Thunder & Lightnings

Hawker Hunter - Survivor XL603 (ex N603XL)

T.8M XL603 - New Richmond Regional Airport, Texas, USA

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Hunter T.8M XL603 at Bruntingthorpe, 1997; Francis Wallace

XL603 was built as a T.8, first taking to the skies on December 6th 1958, and was delivered to the Royal Navy in 1959. In June 1975, XL603 was one of three Hunters converted to a T.8M - these were fitted with the Blue Fox radar which was used in the Sea Harrier FRS.1, the cockpits were also modified to be a Sea Harrier.

The aircraft made its last flight into RNAS Yeovilton in 1993 for storage, before becoming a spares airframe to keep those in the air still flying. In late 1994, XL603 was put up for disposal at an auction and was sold to a private collector who transported it to Bruntingthorpe. She was well looked after and kept in good condition. 5 years later, she was sold to Global Aviation Inc. who dismantled and shipped the airframe to Tulsa in the USA in March 2000. Months later she was moved to Flight Ventures Inc. in Wilmington, gaining the new serial N603XL. She was based at Tulsa International Airport for some time before being based at New Richmond Regional Airport which is where she supposedly is still to this day. In 2017, her registration N603XL was cancelled.

Information on this page current as of 15/01/2022, last updated by Jake

Find other photos of XL603 on the following sites:

Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net