This afternoon, and for the fourth time since its restoration, Hawker Tempest Mk.II MW763, registered as G-TEMT, took to the skies.
For the first time, the aircraft was at the hands of Paul Bonhomme - a very experienced warbird pilot with more than one thousand public displays under his belt.
The aircraft was towed out to the eastern apron at Duxford where a final engine run and system check took place before the eagerly-awaited air test. After some aerial work to the North of the airfield, spectators were treated to a run and break before Paul gracefully brought the aircraft into land; giving everyone the first proper opportunity to see the aircraft's upper surfaces.
MW763 (painted as PR533), is currently the world's sole airworthy example of a Hawker Tempest. This particular example is a Mk.II, one of several variants which were ordered to be tested for the Air Ministry during the second world war. The Mk.II is powered by a Bristol Centaurus and never actually saw service with the RAF until after the war. Other variants of the Tempest trialled other engines including the Napier Sabre (as seen on the Hawker Typhoon - the Tempest's predecessor) and even a Rolls-Royce Griffon.
The Tempest Mk.II bears a very similar resemblance to the later developed Hawker Sea Fury which was the final propellor-driven fighter aircraft to enter service with the Royal Navy.
G-TEMT belongs to Fighter Aviation Engineering Limited, a collection of vintage warbirds which is growing in size by the day. It was painstakingly restored and is operated by Air Leasing. Other aircraft from FAEL include Europe’s only airworthy P-47 Thunderbolt, Mustang ‘Jersey Jerk’, Lockheed Electra G-AFTL and Spitfire MV293, just to name a few. The FAEL fleet are based at Duxford and Sywell aerodromes.
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