But a group of aircraft enthusiasts from the Northern Aeroplane Workshops in Batley have successfully created an authentic example of the First World War Sopwith Camel fighter aircraft almost a century after the originals were in skies above the Western Front.

The biplane is airworthy and will eventually be flown but will first go on show at the Yorkshire Motor Museum in Batley.

Its constructors are all amateur volunteers who have used original drawings and materials worth thousands of pounds, supplied by the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire, and it will eventually be moved there.

The Sopwith Camel often proved fatal in the hands of inexperienced pilots but was a vital weapon in redressing the air superiority of the Germans.

The project started in 1995 and the volunteers, nearly all past retirement age, were determined to create an original aircraft from scratch.

Co-ordinator Bob Richardson, 63, a retired police inspector from Garforth near Leeds said the finishing touches were being put to the Camel which will eventually join a world-famous collection of more than 40 aircraft at Shuttleworth.

He said: "We build it from scratch and try as far as we can to stick to the original specifications. The only exceptions we allow for are modern safety requirements and contemporary glue – far superior to former materials.

"Obviously it has been a huge undertaking with a great responsibility as someone has got to sit in the cockpit one day so it has been built according to the regulations of the Light Aircraft Association.

"We chose the Camel because of its outstanding success – it shot down more enemy aircraft than any other fighter in the First World War and because the technology was within our capabilities. The Camel was at the cutting edge of technology in its day and that's why we wanted to do it."

One of the plane's wings gives an indication of how much effort was involved, with 2,000 parts used. Thousands of bolts were used in the project and all the spruce wood had to be specially sourced.

Mr Richardson added: "We all come from different backgrounds – I was in the police force for 32 years and we've got a landscape architect as well as someone from David Brown Tractors and a security specialist.

"But we have all worked very well together and there has been a great sense of camaraderie and a passion to see it done right. What we have achieved is like building an Airfix model but on a grand scale.

"I was interested in aircraft from an early age and went to an air show at Finningley nearly 50 years ago and the interest stayed with me ever since.

"This Sopwith will be on display here at the Yorkshire Motor Museum in Batley for three years before being transported to the Shuttleworth Collection where it will join two others we have made previously – a Sopwith Triplane and a Bristol M.1C. Ultimately it will be flown at Shuttleworth and I am looking forward to seeing it fly."

John Worthington, 69, a joiner for 52 years, added: "This is my seventh year on the project and it has gone extremely well. We have had a few niggles inevitably but we can honestly say it is an original Sopwith Camel.

"I have always been interested in planes ever since I was nine years old when I used to build radio-controlled flying scale aircraft. My dad Jack was a rear gunner on Lancasters. He died four years ago. I would have loved him to have seen this because he never lost his love of aircraft.

"I'm looking forward to starting work on our next project, a De Havilland DH2. I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment."

The group is holding an open day tomorrow to show off the Sopwith at the Yorkshire Motor Museum on Bradford Road in Batley from 12 to 2.30pm.