Aircraft Restoration Company

Aircraft Restoration Company Aircraft Restoration Co is a vintage aero engineering and flight company based at Duxford Airfield UK

The Aircraft Restoration Company are aero engineering specialists based at Duxford Airfield, Cambridgeshire. From this historic base ARCo provides an extensive range of aviation services for its clients. The company’s founder is John Romain, a former Hawker Siddeley and BAE aero engineer. John is also a highly experienced warbird pilot with dozens of different types in his logbook and over 1000 ho

urs on Spitfires alone. ARCo undertake full restorations, servicing and repairs on vintage aircraft for clients in the UK and around the world. As well as this they also provide the major servicing of Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Dakota and Lancaster.

Earlier this week, ‘L’ returned to the skies that have long been her home here at Duxford.Our engineers in the maintenan...
19/06/2026

Earlier this week, ‘L’ returned to the skies that have long been her home here at Duxford.

Our engineers in the maintenance hangar spent last week returning Spitfire XI PL983 back to her thoroughbred self. Following a successful ground run on Friday, she spent the weekend in quiet readiness, awaiting a test flight.

On Monday, ‘L’ emerged from The Stephenson Hangar. Our chief restoration engineer and accomplished pilot Martin ‘Mo’ Overall climbed into the cockpit and awoke the mighty Merlin 70 from its slumber. Its unmistakable song rolled across the airfield, a familiar voice returning to a place that knows it well.

Then, as she has done so many times before, ‘L’ took to the skies of Duxford.

With her return to flight complete, she now stands ready for her first public appearance of 2026 during the forthcoming Duxford Summer Air Show, now only a few short weeks away.

Great to have you back old friend!

Welcome Home ‘L’ . . . This week we saw the return of Spitfire PL983 from her adventure down under Having chased Summer...
05/06/2026

Welcome Home ‘L’ . . .

This week we saw the return of Spitfire PL983 from her adventure down under

Having chased Summer across the globe and now back home at Duxford she’s looking forward to the flying season ahead.

29/05/2026

The story of No.26

Beginning soon...

14/05/2026

Starting the flying season as we mean to go on! 💪

Last weekend marked our first event of the season and the atmosphere couldn’t have been better. On the crowd side - Ther...
14/05/2026

Last weekend marked our first event of the season and the atmosphere couldn’t have been better. On the crowd side - There was a buzz around Hangar 3 all day as the ‘ARCo Outpost’ showcased the latest merchandise, alongside this seasons Aerial Collective flight experience offerings. Whilst on the flight side - our engineering team and pilots were on the line with five aircraft from the fleet displaying throughout the day.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by — whether you came to browse the latest Rutley’s goods, admire the aircraft, or simply chat with the team. Seeing so many familiar and new faces made it an extra special start to the Season.

The weekend also marked the 80th anniversary of the de Havilland Chipmunk. Friday witnessed forty-two Chipmunks arrive at Duxford, followed by an unforgettable mass formation of twenty-one “Chippies” in the skies on Saturday. Chipmunks were a big part of the ARCo story in the early days, and we have always held a huge fondness for the type — so to see such a vast ensemble of these charming little flying machines come together was a true highlight!

Thank you to the War Museum Duxford for setting the stage, and our fellow onsite flying partners for a fantastic start to the flying season. We’ll see you back at the Outpost in Hangar 3 on 6th June — if this inaugural weekend was anything to go by, the 2026 season of events here at Duxford looks bright!

The scheduled annual maintenance is nearly wrapped up here at Duxford, which means Summer and the start of the flying se...
06/05/2026

The scheduled annual maintenance is nearly wrapped up here at Duxford, which means Summer and the start of the flying season are just around the corner!

Earlier last month, our maintenance team completed the annual inspection on our newest stablemate, P-51 Mustang Tall-In-The-Saddle. She’s all set for a summer of flying and airborne adventures with our flight experience team .

The annual inspection is a thorough top-to-tail check, with a close look at the airframe structure and key engine components. We caught up with Tom as he re-shimmed the rocker arms on the cam racks, this is precision work that fine tunes the shim thickness to ensure the rocker arm followers sit central to the cam lobes and has the correct free float.

Tall-In-The-Saddle is then rolled outside for a post maintenance engine run and final checks. Once she’s on the tie-down, she’s tested at full power—while Woody in the cockpit keeps a close eye on RPM and boost figures.

With the numbers looking good, Tall-In-The-Saddle is panelled up and ready for a test flight with our Chief Pilot, Jon Gowdy over the skies of Duxford.

Address

Building 425 Duxford Airfield
Cambridge
CB224QR

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+44 (0)1223 835313

Website

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