No radio silence this half term as the school give’s clearance to land

Not wanting to miss out on boarding a plane this half term like those lucky few who are off on their holidays, yesterday, we had our very own plane land on the school field at the Loose site. While the plane, a retired Airbus 319 fuselage, may now be firmly on the ground having reached its destination, we have high hopes for this new project with exciting plans to turn it into a library.

Thanks to air traffic control by way of JEM Construction, and Ainscough Cranes who provided the landing gear, the 10-metre aircraft section was lowered into place expertly and through the turbulence of a little April shower. It now sits on specially designed brackets ready for its refurbishment that will take place over the next few months.

The section of the plane is from the retired Antonio Sergio aircraft which flew with Air Portugal and came from an aviation salvage specialist in the UK who cut and stripped the plane and tailored it to our needs, including adding access doors to the hold for storage. It will be fitted with an access lift, some passenger chairs to provide a comfy reading nook, shelves that look like hostess trolleys for books, audio stations and a mocked-up cockpit. There will also be a viewing gallery and it will all sit on an imitation runway.

The library, which we have called the 7FAW7, is expected to be ready for the beginning of the next school year (providing that there are no ‘flight’ delays). We are always grateful to receive helpful support and donations towards our many innovative projects as they really do help get these things off the ground so thank you and please do contact us if you feel you could help in any way.