Aerospace Bristol has today announced its most ambitious conservation project to date: the story of the Bristol Freighter T170 – the last remaining Bristol Freighter aircraft in Europe.
Officially launching on 21st May 2026, the landmark project will see the museum’s Bristol Freighter Type 170 carefully conserved and reassembled over the next few years. It will run as a live conservation programme, offering visitors to the museum and online audiences a rare opportunity to experience the detailed conservation work up close whilst exploring the unique story of Bristol’s role in global aviation history.
The Bristol Freighter was designed and built in Bristol in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, as a pioneering post-war cargo aircraft. With its distinctive clamshell nose doors and 108ft wingspan, it was capable of carrying cargo ranging from vehicles to livestock and was later adapted for passenger travel as the “Wayfarer”. It was the first post-war aircraft to receive an unrestricted Certificate of Airworthiness and played an important role in advancing aviation technology and operations worldwide.
Aerospace Bristol’s aircraft, serial number NZ5911, is one of just 12 freighters still in existence and the only one remaining in Europe. It served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s No. 41 Squadron from 1955, operating across Southeast Asia during the Cold War and Vietnam War era in the 1970s.
The aircraft was returned to Bristol in 2018 following a major international recovery effort led by Aerospace Bristol volunteers and supported by partners including the Association for Industrial Archaeology. Having spent decades in storage in New Zealand, it is now being slowly brought back to life next to the very location it was originally designed and built.
Kate Rambridge, interpretation lead at Aerospace Bristol, said: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to conserve and share the story of an extraordinary aircraft. The Bristol Freighter connects Bristol’s world-leading aviation heritage with global histories of innovation, conflict and travel. This project enables us not just to conserve this aircraft but to bring those stories to life for new generations.”
Sally Cordwell chief executive at Aerospace Bristol, said: “This project represents everything Aerospace Bristol stands for. It’s about preserving our history, celebrating the contribution and stories of the people behind Bristol’s aviation legacy and inspiring future generations”.
The aircraft will be carefully moved out from its current museum hangar, to be reassembled and displayed safely outdoors, as it will be too big to be accommodated inside once its wings are reattached. The final phase of conservation will include extensive corrosion removal, weatherproofing and a long-term conservation plan to ensure the aircraft’s protection.
The project will be delivered by a dedicated team of between 20 and 50 highly skilled volunteers, many of whom are former aerospace engineers and ex-employees of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Together, they are expected to contribute more than 10,000 hours to the work.
Once complete, the aircraft will form the centrepiece of a new outdoor exhibition, enabling visitors to get up close to the Freighter via viewing platforms and access points to the cockpit. The display will be supported by interpretation materials, live talks and opportunities to talk to the volunteers behind the conservation.
Aerospace Bristol, which welcomes over 100,000 visitors to its museum annually, is aiming for the project to become a flagship example of live conservation, combining heritage preservation with storytelling and public engagement.
The public can come and see the project unfold, with the first stages of the work underway and plans for the Freighter to be brought outside by the end of summer.
Aerospace Bristol are holding special spotlight talks on the history and ongoing conservation of the Freighter every hour, every day, including over May half term and younger visitors can colour in their own livery design of the Bristol Freighter.
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