A 68-year-old Tiger Moth biplane took to the sky over Luqa this afternoon at the culmination of a 10-year restoration project by the Malta Aviation Museum.

The 'Moth' will be the local star of the Malta International Air Show, being held this weekend.

The aircraft was bought, minus its wings, by the Aviation Museum in the year 2000. It was built in 1942. The wings were then bought separately. A complex restoration process was then taken in hand, with most of the engineering work being carried out in-house under the engineering direction of David Polidano.

The restoration to flying condition was a first for the museum.

The 'Moth,' went into production in 1931 and was the standard trainer of Royal Air Force pilots during the Second World War.

The nimble aircraft needed only a small part of the old runway at Luqa to become airborne, watched by a number of Aviation Museum volunteers. At the controls was Clive Denney, the same pilot who in 2005 flew a Spitfire to the Malta airshow.

The 'Moth' made a number of circuits around the airport watch by aviation enthusiasts, some of whom applauded.

The Aviation Museum has already restored a Supermarine Spitfire fighter to static display condition and a Hawker Hurricane to taxiing condition.

The Tiger Moth will be taking part in the flying displays at the airshow tomorrow and on Sunday after 5 p.m.