Matthew Munson aims to accomplish his dream of crossing the Atlantic in a Lancaster bomber. The tour is being financed by Thwaites, brewers of Lancaster Bomber ale. Photo: Thwaites/PAMost people would like a comfortable seat on a long transatlantic flight, but one man has paid more than €54,000 for a cold, uncomfortable journey that will take four days.
IT entrepreneur Matthew Munson, 34, will be one of the eight-man crew that will take a World War II Lancaster bomber 5,900 kilometres to the UK from Canada after winning the seat at auction eBay.
The bomber is going to Britain for a month-long tour that will see it fly alongside the world’s only other airworthy Lancaster, which is owned by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Munson, from Henley-on-Thames, said: “I wasn’t sure if it was genuine at first but thought I’d give it a go. The bidding was at 79,000 Canadian dollars and I’d set myself a limit of 83,000 dollars, so I entered that amount but then got a message from eBay saying they needed to verify the bid because it was such a large amount of money. I put in a final bid of 79,100 dollars just two minutes before it closed and was a bit stunned when I got a call from the museum in Canada a few minutes later to say I’d won!
“I love all things mechanical whether it’s planes, trains or cars. As long as it has an engine I’m interested.
“The history that comes with the Lancaster Bomber is amazing and I feel very privileged to be a part of the tour.
“It’s not going to be a comfortable journey − probably very cold and we will be flying for six hours a day, but I can’t deny it’s a dream come true.”
Munson, who has a private pilot’s licence, will join the team bringing the four-engine heavy bomber over from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario.
His winning bid will help finance the tour, which is also being backed by Thwaites, brewers of Lancaster Bomber ale.
It will leave Canada on August 4 on a journey that will take it via Keflavik, Iceland.