXISqnIslavedawayon
manyanightshiftfixingandmaintainingthe Tornado F.3s and I felt
strongly that one should be preserved in a private museum. Saving
for PosterityHebegansearchingforanairframeworthyof
preservationandeventuallyfoundZE256in storage at RAF Leuchars in
Scotland.She had been a Hangar Queen at Leuchars, Chrisrecalled,
andwasusedforejectionseat installation and weapons load training
with 111 Sqn.We made a successful bid for her in 2010 andtowedher
home,butgettingheracross theForthRoadBridgegeneratedsomefunny looks
from fellow motorists!AlthoughtheF.3retiredfromRAFservicein 2010,
the airframes were flown to RAF Leeming
andstrippedofusefulsparepartstokeepthe Tornado GR.4 fleet
flying.The so-called Return to Produce (RTP) programme sees up to
1,200 partsbeingremovedfromtheF.3beforethe
hulkoftheairframeismelteddownandthe variousmetalsrecovered.
Assuch,asidefrom ZE887 that is on display at the RAF Museum at
Hendon, ZE256 is likely to be the only example to be
preserved.Historic MachineNotableinZE256sservicehistoryisastint
asthepersonalmountoftheBossof56
Sqnanditalsoprovidedthebackdroptothe de-commissioning ceremony of
29 Sqn.She is a rare Twin Stick variant with full flying controls
fitted in both the front and rear cockpit.Jet
Artisnowofferingthejetforsaleasan
externallycompletestaticdisplayaircraft,with
thecockpitfittedoutwithtwoMartinBaker Mk 10A ejection seats.
Although its painted in XI Sqn markings [my
squadron!Chrisexclaims]thisparticular
F.3neverservedwiththatsquadron.Ithas, however, served with just
about every other F.3 squadron during its time in the RAF,
including 5 Sqn, 29 Sqn, 56(R) Sqn and finally 111 Sqn.We
electedtopaintitas ZE343fromXISqnbut have retained the ZE256
markings on one side, Chrisexplainedasweventuredoutsidetosee the
jet.Whentheteamacquiredtheairframeithad
nonosecone,canopyorundercarriagedoors.
Theenginebaydoorsweremissing,aswere
manyoftheinspectionpanelsandalotofthe cockpitwasmissing,aswerethe
bangseats. ThesepartshadbeenrobbedduringZE256s
timeatLeuchars,butironically,itwasherlack
ofserviceabilitythatpreventedherbeingsent to Leeming for RTP and
her eventual survival.Overthelast16monthsJet Arthassourced
themissingpiecesandrebuiltthejetto completecondition.
Theonlythingsmissing arethe Turbo-UnionRB199engines. Refitting the
tall fin proved an exercise in logistics, Chris explained.
Normallyweusea telehandler[a
typeofagriculturalvehicle]forliftingaircraft
parts,butweneededtorentacranetofit
thetailtotheF.3,whichweighshalfatonne. Getting parts was really
difficult and we had to acquireahybridF.2/F.3forspares.Ithadbeen
usedforbattledamagerepairbutitultimately provided us with 700
screws and fasteners and various bits missing from
ZE256.TheF.3isnowbeingofferedforsaleby
Chrishehasalreadyseenalotofinterestin themachine.
Museumsoftendonthavethe moneyto buyaeroplaneexhibits,butmany
realisetheimportanceoftheF.3asthelast Cold
Warinterceptor,reportedChris. Ifa private owner wanted to buy the
aeroplane and place it on loan to a museum, we already have a long
list of possible homes.HavingcuttheirteethontheF.3,theteamis
PRESERVATIONThe restoration of ZE256 has been a personal crusade
for Jet Art Aviations Chris Wilson, who was adamant that a Tornado
F.3 should be preserved in private handspreferably in XI Sqn
markings! Jet Art AviationThe Tornados cockpit has also been
restored. Steve BridgewaterThis hybrid Tornado F.2/F.3 was
scavenged for parts for the restoration of ZE256.It gave up more
than 700 screws and fastenings, among other parts.Steve
BridgewaterBuying the F-104 was probably heart over headChris and
his team have now discovered two Martin Baker MKC5 ejection seats
in the UK, lending support to rumours that the missing Avro Canada
CF-105 Arrow may have come to the UK.Steve
BridgewaterJanuary/February 2013 JETS 69PRESERVATIONnow getting
ready to begin work on their next project:a TornadoGR.1.
