Emotions high as Foster Wikner Wicko returns

It was donated to a Black Country flying club by the Express & Star in 1938 and used as an air taxi to ferry RAF pilots to their bases.

Now this unique Foster Wikner Wicko - one of only 18 ever manufactured - has been restored to its former glory and is flying high again having been left to rot in the back garden of a house in Coventry when the war ended.

It is making a poignant return to Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport on Sunday, June 27, as part of celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the first ever all-British Flying Meeting at Dunstall Park.

The aircraft was built by Foster Wikner Aircraft Co Ltd at Southampton Municipal Airport, Eastleigh.

It was first demonstrated at Castle Bromwich airfield in 1938, and bought the following day by the Graham family, who founded the Express & Star.

They presented it to the Midland Aero Club, which operated from Wolverhampton Municipal Airport at Pendeford for use in the Civil Air Guard programme.

The scheme saw central government subsidise pilot training in order to build up a team of expert fliers for the forthcoming war.

In exchange for the aircraft, the club agreed to train four pilots a year nominated by the newspaper.

The plane was named Wulfrun II, as the second aircraft given to the club by the Express & Star.

In 1926 the Graham family donated a de Havilland Moth to the club, which was named Wulfrun.

Black Country historian Alec Brew, who lives in Blakeley Avenue in Claregate, Wolverhampton, said today: "At the start of the war the Wulfrun II was requestioned for use by the RAF and used as an air taxi for ferry pilots.

"It travelled hundreds of miles up and down the country transporting pilots to their bases.

"After the war it was used by a number of private owners until falling into disuse and being stored in a garden in Coventry.

"It was kept there for a number of years where it severely deteriorated and rotted. It was a pretty fancy garden ornament."

Five years ago the plane was acquired by Hampshire man Joe Dible, who had it restored to its former glory.

And he has agreed to bring the Wicko to the fly-in at Wolverhampton Airport this month, which will also feature classic cars, military vehicles, a model aircraft display, pleasure flights, large-scale radio-controlled model aircraft and a steam fairground engine .

Mr Brew added it was "very special" to welcome the plane back to Wolverhampton Airport.

He said: "It is well connected to Wolverhampton and we are looking forward to welcoming it back.

"It is probably worth tens of thousands of pounds as it's the only one in the world."

The event will celebrate a century of Wolverhampton's airfields, with anyone involved in Wolverhampton Municipal Airport at Pendeford is invited to attend.

Pendeford airfield opened in 1938 at a cost of £80,000 and closed in December, 1970, eight months after an incoming plane struck a house in Redhurst Drive, Fordhouses, killing both pilots and an occupant of the house. Wolverhampton Flying Meeting was organised by Midland Aero Club and held at Wolverhampton Racecourse, in Dunstall Park, on June 27, 1910.

It was one of the earliest aviation meetings to be organised in Britain and attracted a crowd of some 20,000 spectators on its opening day.

* Entry to the June 27 celebrations at Wolverhampton Airport is £5 per car or £3 per person. The event runs from 10 am until 4pm.