Footage of the only flying First World War fighter plane being transported through East Lothian has been captured after over two decades of painstaking construction.
The curator at the National Museum of Flight in East Fortune approached a group of volunteers when they realised the attraction had no First World War aircraft despite the fact the airfield was used in the conflict.
So members of the APSS (Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland) were asked to build a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter aircraft. The Strutter was designed in 1915 as a high performance fighting aircraft.
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On April 3, footage filmed and uploaded to Facebook and TikTok shows the rare plane being transported through East Lothian on the back of a lorry as it heads off for testing.
The APSS have uploaded footage throughout various stages of the building process including the incredible amount of detail that has gone into the modelling and construction of the historic aircraft.
The plane has been transported to RAF Kirknewton base in West Lothian for testing. A separate TikTok video shows the volunteers loading the plane's wings and body onto the back of a lorry before transportation.
In January 2020, we reported how volunteers building the aircraft feared it could be transported to England for completion due to a lack of funding.
According to the APSS, the Strutter is significant "because it was the first allied aircraft that could fire through the arc of the propeller, it was the first with tail trimming and first with airbrakes."
They continue: "Built as a multi-purpose aircraft to be both a single seat light bomber and a two-seater fighter, it was the first British aircraft to feature synchronised firing machine guns. it was initially utilised as a bomber escort and became an effective scout platform."
For more information on the project and to stay up to date with the latest progress, you can visit the Strutter Aviation website here.
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