29/05/2026
XZ597 is on her way to the Midlands Air Festival , and we hope you all enjoy watching her display over the weekend.
Unfortunately, we had hoped to send our Whirlwind to join her, but she won't be making the trip this time.
With older helicopters ,especially one as unique and historic as the 70-year-old Whirlwind, everything has to be absolutely right before she takes to the skies. We were on track with our flight testing program until an engine fault appeared during testing. We believe the issue has now been rectified, but further testing is required before we can be completely confident in the aircraft's serviceability.
While it's disappointing not to see her at Midlands Air Festival, safety will always come first. The good news is that progress continues, and we're hopeful she'll be back in the air soon and appearing at events later this summer.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support and patience. Restoring and operating historic aircraft is never straightforward, but preserving these incredible machines for future generations makes every challenge worthwhile.
If you're attending Midlands Air Festival this weekend, be sure to give XZ597 a wave from all of us at Historic Helicopters!
