Out of nowhere you're driving through the Shropshire hills with their characteristic rolling hills, tree-lined hills and hedgerows and then you come across a Harrier fighter jet taxiing under its own power.

 

 

Besides some preserved technical items such as jet engines, cars and tractors, some of which are real gems, the Millington family have a thing for British made items. The Millingtons, a well known family which develop and manufacture their own (motorsport) engines on their premises near Bridgnorth in the countryside of Shropshire have a fully operational Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3 jet aircraft.

 

Although the withdrawal of the popular Harrier vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet from British and European airspace was a sad day for aircraft spotters and aviation enthusiasts, some of them are in immaculate condition. In Great Britain there are some private investors which have the intention to fly their (Sea) Harriers. The Millington family from Shropshire are the sole owners of an "operational" Harrier GR3 and every now and then it "awakens" by taxiing around their premises with adjacent a grass strip. The latter can also be used for small airplanes.

 

Wandering through their hangar, it seems time stood still. The particular Harrier GR3 XV808, now well cared for, was withdrawn by the Royal Air Force in 1990. XV808 looks if it could fly anytime soon. Built as a Harrier GR1 and having its maiden flight in January 1971 from Dunsfold Aerodrome (Surrey), XV808 became a GR3 during the mid-1970s after overhaul and upgrades. Having seen some homebases like Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) Wildenrath and RAFG Gütersloh in the 70s, XV808 was later assigned to the 233 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Wittering (Cambridgeshire). From the latter unit, XV808 sports the badge, which was later applied again, on the front fuselage.

 

After its operational career in 1990, XV808 was used as an instructional airframe at RAF Halton. In 1994, XV808 was given to the Royal Navy at Culdrose Air Station (Cornwall) to become a Dummy Deck airframe to replicate the Sea Harrier. XV808 was given conveniently the code "DD-08" at Culdrose. While still being in Royal Navy hands, the Harrier was later transported to HMS Sultan (Gosport).  

 

In 2012, by chance and with a bit of luck, the Millingtons acquired XV808 with the aim to restore it to running condition. Ten years ago, during 2014, XV808's Rolls Royce Pegasus engine fired up for the first time in years. At this moment, XV808 is well taken care off and is able to taxi around Millington's airstrip. Hopefully XV808 will leave ground in Shropshire someday.