Work is underway to repair The Red Baron, a replica Fokker triplane which, along with Snoopy, has been a familiar sight in the annual Santa Parade.
Earlier this year, the plane which has been part of the parade for 35 years, was vandalised outside its storage shed, says Mr Leese. “A newspaper story told of its plight, and I got an email from Yvonne Densem, a recent ex- College mum who thought College might have some boys interested in helping restore it,” says Mr Leese “I thought it was a great idea. I rang the Press, got the contact details for the parade organiser Pam Morris and went to see her that afternoon.” "Pam told me the sad tale of how it had been vandalised, and it was indeed a very sorry sight. But we had our brand new workshop space available, so I said we would do it. The plane is about 40 years old and was clearly a labour of love when it was created - it will need a lot of work, but it will be worth it. “We see this as a practical way to help the community,’’ says Mr Leese. “ We do lots of fundraising and have several projects where our boys get directly involved, but this is different - rolling up our sleeves and putting learned skills to good practical use."
damage and some will have to be completely rebuilt. “We have stripped them down to see structurally what needs to be done,’’ he says. “I have spent about six hours measuring and drawing the rib in a CAD program so that they can be CNC machine cut. We can patch up or replace the spars in the wings. “It will be part of our learning programme,’’ says Mr Harris. “Once we get the ribs and the more specialised preparation work done, it will be possible to involve a lot more boys. I estimate that we will have around 20 boys helping out on the project.’’ The plane is basically a pedal car with a propeller and Mr
Harris hopes to re-engineer the machine so the pedals can also drive the propeller. He estimates it will take over 200 hours to completely restore the plane. Year 10 student Reid Wyllie is keen to help on the project. He has been working at Ferrymead restoring a De Havilland Mosquito. “Working on this project will be much easier, but will still be an interesting challenge,’’ Reid says. “We will basically be working on restoring the wings as the fuselage is relatively okay and we don’t have much to do for the internals.’’ The plane will be back in action for the next Santa Parade.
Technology teacher Mr Kevin Harris who is overseeing the project says the wings have sustained the most
Work is underway to repair the much loved Red Baron.
Christ’s College Canterbury
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