Battle of Britain fighter still rules the skies SPITFIRE IS NOT OUT
EXCLUSIVE ANDY ‘BIGGLES’ LEA SPITFIRE fighters are rolling off the production line again – 80 years after the plane’s maiden flight.
They are being built in a hanger at the wartime Biggin Hill airfield using parts recovered from crash sites.
Spitfire Company craftsmen have already built seven airworthy examples and hope to have three more ready by the end of the year.
Fans can pay to “sit in a Spit”, follow one in the air in a vintage Harvard and, for £2,750, take a half-hour ride in a rare two-seater model.
To mark the release of the Dad’s Army film on DVD and the 80th anniversary of the plane, we visited the firm’s Heritage Hanger in south London where Spitfires sit alongside a restored Hurricane, a Harvard and a German Messerschmitt.
“Everybody wants to fly a Spitfire”, said spokesman Robin Brooks.
“Our first customer was 84. He couldn’t drive any more so he decided to sell his car to pay for a flight. He absolutely loved it.”
It takes three to four years for the company’s five full-time engineers to rebuild a Spitfire.
Robin said: “They all come from crash sites.
“If you have one original part from the aircraft in the rebuild we can carry on that serial number.
“We have partners on the Isle Of Wight who do the fuselages, the wings and the tails. We put them together with the hydraulics and the engines and test-fly them over here.”
With Spitfire flights booked out until next year, we settled for a trip in a two-seater Harvard.
Hundreds of these US-made planes were shipped to the UK in the early stages of World War Two. Some were used in combat but most were used to train Spitfire pilots.
Our pilot was Glen Fricker, a Harvard enthusiast who also flies Boeing 737s for a budget airline.
According to Glen, flying a 737 “is like driving an underground train. Flying a Harvard is like riding a motorbike”. To prove his point, Glen gave our stomachs a work-out with a dizzying roll and a terrifying loop.
He even allowed me to take charge of the plane’s controls at 3,500ft. The Harvard is surprisingly straightforward to fly. To make the plane turn you simply move a huge joystick in the middle of the cockpit.
And with the Kent countryside tumbling beneath you, it’s easy to see why building old planes is really taking off.
Dad’s Army is available to own on Digital HD now and on Blu-ray and DVD from tomorrow, courtesy of Universal Pictures (UK).