The late Donald Campbell’s iconic Bluebird K7 hydroplane was successfully refloated for the first time in over 50 years earlier this month (watched by his daughter Gina), prior to a series of tests being carried out on Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute.
The record-breaking craft has been restored to its former glory after being recovered from the bottom of Coniston Water in 2001, where it lay for 34 years following Mr Campbell’s fatal crash in 1967.
The 45-year-old died attempting to break his own 1964 water speed record of 276.33mph; the Bluebird flipped over and disintegrated while travelling at 300mph.
A group of volunteers from Tyneside, who have painstakingly rebuilt the iconic craft, are now testing it on Loch Fad to see if it is watertight and whether it can withstand challenging wave conditions.
Lead engineer Bill Smith said: “We have had five years of cataloguing everything that was salvaged and another 10 years of putting her back together. Every part has been cleaned and repaired.
"She looks absolutely beautiful now, and she is how she should be. We’ll be basically training ourselves on Loch Fad, because no-one really knows how she will handle.
"Once this is done, there’s always been the hope that she’ll be displayed at speed back in Cumbria.”
The fuselage has been painstakingly rebuilt by the team, with almost all the parts having to be specially made. The replacement rocket engine was donated by De Havilland Aviation in 2007 and is almost identical to Bluebird’s original Bristol Orpheus engine.
"It was successfully tested in the reconstructed chassis for the first time in 2016, and Mr Smith, who was in the cockpit, described the experience as “absolutely amazing”.