The large-scale restoration of the Boeing 707 aircraft cabin is
nearing an end. G-APFJ (Foxtrot Juliet) was built in 1960 at
the Boeing factory in Seattle and was delivered to BOAC (British
Overseas Air Corporation) the same year.
Foxtrot Juliet retired from service with a final flight from
Athens to Gatwick in May 1981 for the British Airways subsidiary,
British Airtours. The same month she flew to the RAF Museum
at Cosford to go on display. In 2006 a structural survey
revealed extensive corrosion of the aircraft and a decision was
made to scrap it.
The forward fuselage was removed for preservation and gifted by
British Airways to National Museums Scotland. The fuselage
remained in the Restoration Hangar at East Fortune until August
2009 when she was delivered to Serco Defence at RAF Cranwell for
repainting into the1965 BOAC livery. She returned to East Fortune
in the new livery, housed in the Concorde Experience hangar.
Resurrection at East Fortune
Since arriving back at East Fortune, Foxtrot Juliet has been
undergoing careful conservation work and is being brought back to
life as a BOAC 707, as it would have looked in 1965. The Jet
Age will provide a unique experience where visitors will be able to
board Foxtrot-Juliet once again.
You will be able to find out how the aircraft was made and watch
interviews of the passengers and crew whilst seated in the original
seating. Uniforms, baggage trolleys, airline jet engines and
an airport fire engine will all help tell the story of the aircraft
that ushered in the ‘Jet Age’.