Holy heck! I don't know what's crazier, seeing this Sunderland take to the sky, or seeing Kermit Weeks this bloody young!

I saw this historic aircraft in 2003 while it was still undergoing restoration. Happy to know that it was saved when so many were scrapped.

My Grandfather worked at Short Bros in Rochester as an engineer on the Sunderland, this would’ve broken his heart, remember taking him down to Chatham dockyards to help restorers work out the layout of the interior cabin of one there in the late eighties

Brings back fond memories. In 1972 I flew on Beachcomber , operated by Ansett, from Rose Bay Sydney to Lord Howe island and return. It was school holidays and my Father and I spent a week on Lord Howe.

I've visited her at Fantasy of Flight in Florida in the late 2000's. She was in fine shape and being lovingly cared for and hangared. She has an Australian Connection too, being once a member of the Ansett Airlines fleet operating out of Rose Bay New South Wales.

They were once moored in Poole just below studland to the left of the ferry .about 20 of them.what a beautifull site they were.roundabout 1946 to1952.i used to gaze down on them as a boy from the glebe estate ,studland one of the most beautifull parts of britain.a fitting resting place for this wondrous beautifull aircraft.ill never forget them and it's as if I can see them now in my mind's eye.they did their bit to keep us free.

Heavens, was it really 25 years ago? I stood there at Lymington to watch her long, low, slow pass down the Solent to - literally - climb off into the sunset on that fine summer evening. One of those little 'bullet points' in life that will never be forgotten.

Had a big airfix model as a kid ..loved it ..

My late father was a Sunderland pilot in the 50s. He and his crew flew the last military spec mk5 from the UK to the Far East. A wonderful aircraft.

Wow,that’s a shame,I remember building the airfix Sunderland early sixties when I was a boy,but at least she will get the best of care.

I did some work for Kermit when his museum was in Kendall So. Fla. I have a scar on my Rt. Arm that a P 51B or C model inflected on me. He packed up his museum and moved to Lakeland Fl. After Hurricane Andrew tore up his place in '92 he lost alot of aircraft in that storm.

I paid a visit to Fantasy of Flight especially to see her. It was worth the visit, if only to appreciate her size, which is emphasised when she is seen next to the other aeroplanes in the hangar.

What a beauty the Sunderland is! Thanks for posting this.👍👍👍

My late Dad did a year’s National service at Calshot working on Sunderlands around 1949. He had many a story to tell about his experiences - including one where he slipped off the top wing, doing an inspection in icy conditions, landing in a freezing Solent - eventually being picked up a long way from the aircraft having turned a shade of blue ! Amazing aircraft that played a vital role during WW2.

For the record, Kermit Weeks is a retired U.S.Navy pilot and is a legend in the aviation community here in the U.S. We'll take very good care of the old girl, fear not.

Wow these old birds are so amazing!

I once flew in a Sunderland in 1960 in Papua New Guinea as a babe, my parents more so: Port Moresby, Bougainville, Sohana areas if I recall correctly ? This gets me a bit melancholy. Respects to the peeps keeping these important machines alive.

I couldn't think of a better person to own her than Kermit. He's a legend in the world of aviation as far as I'm concerned.

These planes used to fly from Sydney to Lord Howe Island in the '50s. Our parents would drive us down to Rose bay from time to time to see them taking off and landing.

A brilliant day out at this museum and too explore the Sunderland is terrific

My father flew Sunderland flying boats for coastal command during the war. He trained for long range missions and attacking U boats.

Magnificent piece of history! I'm glad it is being saved.

One of my fondest aviation memories, of which there are several, is watching the last of the RNZAF Sunderland Flying Boats taking off from their facility a Evans Bay, where is the northern approach to Rongotai Airport near Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. The shore buildings are still there and used for other purposes now unrelated to aviation-boat clubs I think and a Sea Scout Den. The Sunderland Flying Boats then were used as an air link to the Chatham Islands way out from Canterbury province in the South Island te wai paunamu and into the Southern Ocean. Now Saab 340's turbo-prop aircraft make the same journey replacing Convair 240 types. She can be as wild as a rutting Boar out there though, yet as calm and lovely as any island paradise in the Southern Pacific. Way back in the 1960s, the Chatham Islands were better known for catching Crayfish and was a profitable industry supplying the Japanese market that paid high prices for these tasty crustaceans, pricing them mostly out of the local market. Even now, Crayfish are ridiculously expensive denying them to all but lottery winners and wealthy Asian immigrants. But I will not be denied and neither will my wife, a local Tungatawhenua, who see Crayfish as culturally important. So from our meagre government pension and if we use the car sparingly and the parsimonious bastards at the local Australian owned trading bank will advance me a loan, then one day a Crayfish will be ours to eat and enjoy. In the meantime though we will take our pleasure from knowing that other folks in far-away lands are enjoy our taounga as much as we would and if only we could afford their high cost. Not to worry, we still have our Friday evening seafood treat to enjoy - Fish & Chip's.

