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Author Topic: 5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again  (Read 1859 times)

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Offline PMCTopic starter

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5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again
« on: March 06, 2006, 02:07:09 PM »
The 5th March 2006 marked the seventieth anniversary of the first flight of perhaps the most famous aircraft of them all:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4775726.stm

I'm very, very lucky to live in a part of the world where airworthy Spitfires are a relatively common sight (I live an hour from Duxford aerodrome, home to the largest collection of Spitfires in the world).  

For those of you who have never seen these things in the air, the noise alone will raise the hairs on the back of your neck.  The later Griffon engined versions were more than double the horsepower of the prototype and have a very distinctive deep growl.  I recently saw an impromptu display by a Mk 9 during an off-season visit to Duxford, fully expecting the pilot to treat a 65 year old airframe with kid gloves, I was somewhat taken back to see the plane hurled around by the scruff of it's neck.  

Here's to another seventy years :pint:
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Offline blobrana

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Re: 5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2006, 02:52:47 PM »
Hum,
yeah, it`s a design classic...

Offline PMCTopic starter

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Re: 5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2006, 03:05:12 PM »
Well I voted for it as a "British design classic" in the recent BBC polls.
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Offline blobrana

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Re: 5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2006, 03:06:39 PM »
Cool,


Offline odin

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Re: 5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2006, 04:42:02 PM »
:lol: And in another fifty years you will be cheering upon hearing F-15s and Tornados screaming by while reminiscing the nostalgia of hearing them when you were still strong and healthy? ;-).

But yes, I agree, Spitfires are beautiful.

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Re: 5 March 2006 - Spitfires take to the air again
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2006, 05:51:23 PM »
:lol:

Neither an F-15 or a Tornado have come to symbolise a nation's struggle for survival in quite the same way...  

Although (apologies for those who've read this post before) it reminds me of the story of the farmer in North Wales who go so sick of his farm being overflown that he climbed onto his barn and painted "Piss off Biggles" on the roof.

You can imagine what happened next can't you?

"I say old chap, have a look at this".
"Tally Ho!"

Mr Farmer was not pleased by the increasing numbers of RAF jets taking a detour to admire the barn.  Matters came to a head when a passing USAF detachment all peeled off and screamed low to have a look.

Mr Farmer grabs a tin of matt black paint and paints over the letters on the barn, however at dawn and dusk, you can still make out a faint "Piss off Biggles!" on the barn, a fact which greatly amused the RAF, who routinely visit at ungodly hours during the summer months.
Cecilia for President