OREANDA-NEWS. Representatives of Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Technical Training today officially handed over a Vickers Viscount V814 to the Museum of Technology in Speyer in Southwest Germany. Lufthansa operated the aircraft on scheduled routes from 1962 to 1969, and in 1972 converted it into a technical training aircraft. To date, more than 2,000 young people in the Lufthansa Group have undergone basic training on this Vickers Viscount as an aircraft mechanic or electrician.

In cooperation with the workshop team at the Museum of Technology in Speyer, Lufthansa Technik trainers and apprentices have now restored the V814 with the registration D-ANAF for exhibition purposes. Before being transported to Speyer, the plane had to be dismantled. It was then re-assembled at the museum and repainted in its original livery with its 1960s registration. The Lufthansa Technik apprentices completed the work in a total of 2,096 man-hours, and visitors to the museum can now admire the results.

In the 1960s, the Vickers Viscount V814 was the workhorse on European routes and was one of the most popular propeller aircraft ever deployed on short and medium-haul routes. Since 1958, Lufthansa has operated a total of eleven of these aircraft on its domestic German and European scheduled services.

A close friendship has developed between the Museum of Technology in Speyer and Lufthansa Technik, which is an honorary member of the Museum Association. For many years, both companies have collaborated successfully on joint projects. Back in 2003, Lufthansa handed over a retired Boeing 747-200 with the registration D-ABYM to the museum for the symbolic price of one euro. There was an outburst of applause as “Yankee Mike” (the phonetic designation used by pilots for the last two letters “YM” in the aircraft registration) taxied to its final parking position. And now the Vickers Viscount V814 has also found a new home.

While the Lufthansa Group is currently investing 36 billion euros in new, even more environmentally friendly aircraft as part of the largest fleet renovation process in the company’s history, the Vickers Viscount represents a “historic fleet renewal” at Speyer’s Museum of Technology.