I grew up around one of these birds in Pembroke Dock in West Wales. A white Sunderland flying boat. It was taken away on the back of a lorry in March 1971, with its wings detached making it look like a prehistoric pterosaur and is now in the RAF Museum Hendon.

When going to Epcot center back in the day (1995) I remember seeing the Fantasy of flight billboard on i4. Always wanted to go there. Good memories

KERMIT WEEKS HAS LOVINGLY RESTORED THIS PRINCESS OF THE SKIES TO HER ORIGINAL SPECIFICATIONS. SHE'S IN VERY GOOD HANDS!!

It flew over the garden near Wedmore, Somerset when I was with my daughter. I remember the Aquila Airways Short Solents at Southampton.

I stood on top of Calshott Castle and watched her go. Looked wonderful.

Lovely aircraft.

My dad saw the original flying boat take off and land on the River Medway where the Short Brothers had their factory in Rochester, Kent. They originally operated out of Rochester Airport before moving down onto the river. Their first works was in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey where I have an interesting photo of the Short brothers together with the Wright brothers and the team in about 1913 just before they moved over to Rochester. Fantastic piece of history sad to see it go but thanks for sharing.

I live near where this airplane is kept now. It hasn’t flown since 1996 according to the owner. He has not done anything to it. It’s actually falling apart. He just made a video about it the other day and it looks like hell.

Whew! When a story begins with "last flight", I worry about another hull loss and lost souls. Glad the outcome was much brighter.

I may of flewn on this boat in the 1976-7 when I was on holidays in Bournemouth, my father was in the RAF during the war in India and had flown in a Sunderland he was in the metrologist office as weather man who went up in planes to look at cloud formations. We were sitting on the beach inth mid 1970s when out of the blue a Sunderland flew across the bay in front of us and my dad nearly fell out of his deckchair. The flying boats were flying from Portsmouth down the coast and back again giving rides to the public so dad and I went down the road to the Dock and bored the plane for a morale flight. It was great and the best bit was when we landed on the water with a big splash of water.

I love flying boats! There's just something romantic about them.

My late father-in-law flew these out of there doing Air Sea Rescue and submarine watch in the Bay of Biscay during WW2

thank you.

A gorgeous aircraft! I have an unforgettable, almost dream-like, memory from decades ago, 1964-ish, of standing at a top floor of the Shell Building on the South Bank in London and looking down and seeing a Sunderland take off from the Thames below. I've no idea what it was doing there but, once there, it could hardly not be permitted to take off from there, even though there was not much room for error or mechanical mishap.

used to hear/see them as a kid in Auckland , New Zealand

I have an Airfix kit of the short Sunderland waiting to be built when my painting skills are up to it. I love the look of this flying boat.

What a beauty

Great little museum Solent Sky.

Hey i walked thru it at kermits place. Very nice 🇺🇸

Coastal Command's "Flying Porcupine". Many a JU88 pilot met their match against one of these. If a Yank can spend the money to keep one alive, more power to him.

Great aircraft,was inside it at Kermit Weeks facility in Florida 7-8 years ago,sadly it wasnt restored at that time,love to see it in WW2 form!

I have actually been in this aircraft at Fantasy of Flight in Polk, Florida. It was at the time open to the public to walk through. Unfortunately it was damaged internally by a party of 'Boy Scouts' I believe and is no longer available to walk through, but still worth a look if anywhere near Polk.

I was in Toronto in the summer of 1993 and heard the unmistakable sound of an airplane with multi piston engines....didn't really know what it was and I assumed it was the Lancaster from nearby Hamilton....when in the distance I saw the white fuse of this Saunderland and remember reading that Kermit Weeks had purchased it in England and was ferrying it over at some point....apparently it had made a pitstop at the Toronto Islands for fuel enroute to Florida.....a very pleasant and unique surprise.

