That the Parliament welcomes the recent announcement by the Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland (APSS), which is based at Congalton Gardens in East Lothian, that its First World War Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter biplane, "Sophie", which it has taken 24 years to build from scratch, has now been completed and taken its first flight; understands that the Society’s unique Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter construction project is of significant interest to aviation enthusiasts around the world and congratulates all of the APSS volunteers, a group of retired men who include engineers, teachers, a surgeon and many more, who have been involved in the project over the years on their painstaking work to build the plane and reach the stage where it is able to fly, and wishes the group, which, it understands, is also regarded as one of the pioneers of the Men’s Shed movement supporting members with their physical and mental health and wellbeing, every success with their future projects and their efforts to engage more young people in an interest in aviation and STEM.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Clare Adamson, Jeremy Balfour, Colin Beattie, Miles Briggs, Alexander Burnett, Sharon Dowey, Pam Duncan-Glancy, Kenneth Gibson, Edward Mountain, Alex Rowley, Colin Smyth, Kevin Stewart, Paul Sweeney, Tess White, Elena Whitham