THE much-anticipated restoration job of the Uiver memorial plane will be carried out in the hangar belonging to one of the project's key players.
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Albury aviation company Smartair has agreed to make available part of its hangar for the renovation estimated to take five years to complete.
Smartair is owned by the Mol family with Pieter Mol the chairman of the Uiver Memorial Community Trust which took ownership of the derelict plane 12 months ago from Albury Council.
A $300,000 interest free loan provided by council to help establish a temporary restoration location won't be required.
The repair job will finally begin after the Albury Aero Club airport open day on Saturday which will be the last time the public can view the plane in its current state.
Mr Mol conceded finding a suitable spot to repair the plane had taken longer than originally thought.
Volunteer access to the sites considered in the past year has been one of the major issues.
"We had to do something to move the project along," Mr Mol said.
"It was becoming bogged down in finding suitable places to put up a building.
"Taking the aircraft off-site would have then been very difficult to supervise.
"Obviously there will be some inconvenience (for Smartair), but I am sure we can work around it for the period we've allocated."
Mr Mol said first stage of the project would be consolidating the cabin floor followed by dismantling of plane parts including engine and wings.
T"It is full of bird nests with all sorts of things living in there," .
"We will pull it all apart and take each item as individual projects."
UMCT will also be fundraising for a permanent public display for the Uiver when restored.
Meanwhile, Graham Simpson and Tony Brandt have recently joined the UMCT board.
The Albury West Rotary Club has also made a $10,000 donation to the restoration project.
The club previously owned the Uiver DC2 before handing it over to the council in the early 1980s.