I had an older colleague,Sid Smith, who had been a skeet metal worker at Saunders Roe on Southampton Water in the war. One day the factory siren went off for a lone daylight raider just spotted coming in across the Water and everyone ran for the shelters. The bomb stick missed the workshops but fell outside along rhe alleyway in between and killed and injured several of those running for shelter. The watchman who sounded the alarm felt shattered,though it was his duty. Sid was very hard of hearing and said it was 59/50 between metal bashing and the bombs..This was the home front in WW2 that the Sundetlands were defending at aea.

I was lucky enough to see her flying whilst in the New Forest. A long way off, even then I expected never to see a repeat. From Lee on Solent the tail was easily seen while she was being rebuilt to fly.

I've been to the Solent Sky museum, it's great and well worth a visit if you're in the area :-)

My grandfather flew them pre WW2 for Imperial Airways, lake hopped to South Africa.

My father was a radio operator on Sunderland flying boats in the Far East, during WWII, flying the American General Douglas MacArther who was in charge of American forces in the Far East from place to place. The flying boat was ideal for the task. Being able to land around the islands and wherever the American Fleet were at the time. My father was specially requested by General MacArther as his radio operator because they got on well together and my fathers North East English accent worked well with radio communications systems they had in those days being clearer to hear through the mush of sideband noise and background aircraft noise.

Kermits channel on KZfaq is well worth a watch . The man is a legend

My Uncle flew these in RAAF 10 Squadron for 3 'tours' during WW2, for Coastal Command. Bombed a Jerry sub. Flew Churchill to a conference in Lisbon, Portugal, and landed on the Tagus River. Churchill took the controls, briefly. Uncle Richard flew one back to Australia after the war.

Sunderland's were built on Lake Windemere in Cumbria, there was an exhibition at Brockhole where the factory was.

That is a great machine luv it

Brilliant to see it fly. Such a shame the other 4 engine short, the Stirling are all gone.

I was on this flight! Amazing! 😊😊

Good morning from St John Parish, Louisiana 08 Oct 20.

I recall seeing the odd flying boat in the 1970s, when I lived on Hayling Island, adjacent to the RAF base on Thorney Island & 15miles east of Portsmouth harbour. Also much in evidence then were Lockheed four engined transports (Hercules) aircraft. I could hear any multi engined four strokes taking off because the Hercules took ages to get airborne!

Oh that’s where it went!!! I saw two (I think) in Southampton on a trip to the Isle of Wight. My friend’s dad flew them during the war. They once forced an unmarked Liberator to emergency land en-route to its airfield in the UK. They challenged the Liberator but it wasn’t equipped with a suitable radio and on failing to respond and not recognising the aircraft from the identification charts, they started shooting. Ooops

Sou entusiasta deste tipo de aeronave, que engenharia maravilhosa, algo para os britânicos orgulharem-se.

I've gone down the quarantine rabbit hole lol

I always wanted to fly in one of those big boys

Saw this plane in Florida!

I’d so love to fly in her ever since I was a kid I held a fascination for the Flying hedgehog a real British classic and if I had the money I would build a replica 😁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

Would you believe a high-ranking RAF type having a joyride in one of these during the airshow at the opening of the Wellington (NZ) airport took the controls and tried to land it on the runway ? Scraped quite a chunk off the keel, I believe, before the RNZAF crew got control back, and managed to run it up on the ramp at Shelley Beach before it sank.

I remember seeing this on the news when I was 14 , I have no idea why it pop up on youtube.

It's really awesome

My first ever Airfix model kit 😊

I remember them in service at Pembroke Dock. I think they stopped around 1957!

The takeoff wasn't quite her goodbye to Britain - she did a flypast over her old base at Pembroke Dock on the journey to Florida - by chance I was lucky to see it.

1:44. Nice of Nigel Mansell to turn up to watch her fly away!

The Sunderland was a gracious old bird,some were stationed near Felixstowe in the early 1950s .Fortunately ,there is one in Duxford War Museum still.

Beautiful Baby!🤗

Saw this fly over my school in Whitley Bay back in the late 80s or early 90s and couldn't believe it. I got told off for staring at it out the window instead of playing badminton but I knew what it was and wouldn't miss an opportunity like that for the world. Teacher didn't see anything special, "just an aeroplane" maybe he was blind!!. She must have overflown Sunderland before the time of sale to Mr Weeks as I'm sure it was closer to 1990 when I saw her. My Dad believed me and was terribly cheesed off when he realised he had missed it. I'd love to know when she was in the north east of England. The museum was closed to visitors except by appointment when we went in summer 2019.

