Originally Posted By TheCoot
Cheers All.

How was the Spitfire to fly.....sensitive. I am no pilot so I simply took the joystick and tried to keep the nose on the horizon. Slight hand shudders would make the plane drift but easy enough to bring back with small movements.

Take Off is fantastic hearing that V12 Merlin crank up. We kept the cockpit cover open until we got to the end of the runway as it was very hot. On start up the cockpit filled with smoke and smells from that Merlin......Ahhhhh......pure nectar :-)

Landing was probably the smoothest landing I have ever experienced. The pilot who took me up was an ex Air Marshall in the RAF a very accomplished pilot (Cliff Spink). He has been flying Spitfires for the best part of 20 years and a fine host he was too. We navigated the Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and South Derbyshire countryside to locate my house following roads and landmarks. On the way back we did some rolls and a victory roll over the airfield before landing - just had to be done :-)

I will put a couple of photo's in the Forum photo gallery.

Cheers all


I'm reliving my trip earlier in the year from Duxford. It is fabtastic isn't it... the Dufxord grass it a bit bumpier than Sywell.

Cliff is a real gent... I accidentally chatted to him at Duxford a couple of years ago and rabbited on about my flying before realising I was standing in the shadow of a real giant... I felt a fool but he made me so at ease that it didn't matter.

Looks like you had great weather for it

Nick