Campbell's Bluebird ready to fly again (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Campbell's Bluebird ready to fly again
4:09pm Wednesday 19th September 2007 in News
Bluebird Donald Campbell's record-breaking boat is being rebuilt at Nelson engineers PDS before being reskinned in the North East. Pictured with the new frame are two of PDS's engineers Chris Woodcock and Andrew Hindle
IT has taken more than nine months, but the Bluebird is ready to fly across the water again.
The chassis of the jet-powered boat in which Donald Campbell set the water-speed record, has been painstakingly rebuilt by PDS Engineering, Cliffe Street, Nelson.
Campbell was trying to break his own record of 298mph in 1967 when the boat went out of control and crashed, killing him instantly.
The wrecked Bluebird was lost for 34 years before being found, along with Campbell's remains, at the bottom of Coniston in the Lake District by amateur diver Bill Smith in 2001.
He has personally funded part of the restoration project.
Now Bluebird will be transported back to Mr Smith's home in Tyneside, where he will add a new engine.
The boat will then make a poignant final journey on the water before being put on display in an exhibition room at the Ruskin Museum, Coniston.
PDS, which specialises in record-breaking vehicles and has worked on land-speed record-breaking car Thrust 2 as well as Richard Branson's round-the-world hot air balloon, got involved in the project after managing director John Getty contacted Mr Smith.
Originally, the firm had only been asked to rebuild the back part of the frame, which miraculously survived the crash almost intact, to ensure it was strong enough to take the new engine.
It had been thought that the front part of the craft, which broke up on impact, was too damaged to repair.
But Mr Smith was so impressed with the work they did that PDS engineers were asked to piece that together too.
Mr Getty said it had been an honour to be part of the project, and hopes that the finished boat will be returned for showing in Nelson.
Campbell's daughter Gina is funding the exhibition room herself after bids to English Heritage failed.
Mr Getty said the project had been a labour of love for engineers, resulting in a craft with less than five per cent built from new components, despite working from original drawings made in 1956.
Workers were so keen to get the Bluebird back to exactly how it was before Campbell's final journey that they have even recreated flaws in the original build.
Mr Getty revealed that when workers tried to weld the front part back together, they found that when they put it straight, the rivet holes did not fit together.
He said: "It wasn't straight from the start and the side has a definite bend - it wouldn't have been enough to cause the crash that killed him, but it would certainly have made the steering a bit more difficult.
"It was effectively on the wrong way and we have rebuilt it exactly the same way. That was the challenge."
Lead engineer Andrew Hindle, who has done most of the work on the craft, said he was left with only a small cardboard box of parts which could not be restored.
He said: "It's amazing how well it's kept in 32 years under water.
"There's definitely something special about working on the Bluebird, because it's something that's part of British heritage.
"One of the unofficial rounds before the crash clocked in at 328mph - the official world record at the moment is only 317mph. He really did go faster than anyone had been before or since, and it was only 12 years after the first jet engines were manufactured.
"It's a fantastic story and it is amazing what he achieved. We're all very proud to be a part of it."
