I bought a £28k fighter jet on impulse – it cost me another £60k for delivery
A BUSINESSMAN splashed out £28,000 on old fighter jet and was forced to fork out even more cash to bring it home.
Millionaire David Hamilton snapped up the Buccaneer Jet, that had sat on a garage forecourt for 25 years, as an impulse buy during lockdown.
But he got a shock when he ended up shelling out almost £60,000 to get it shifted 140 miles from Elgin, Moray to Cupar, Fife, on the back of a lorry.
David had to pay for cop escorts and for Transport Scotland to move road signs and traffic lights in what turned into an epic operation.
The Millionaire software firm boss said: “I jump into these things with two feet.
“I liked the look of the jet but didn’t give a moment’s thought to how I was going to get it moved.
“I definitely didn’t think it would cost me the same amount of money again. But I don’t regret it at all. It will be worth it in the long run.”
The 30-tonne RAF jet had been out of action for so long that it took a team a whole day to fold up its wings.
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But even then it was still about 19ft wide on the back of a truck and took up more than one lane of the road.
Health and safety rules meant the lorry could only go a maximum of 20mph, and cops drove ahead to force motorists to pull over to let it pass.
It's cross-country trip took it about nine hours in total.
David said: “I can only apologise to anyone who got caught up in that. I think we caused a fair bit of disruption.
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“I got a half joking text from a pal who called me a p***k because he was held up.
“But other folk said they were happy because they managed to get pictures of the jet. So not everyone was put out.”
David and business partner Gavin Findlay bought the jet for their wildlife park The Scottish Deer Centre in Cupar, Fife.
They’ve teamed up with the RAF Benevolent fund and are going to turn the aircraft into a big tourist attraction.
JET'S NEW HOME
The engine will be put on display and it’s hoped that fans, both old and young, will be able to sit in the cockpit.
David said: “I made an awful lot of work for myself. But there was talk of the jet going to Australia. We managed to keep it in Scotland, which is a big deal.”
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We told how garage boss Iain Aitkenhead bought the jet for a “few thousand” when it was put out of action by RAF Lossiemouth. He flogged it when he ran out of space.
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