Reply With QuoteThat sounds superb. Was it a red letter day type thing?
I did one of those once in a lifetime things yesterday.
This is me being strapped into a Spitfire at Duxford:
and this is me trying my best 'of course I do this all the time' face....
Only a few minutes after take off I was actually flying this beautiful aeroplane. The pilot waved his hands above his head as I didn't quite believe he wasn't helping on the stick....
Me, an idiot, let (sort of) loose with a really quite rare and very bloody expensive Spitfire!
I can't begin to describe what it was like properly. The sound, the smell, everything.
On the way back to Duxford we buzzed Cambridge Airport. I can vouch that 280 mph at 500 feet in a Spitfire is absolutely fantastic.
(Yes, in case you're wondering, I was doing the machine gun noises in my head!)
I'm still grinning like a demented maniac and shall be boring everyone I know with tales of the day I flew a Spitfire forever.
Thanks for reading.
Pete
That sounds superb. Was it a red letter day type thing?
Awesome
I booked it with a company based at Duxford called Classic Wings.Originally Posted by SeanST150
I did a Tiger Moth and Dragon Rapide flight with them before....
It was very superb indeed.
That's pretty special I'd love to do that. One of my best experiences was flying through the Mach loop in Wales in a Tornado during my RAF days.
I currently fly in the RAF and I'm half tempted to do this as it's always been my dream to fly in a Spit! A friend flew in to where Im based two weeks ago in a mk18 and he said he would be able to arrange it for a fee!
Do it. Even if it means selling your least favourite child or a spare relative.
It was truly a magnificent experience......
That looks fantastic in silver.
See that grin you're wearing? I promise it will be bigger if you get up in a two seater and take control.
This wins TZ-UK today.
Wow, congrats!Did you wear anything special watch wise?
I was wearing my Seiko Shogun the day before and just picked that up again yesterday.Wow, congrats!
You can all mock me for this but it really didn't cross my mind to be honest as I was just ever so slightly distracted by the fact I was going up in a Spitfire and couldn't be late.
Yes, I know, I'm a pillock.....
Nah, don't be silly. Seiko Shogun is good as any, buzz of flying the real thing is the only thing which counts. Plus, I think you just doubled your piece value at least twofold and it always will be 'the watch I wore flying Spit' :)
Last edited by VDG; 21st July 2015 at 07:59.
Chocks away and smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
Wow what a fantastic treat and cool photos, something that you will never forget. Did you get to do a victory roll or any aerobatics at all. The Spit is still the coolest plane ever made in my eyes.
Ditchvisitor what's you're favourite plane that you've flown, cool job, you must have to pinch yourself every day to tell yourself you're not dreaming
Fantastic!
Have a Spitfire fly regularly over where I live when walking the dogs and it gives me goosebumps whenever I hear it. That experience sounds right up my street. Awesome!
What a fantastic experience, well done sir!
Things like this are exactly why I need to win the lottery! Congratulations on a great experience.
Well done mate, been a couple of times to Duxford and always been impressed. Used Classic Wings this year for my son for his 18th for a flight in a Cessna, he was thrilled.
Boring ,Boring , ? there is and never ever will be anything remotely boring about the mighty Spitfire, or anyones account of this truly remarkable experience .
Congratulations mate your a lucky lucky man .
Ditchvistor nearly didn't make it through training after he decided to burn "60" into the grass outside of the Mess at Cranwell just before 'Auntie Betty' herself was due to visit!!Chocks away and smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
Wow what a fantastic treat and cool photos, something that you will never forget. Did you get to do a victory roll or any aerobatics at all. The Spit is still the coolest plane ever made in my eyes.
Ditchvisitor what's you're favourite plane that you've flown, cool job, you must have to pinch yourself every day to tell yourself you're not dreaming
@ditchvisitor: Don't know if it was your mate flying it, but it looks like I got some reasonable images of that silver Spitfire at Flying Legends a couple of Sundays ago:
Haha! Never far away from someone who knows about that eh!! I really enjoyed all those hats on, no tea and biscuit 'meetings'!!!
