Antique aircraft

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

Antique, classic, heritage, historic, veteran or vintage aircraft are aircraft of an obsolete type which have been preserved beyond their normal life. Their owners are typically aviation museums, armed forces or private enthusiasts. Sometimes they may be maintained in an airworthy condition so that they can be flown at air displays or on public occasions.

For example, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight consists of RAF aircraft from WW2 and took part in a flypast at a royal wedding in 2011 — over 65 years after they were constructed.

Organizations devoted to such aircraft include the Antique Airplane Association, the Historic Aircraft Association and the Vintage Aircraft Association.

See also

• Gate guardian
• Warbird

References

Further reading

• David Davies; Mike Vines (1997), Antique and Classic Aircraft, Octopus Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1-85152-815-8 
• Ric Gillespie (2011), "Historic aircraft and spacecraft", A Companion to Cultural Resource Management, John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 978-1-4443-9605-8 
• Leslie Hunt (1978), Veteran and Vintage Aircraft, ISBN 978-0-684-14895-3