A motion has been tabled at the Scottish Parliament celebrating the first flight of “Sophie” the Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter and congratulating the East Lothian-based Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland (APSS) team who built and flew the plane.

Martin Whitfield MSP, who has closely followed the progress of the Strutter construction project over the last few years, last visited the project earlier this year and committed to mark the plane’s first flight at Holyrood.

Following the group’s recent public announcement that the Strutter finally took its first flight in September, Mr Whitfield laid his motion highlighting the APSS’s remarkable achievement in building the plane from scratch and wishing them every success with future projects.

Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“The APSS volunteers are an amazing group of men who, after spending 24 years working on this unique project, have now seen all their hard work come to fruition with Sophie’s first flight. Their story is a truly remarkable one and I was keen to congratulate them on their wonderful success and pay tribute to their dedication to completing the project.”

The full motion reads:

That the Parliament welcomes the recent announcement by the Aviation Preservation Society of Scotland (APSS), which is based at Congalton Gardens in East Lothian, that its First World War Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter biplane, “Sophie”, which it has taken 24 years to build from scratch, has now been completed and taken its first flight; understands that the Society’s unique Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter construction project is of significant interest to aviation enthusiasts around the world and congratulates all of the APSS volunteers, a group of retired men who include engineers, teachers, a surgeon and many more, who have been involved in the project over the years on their painstaking work to build the plane and reach the stage where it is able to fly, and wishes the group, which, it understands, is also regarded as one of the pioneers of the Men’s Shed movement supporting members with their physical and mental health and wellbeing, every success with their future projects and their efforts to engage more young people in an interest in aviation and STEM.