- - - Updated - - -
Yes that was him flying it, he left straight from Benson to head over to Duxford
Definitely on my list! I ticked another off back in March -
Incredibly responsive.
Looks like the trip I did, is that Wales?Definitely on my list! I ticked another off back in March -
Incredibly responsive.
It is, flew all the way back from Exeter over Brecon, through the Mach loop and back to Valley.
Looks fantastic. What a superb experience.
A good mate of mine was OC of the BBMF for 3 years and he still flies private Spitfires and the Boultbee twin seater. I just love them.
Thought so, I did it in Tonka. Looks like you're in a Hawk judging from the MDC.
Yep, a T2 with the new glass cockpit! Fantastic aircraft.
Thought it looked shiny, not nearly enough scotch tape holding the cockpit together for it to be a T1 lol
Resurrecting my own thread because this was me earlier today getting my final briefing before flying in this unique aeroplane. It's a Hispano Buchon which is basically a Spanish built Messerschmitt BF109G with a Merlin engine. The factory only ever made two and this is the only one left. Made in 1954 it was used in the Battle of Britain movie and was flown by both Luftwaffe ace General Adolf Galland and famous RAF Battle of Britain pilot Robert Stanford-Tuck. Today it was flown by a chimp in a flight suit; Me!
Compared to the Spitfire it's a little bit harder to get into and you cannot see much straight ahead but otherwise it's impossible to pick my favourite so purely on my joy riding type flights, and with no regard for technical differences in any way, I call it a draw. Both were absolutely fantastic to fly in and were much easier to control (stick only) than I would have ever imagined.....
This is me trying to trying to look like I fly that fantastic aeroplane every day whereas Steve Jones the pilot actually quite often does fly that fantastic aeroplane every day the lucky sod. He's a proper top bloke too. He took me through such a gentle aileron roll I actually had to look up through the roof to check I really was upside down....
I've finally stopped being an over excited 5 year old in a 52 year olds body and have nearly stopped constantly saying "that was f***ing brilliant"....
Thanks for reading.
Pete
Amazing experience. Definitely f***ing brilliant.
A random question but how much fuel does that engine use per hour?
Jealous! One day I might persuade myself that half an hour in a Spit is worth the cost of a really nice watch................
Very lucky indeed!
Wow! Just wow!
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Still one of the best looking airplanes from those times.
Wikipedia suggests 30 - 130 gallons per hour. <<"Blimey" really doesn't cover these numbers but this is the G&D....
I promise you these flights are worth every penny if you love these magnificent old aeroplanes....
Yes and I feel very privileged too.
For the G&D that will have to do but we both know there's much better "descriptive" words.... :o)Wow! Just wow!
I thought I be biased towards the Spitfire in every way but I'm calling it a draw. It's that close for me....
Sorry, I was referring to the Spitfire. Beautiful fused shape to the front, tapered tail, minimal bubble canopy.
Of course I built one from Airfix when I was 8 yrs old 😛
Awesome!
Both flights are on my to do list...
I had a bit of stick time on a Tiger Moth a couple of years ago and loved it. I have flown a few light aircraft but it was my first flight in a historic machine. I enjoyed the aero instructions as I had never flown Aeros before.
It was a bit of a squeeze to get in to the front seat.
Half way through a roll
You would think I was not enjoying looking at my face but I did.
Pulling it through a loop
Is that Steve Jones, ex-Red Bull Air Race pilot?
Oops. Sorry. This Buchon's a bit of a looker too though....
I did this too. It was the start of my list of aeroplanes I wanted to have a go in.
Yeah but I didn't know at the time as all we talked about was the Buchon (a lot obviously), swear words and making machine gun noises in our heads.... :)
I'd love to fly a tiger moth.
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