Control tower remake takes off

The Foynes Flying Boat Museum’s reconstruction of a control tower, from the days when the Co Limerick village was a key transatlantic aviation hub, took off yesterday.

The old control tower, where the big-bellied planes got guidance to take-off and splash-land, will be erected over the next four months at a cost of e250,000.

Since it opened in 1989, the museum has become a big tourism attraction. Last year, it was one of only three attractions in Ireland and Britain bestowed with a major tourism award.