Campaign Mounted To Restore Single-Place Airplane Once Flown By The Duke Of Edinburgh

A campaign is underway to restore a 1959 Druine Turbulent that is the only single-seat airplane known to have been flown by a member of the Royal Family.

The plane was flown in 1959 by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, and it was raced by Prince Philip's equerry Sir John Severne, a retired air vice marshal, who won the King's Cup Air Race in the Turbulent, according to Martin Jones, an engineering inspector at Derby Airfield.

The Turbulent was damaged in 1995, and is currently in need of restoration, according to a report from the BBC. It has been dismantled and is in a "dilapidated state," according to Jones. Repair work was begun shortly after it was damaged according to the report, but that effort ended eight years ago.

Now a group of volunteers is planning to attempt to restore the Turbulent to airworthy condition, according to the report. It has been handed over to the Derby Aero Club by its current owner, and the club has set up a society to restore and preserve the airplane, according to the report.

Jones said there is no reason that the Turbulent should not be able to be restored to flying conditions. Prince Philip, meanwhile, said he would enjoy seeing the airplane once it is restored. But Jones said that "the chances of him flying it again are pretty slim."

(Image from unrelated YouTube video)

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