Decades of grime and mould have been blasted off a Cold War relic in Moray.
Within minutes of the Soviet Union Antonov 2 plane being towed into the Morayvia aviation centre in Kinloss, power washers were trained on the fuselage.
Over the last two months volunteers have been working on the weathered aircraft to restore it to its prime.
Inside the cockpit, intricate restoration work has been done to replace switches and dials to make them appear new. Panels that were missing have also been replaced and repainted in keeping with the rest of the plane.
Once the painstaking refurbishment is complete the Russian relic will become the aviation centre’s latest exhibit that visitors will be able to take a look inside alongside a Nimrod and Sea King helicopter.
Director Bob Pountney praised the commitment of the group’s enthusiasts to restoring the Soviet aircraft to give visitors an insight into aviation heritage.
He said: “There was decades of muck and green mould on the side of it when it arrived here. There’s been a lot of work on the flight deck too.
“The window framings has been replaced because it was badly corroded, the front seats and cabin seats have been taken out to be refurbished.
“It’s quite clean and tidy now compared to the state it was in when it arrived. It’s actually looking quite smart now, as if it would fly.”
Work on restoring the Antonov 2 is expected to continue into next year. The fuselage and the wings are still to be attached with delicate repairs still to be done on the flaps.
The aircraft at Morayvia was built in the 1950s but the fleet’s roots date back to the previous decade. About 19,000 of the propeller biplanes were constructed with the design only taken out of production in 2001.
The Russian plane was bought by the group to give an insight into the basic science of flying.