There was also a fleet of them in the harbor Of Bowmore on Isle of Islay. My father was stationed there in the war. Thomas O’Neill. Motorcycle despatch rider.

I'm watching this 1993 video from a bygone era about people mourning the loss of a reminder of a bygone era.

So sorry I never got to fly on one! Absolutely Wonderful plane.

Pity there was no mention of the Sunderlands that were extensively based in Pembroke Dock as being much further west they could get out over the Eastern Atlantic approaches much better...

Love the old videos how young Kermit was imagin if men like him lived to 1000 years old world would be so different

For all of your Weeks admirers out there, read up on Cole Palen and Rhinebeck Airdrome-BESIDES being a WWII vet, he created Rhinebeck Airdrome from scratch and used it, much elbow grease and various barnstorming endeavors to finance his collection of WWI airplanes. Rhinebeck Airdrome still exists , although Cole passed on a long time ago.....

"Last flights" just make me sick and want to cry. What's the point of spending millions and then never flying it? We've lost so much history that way.

I had a angker winch on my yacht that come from a Sunderland , It could pull the back teeth from a rhino , slow but tons of grunt .

i can relate to how the british people must of feel about it. we had MATS lockheed connie that was sold to the koreans. i was very upset and unhappy about the whole thing. kermit weeks takes good care of the sunderland, he hasnt flown it in a number of years but it is being properly stored and maintained, hopefully one day he flies it again. what a majestic airplane.

I witnessed, about this time, +/- a few years, a Sunderland take off from the Medway and fly north over the Thames estuary having been restored in Chatham Dock yard. Previously I had also been inside it while it was being restored in the shed. Any further knowledge out there? Are these one and the same, or is this vid not of “the last Sunderland” but a “nearly the last”.

Bless her - sad we couldn't keep her here.

You know what they say " once a mackem, always a mackem". A great war time plane, very fine English engineering indeed.

aspect ratio makes this Sunderland very short indeed

What a wonderful Aircraft, I can't understand why they stopped, production of such, a. Magnificent flying boat, there's huge potential for such Aircraft, I would dearly like to have some, in Australia today, the potential in enormous, thanks so much.

the guy who bought this plane has a great walk thro video here on youtube... its pretty awesome. check it out

I had to laugh at the man saying English engineering. Some of the Sunderland flying boats were built in Dumbarton in Scotland, the huge building still exists, and the planes as stated had Pratt & Whitney engines!!!

Kermit Weeks probably over stretched himself in my estimation as he has struggled to maintain it let alone fly or restore it to a wartime spec. The mosquito he bought has become a static exhibit. I'm not doubting his intentions, but they are money pits and the deep and sustained engineering commitment these aircraft require is vast, and he has so many other aircraft, you can't fix them all up can you.

Ahh i wish we still had flying boats.

So at 1:38 it was talking about Shorts of Belfast, also built in Dumbarton? The Titanic was obviously english, it sailed under an english company from an english port.

A parody on the famous "Lilli Marleen" verses was sung by German submariners: "From the clouds, out of the fog, dives upon us a Sunderland. Yes, when we then go into the depths, we won't stop till 3000 feet, and won't be seen again." They named it " Fliegendes Stachelschwein", Flying Pocupine". Three years after the war Sunderlands took part in the Berlin airlift. The British took off from a lake at Lübeck and landed on the Havel lakes in Berlin.

Mark V Australian Sunderland crews suggested that the Pegasus engines be replaced by Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines. The new engines with new Hamilton Hydromatic constant-speed fully feathering propellers provided greater performance with no real penalty in range. In particular, a Twin Wasp Sunderland could stay airborne if two engines were knocked out on the same wing while, in similar circumstances, a standard Mark III would steadily lose altitude. A total of 155 Sunderland Mark Vs were built with another 33 Mark IIIs converted to Mark V specification. wiki

Well, I had one! The Airfix Kit if I'd left it in the box unopened it would probably be worth a bit now! Someone I worked with maintained them out of Pembroke Dock.

I met Kermit Weeks at his place Fantisy of Flight in Florida

dudes, video is squeezed needs correction to go 4:3

I have seen this bird many times in Florida .