Weplantorestore herintoaGulf Wareradesertcamouflage
schemewithsomeinterestingnoseart,Chris
revealed.Wedalsoliketohaveanosefromeach Harriervariant.
WevegotacrashedSea HarrierF.A/2thatweregoingtorestoreinto its
Falklands-era FRS.1 markings and weve also gotaformerUSMarineCorps
AV-8Btostart workon.Itwouldbenicetotakea Harrier Throughthe
AgesdisplaytoCockpit-Festina few years.
Chrisalsoseesademandfortheaircraft asmoviepropsandlikestomaintainan
educationalrole. Wetakecockpitstovillage fetes,heexplained
andfrequentlyhavethe Cub Scouts here for educational evenings.Swift
ProgressEarlyin2012averyrareaeroplanearrived
atJetArtsfacility.SupermarineSwiftF.4
WK275,theworldsonlysurvivingcomplete
fightervariantofthesweptwingfighter,
hadsatoutsideSheppardsSurplusstorein
Herefordshiresince1968andhadbeenone
ofthebiggestcausesofconcernintheaircraft preservation world.The
airframe was acquired by a private owner
whoentrusteditsremovalandsubsequent restorationtoJet Art Aviation.
Theowneris giving us the time to do a proper job in stages.
Ifwerebeingrealistic,Iexpectittobeafive-year project.
Theaeroplaneisingoodcondition,asJet
Arthasdiscoveredwhilstdismantlingthe airframe.When the aircraft was
advertised for sale(ironicallyoneBay)aseriesof Armchair Expert
enthusi astsprocl ai medthatthe
airframewasrottenandbeyondsaving,but
nowthat40yearsworthofgrimehavebeen
removed,itisinremarkablecondition. The
cockpitisarealtimecapsuleandtheengine,
afterburningjetpipeandairframewillmakean
excellentproject.Itwillberestoredintoits original squadron scheme
with a red nose.Bread & ButterThebulkofJetArtsday-to-dayworkis
providingsparestootherrestorersandthey now a massive parts
holding.Thats our bread and butter work, says Chris, with 1,000
items oneBayatanyonetime. Werealsolaunching our own online shop,
which will have hundreds ofthousandsofpartsandwhentimepermits
werestoretheaircraft,nosesandejection
seats.JetArthadanumberofbangseatsfor
saleduringourvisitinNovember,butnone
moreinterestingthanaMartinBakerMKC5 recentlydiscoveredintheUK.
Thisrareseat wasfittedtooneofahandfulof AvroCanada CF-105
Arrowsbuiltbeforetheprojectwas cancelled.This is an incredibly rare
item; in fact onlyoneotherexampleexistsandthattoo
wasdiscoveredintheUKbytheJet Artteam
beforebeingrestoredandreturnedtoCanada. Rumours abound that a
single CF-105 survived scrappingCouldthataircrafthavecometo the
UK?If not, why would two seats be found onthissideofthe Atlantic?
Theconspiracy theories aboundInvestmentsSo who buys a restored jet
fighter?We dont have a typical customer, Chris told me.Some go to
museums, some to private collections and
werecentlyinstalledaHarrierinsomebodys
house!Ifyouchoosetherightairframe,these
fastjetscanbeagreatinvestment,especiallyif you get an airframe with
good provenance.But ultimately they really are pieces of artwork
and youdontneedtobeanaeroplanefanaticto appreciate the lines of a
jet fighter.Wevesuppliedpiecesofairframetoartists who want to use
them as canvasses, but so far thecompleteairframesweveprovidedhave
been in authentic markings.Wetakealotofprideinreturningthese
airframestotheirformerglory. TakeXW269
[theeBayHarrier]forexample.Itwasin
verypoorconditionwhenweacquiredit;we
restoreditanditsnowonshowinapublic museum.Thats a job well done as
far as were concerned. There must be easier ways to make a living
restoring classic cars perhaps but wheres the fun in that? lThe
Avon engine, and reheat unit, from Swift WK275 are in incredible
condition, despite more than forty years on exterior display.Steve
BridgewaterThe Swifts cockpit is a true time capsule. Steve
BridgewaterSupermarine Swift F.4 WK275 arrived at the Jet Art
Aviation facility for its restoration to begin.Jet Art
AviationFormer Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE)
Tornado GR.1 ZA353 will be the next airframe to receive the Jet Art
treatment by Chris Wilson (illustrated) and his colleagues.It will
be finished in Gulf War era desert camouflage with appropriate nose
art.Steve Bridgewater
