World's last Blackburn Beverley gets some TLC before eventually going back on display

Work is now well underway to restore the last remaining Blackburn Beverley in the world and put her back on display to the public.

RAF transport aircraft XB259, affectionately known as Big Bev, has been stripped down and is carefully being rebuilt at the Solway Aviation Museum at Carlisle Lake District Airport.

She is the first production Beverley to have been built and is the last of the original 49 that were ever made.

• The piece of RAF history left abandoned in Cyprus' eerie buffer zone
• Last remaining Blackburn Beverley saved from scrapheap and given new home
• New home, but same markings as Spotty the Jaguar says goodbye to RAF Cosford

Big Bev was acquired by Solway last year thanks to a fundraising campaign, having previously been sitting at Fort Paull in Hull.

Managing director Dougie Kerr told BFBS Forces News how the last parts of the Beverley arrived at Solway on 31 July, six months after he started the fundraising drive.

Since then, a lot of work has been carried out on XB259.

"The cockpit has been stripped of paint and two coats of undercoat applied, the inside has also been repainted and instruments cleaned and repainted," explained Mr Kerr.

"The biggest corrosion found was on the starboard undercarriage bogie. Removing it took longer as it was stronger than it looked and had to be cut off in the end.

"A new old stock bogie was with the aircraft at Paull. It has now been installed on the aircraft."

The stripping of paint and undercoating of the two inner wing sections has also started.

"Surface corrosion has been removed and undercoat applied to the centre sections of the wing," said Mr Kerr.

"Final coats of paint will be applied before the joining the two sections of wing, then we flip them over with the aid of a large crane."

The interior of the upper rear paratrooper tail boom has been cleaned and the seating is now being reinstalled.

When Big Bev is finally complete she will wear her original silver finish with an orange nose rather than the overseas scheme of light stone and dark earth that she currently has.

"We've still a long way to go, but the first part of the rebuild will be taking place in the spring," said Mr Kerr.

Weather permitting, Big Bev should be finished and open to the public within two years, but in the meantime visitors can get a closer look at the Beverley as long as no work is being carried out on her at the time.

Donations to the project can be made here.