Getting a classic World War Two fighter plane back in the skies of Marlborough is likely to “have more twists and turns than in a dogfight”, say those behind its rebuild.
The Yak-3, named Full Noise, was damaged earlier this year when pilot and owner Graeme Frew was forced to crash-land during an aborted take-off at the Omaka Aerodrome near Blenheim.
Speaking of that day back in May, Frew said it was his decades of flying experience that helped him make the “split-second decision” that ensured he was still around to speak about it today.
“The thing going through my head was to not mess it up,” he said.
“The decision to abort the take-off was made with 12 years of experience on the aeroplane and almost 40 years of flying experience – you don’t take a problem into the air, so it was the safest decision to make.
“I’m still better off having to restore the aeroplane … because I’m unhurt and the only thing damaged was my pride.”
Five months on, Frew said the restoration project to get Full Noise, a Yakovlev Yak-3 World War II Soviet fighter, back into the air was coming along “slowly but surely”, thanks, in part, to the wealth of expertise in such matters at the Omaka Aerodrome.
“For the Yak series of aircraft, we’re in a great place,” he said.
“We’ve got Jay McIntyre at Jem Aviation overseeing everything. He’s very experienced with these types of aircraft – we’ve currently got five on the airfield, four of which are under restoration or repair, so it’s probably the best place to be in the world for this particular type of aeroplane.
“So we’re fortunate we’ve got some very experienced, ex-Air Force and ex-Airbus guys here.”
Given the size of the task of the task, Frew said the decision to restore Full Noise didn’t come lightly, but in light of the words of support they received from aviation fans across the world, Frew said they felt they had to.
“The decision about rebuilding it was something we took some time over,” he said.
“But in July we decided that the aeroplane deserved a better fate than to be sold as parts or completely written off.
“We’re north of 135,000 followers on social media, and these days the news is out there immediately, so a lot of people reached out, and it was all very humbling.
“None of them were saying ‘you’re a numpty for crashing your aeroplane’, it was all ‘sorry to hear about it and glad you’re alright’.”
Frew said the Yak-3’s V-1710 Allison engine had been sent to a world-leading specialist in California for repairs, while restoration of the wings and other parts of the aircraft continued to be sought and repaired at the Omaka Aerodrome.
“The engine’s on the water to America right now to be overhauled, and I’m just tracking down some propellor blades,” he said.
“We’re hoping to have the engine back in New Zealand by August next year and ideally have the frame ready to install the engine in it by then.
“We think if we have a rigorous focus on the timeline, I think we can have it flying again by Christmas 2024.”
The sound of Full Noise roaring through the skies of Marlborough once again would, no doubt, be music to the ears of many aviation enthusiasts, but Frew said they still expected some turbulence ahead in the bid to get her airborne once more.
“As we say … there’ll probably be more twists and turns than in a dogfight,” he said.