British Pathe

L/S of a Comet IV B jet in a huge aircraft hangar at London Airport; M/S of the plane as a man works on one of the wings; M/Ss of this BEA inspector working on the Comet wing, then he turns and walks down the ladder and out of shot.

High angle M/S as he walks past a man working on an Avro...

L/S of a Comet IV B jet in a huge aircraft hangar at London Airport; M/S of the plane as a man works on one of the wings; M/Ss of this BEA inspector working on the Comet wing, then he turns and walks down the ladder and out of shot.

High angle M/S as he walks past a man working on an Avro 504K Bomber, then M/S as he walks round to work on the ski of the plane; C/Us of him tightening bolts there. M/S of the Avro showing the inspector working there and another man working on the cockpit; high and low angle M/Ss of this man who is fixing glass to a compass. Commentator says "Volunteers from all walks of life are spending their spare time restoring these veterans of flight, painstakingly ensuring that every detail of design and colour is accurate".

M/S of two men working on a Bleriot Type 27; C/U as one of the men tightens the stays; M/S and C/U as the other man cleans the stays. M/S of the Bleriot with both men working on her; one of them, Mr Ash-Hughes, walks to the centre of the plane and starts to move the joystick; C/Us of him doing this, and the mechanism moving about. M/S and C/U showing the tail-fins moving.

M/Ss of a Fokker D.VII, a German fighter from World War One, as three men drape a canvas fabric over the framework and attach it underneath the plane; there is a skull and crossbones on the side; commentator says, "As you can imagine, the canvas in those days wasn't exactly bullet proof", and we can see small tears and bullet holes in the fabric in a C/U of the black cross printed on the side; C/U of the skull and crossbones.

M/S of the SE5A British fighter as two men wheel it into position; C/U of the wheel as a man places a chock beneath it; M/Ss as the other man enters shot and looks into the cockpit; C/U of the control panel in the cockpit. M/S of the aeroplane as a man walks up carrying a Vickers Machine Gun that will be mounted above the engine cowling; the two men examine it; C/Us as they examine the gun and trigger mechanism.

M/S of two men looking at part of the tail of a Sopwith Camel; man on the left holding a pad of drawings or blueprints is RJ Ashfield, "the original designer who first sketched it on his drawing board 44 years ago, and who is still active in aircraft design today", says the commentator; C/U of RJ Ashfield. C/U of one of the men tightening a stay on the plane.

Commentator says "In this case the enthusiasts are faced with the problem of rebuilding a Bleriot type XI from what is almost a heap of scrap" as we see in M/S Mr Lumsden examining part of the tailpiece of the plane where the fabric has worn away; high angle M/S of Mr L as he walks round what is left of the undercarriage of the plane. C/U as he picks up part of it, a metal bar attached to a wheel, and examines it; C/U of the wheel.

Note: on file are extensive notes on the planes in the film and a letter from ASC Lumsden, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Nice shots of the veteran planes being restored and repaired.