My Spitfire flight...

UK - Tuesday 12th June - 2018

Part III - My Spitfire Flight from Goodwood over the English Channel

I had absolutely no idea how emotional this flight would be.

I would say my experience of actually flying in this incredible & iconic World War II vintage machine is right up there with any thing else that I have been fortunate enough to accomplish in my life.

My aircraft was: ‘The Boultbee Spitfire' H.F.IXe/two-seat Trainer 9 - Model SM520 

RAF 3-letter identifier: ‘KJ-I’ - British registration: G-ILDA. It was originally built as a single-seat high-level fighter in 1944 at the Castle Bromwich factory.

This is the exact two-seat Spitfire aircraft that I went flying in today
SM520 - but this is not my actual flight.
File photo

It was converted to a two-seat trainer post war. This aircraft is one of approximately 20,000 Vintage Warbirds that were made, & this year being the 100-year anniversary of the Royal Air Force made this flight so much more meaningful for me.

Prior to my Spitfire flight today, I pose in the hangar with my Norwegian 
Spitfire pilot, Lars, who in real life is a Scandanavian Airlines B737 pilot.

Once the safety briefing was finished the instructors fitted me out with all the gear. Flying Suit-Life jacket-Helmet-Parachute-Flying gloves-Personal locator beacon, safety harness cutter & last but not least my very own personal sick bag.

Then it was time to have a chat with the Pilot (officially). The pilot today was the same guy that stayed here at the B&B were I am. We spoke briefly over breakfast earlier this morning, his name is Lars. He is Norwegian and his real job is flying Boeing 737s for Scandinavia Airlines. 

Two of my incredible aviation experiences this week captured in one photo.
The Spitfire that I flew in today and the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows that I
saw fly over the Isle of Man just 5-days ago. Wow!

Lars briefed me regarding the flight & sort my response if I'd like to experience the following manoeuvres: Victory Roll, Wing over, Half Cuban, Barrel Roll, finishing off with a Loop, (he said that we would experience up to 3-4 G-forces max). In for a penny in for a pound I said to him. Let's do it.

He also wanted to know if I wanted to take the controls and fly this Spitfire & of course I said yes, I did not need to be asked twice. Before we took off Lars gave me instructions as to what to do & how to control this aircraft when he handed over the joy stick to me.

So they strap me into my seat, Lars fires up this supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 a 27-litre engine, all 1,600hp of this beast, the sound & noise of this baby firing up actually gave me goose bumps. 

We taxi away from the hangar onto the grass runway, at the end of the runway before we commence our take-off roll we check all the instruments & flight controls in preparation for flight. Let the fun begin !!!

Before I new it we were airborne, climbing to 1,500 ft. looking out over Goodwood Estate where I can clearly see the Goodwood House and the surrounding motor racing circuit, making a turn towards the English Channel & the Isle of Wight in the distance. I could see the Needles from that altitude.

The countryside fields of West Sussex extend down to the shores of the Solent

We climbed to 4,000ft then over the headset Lars said to me, Ken you are now in control, Lars had already warned me of the sensitivity of the controls, I gently pulled the joy stick back towards me no more than a quarter of an inch, up comes the nose of the Spitfire, then wanting to make a turn to starboard l moved the controls ever so slightly to the right. It did not take me too long to get the feel of the aircraft, I was as happy as a dog with 3 dicks.

Lars allowed me about 5-minutes at the controls flying this magnificent vintage warbird.

A file shot of KJ-I formatting with another two-seat Spitfire
over the windswept waters of the Solent

By now it was time for Lars to take over again, time had come to give me the thrill of my life. For the next 5 or so minutes we were doing all the manoeuvres that I had agreed to earlier, finishing off with a 360º loop. I can’t wait to see the video of this flight, should be absolutely awesome.

I must confess that I did feel a little squeamish during these manoeuvres, however the thrill of it all soon changed all that & l did not need to use my sick bag.

Then it was time to head for home. The flight lasted about 30 exhilarating minutes in total, then safely landing back on the grass runway at Goodwood Aerodrome. 

 ‘The Boultbee Spitfire' two-seat Trainer 9 - Model.SM520
File photo

What an experience I have just had. Flying in a WWII Spitfire is like driving a Model A Ford compared to a 747 Jumbo Jet, in the Spitfire you are actually flying by the seat of your pants, just like driving a Model A Ford on Australian roads.

You may ask me, would you do it all again. Yes, yes, yes any time.

The One Day International Cricket match tomorrow between the Aussies & the Poms at the Kia Oval will be rather pedestrian after today's exhilarating experience, although I do have some sandpaper here in my kit just in case our bowlers need a courser grain to rub on these English cricket balls.

Nothing else to report from rural Chichester.

Cheers

Warbo

To view the Cockpit Video of my Spitfire flight CLICK HERE