Silver Spitfire - The Longest Flight (Thailand dates)

[pharvey]

This is something I'll be following with interest

I've had a huge passion for the Spitfire seeing one close-up and in flight at an airshow at St. Athens when I was 10 or so. This must be an incredible adventure to say the least - certainly looking forward to the documentary!!

Detailed (and very interesting) information & updates on the "Silver Spitfire" website: - https://www.silverspitfire.com/

Below Report taken from: - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49248444

Restored Silver Spitfire Takes off on Round-the-World Trip

_108206118_spitfire.jpg (17.54 KiB) Viewed 501 times

Two pilots have begun a challenge to fly a newly restored Spitfire around the world.
The pilots took off from Goodwood aerodrome in West Sussex - the home of the first school for Spitfire pilots - on Monday.
They will stop off at 100 locations in 30 countries during the five-month, 27,000-mile journey.
The route goes via Scotland, then westbound to the US, Canada, Japan, Russia and India and back to Britain.
The project, named Silver Spitfire - The Longest Flight, is the first such trip of its kind.
Matt Jones, 45, from Exeter, Devon and Steve Brooks, 58, from Burford, Oxfordshire, are flying a single-seater Mk IX Spitfire, which was originally built in 1943.
They hope the trip will "showcase" an aircraft which changed the course of history and "reunite the Spitfire with the many countries that owe their freedom, at least in part, to this iconic aircraft".

When not at the controls the other pilot will be in a chase plane following the Spitfire.
The two aviation enthusiasts travel to Scotland, then Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the United States, Russia and Asia

'Nurse it around'

Mr Jones said; "I'm a bit nervous but excited to get going.
"The weather is going to be the biggest part of it but also getting fuel to the right places, Avgas is very common here and in the US, but in other countries we are having it supplied for us."

A chase plane will have a full-time captain, an engineer, as well as a camera crew to film the journey for a documentary.
Mr Brooks said: "It has taken us two-and-a-half years and the time has come to stop making excuses and to get going.
"The longest flight will be Hong Kong to Vietnam which is 500 miles.
"The Spitfire was built as an interceptor which had a range of 300 miles, so the question now is can we nurse it around."

Good Luck to Them Both!!

[Dannie Boy]

I used to live quite close to Biggin Hill and every summer they used to have an air display so regularly saw a number of Spitfires (and Hurricanes) flying overhead - the sound from the Merlin engines is very emotive!!

[Nereus]

It is scheduled through Thailand:

https://www.silverspitfire.com/about/route-map/

Ubon Ratchathani
THAILAND
14/10/2019


Bangkok / Don Mueang
THAILAND
16/10/2019

Chiang Mai
THAILAND
20/10/2019

[pharvey]

I used to live quite close to Biggin Hill and every summer they used to have an air display so regularly saw a number of Spitfires (and Hurricanes) flying overhead - the sound from the Merlin engines is very emotive!!

Must have been quite something. The closest I've been to one since the St.Athen's Airshow when I was a nipper, was when there was a flyby at a festival at Chepstow Racecourse a few summers ago - flew straight over our house several times - quite a sight (and sound)!

It is scheduled through Thailand:

Will Joe Public (Read "Farang") be able to view (aside from at a vast distance)?

Wish I'd heard about this before seeing the actual take-off on the news - would have loved to have taken a look. May have a chance to see elsewhere or on their return.

[Nereus]

Will Joe Public (Read "Farang") be able to view (aside from at a vast distance)?

At the two provincial airports it may be possible. In Bangkok it depends where they park it. I would assume that it will be on the Army side of the airport where the museum is. They have an example in the museum, so they may line them up together?

[Big Boy]

Slightly off topic, but there is a 2 seater spitfire that you guys in the UK can take a flight in located at Biggin Hill. A friend did the flight 2 months ago - a dream come true.

61815329_10157334517905127_831202323555418112_n.jpg (81.84 KiB) Viewed 475 times

[pharvey]

Slightly off topic, but there is a 2 seater spitfire that you guys in the UK can take a flight in located at Biggin Hill. A friend did the flight 2 months ago - a dream come true.

Funnily enough, I found some info on that today whilst looking into the whole "Silver Spitfire" topic - would love to give it a try....... Will be fun (or not) trying to persuade the LHG to allow me to part with a minimum of £2,750 (for the "basic" 30 min flight), upto £6,350 (for the 70 min "Ultimate Coast Flight")......... Pretty sure she will have slightly more important projects to "invest in"!!

[Big Boy]

Wow!!! Quite expensive to fulfil a boyhood dream then.

[pharvey]

Wow!!! Quite expensive to fulfil a boyhood dream then.

Absolutely, but it has to be on the "Bucket List" - a spare £3K for a "dream" what would people do? That's got to be worth another thread!!

[Nereus]

Usual after the fact reporting here. I stopped following this as they kept changing the route, but it now appears that it was in Bangkok a couple of days ago.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The Silver Spitfire comes to Myanmar

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/silver-spi ... anmar.html

A very famous British veteran recently arrived in Myanmar.
The veteran of many World War II battles reached our local shores via Thailand on October 31, after visiting over 20 countries.
An icon of British engineering, the veteran is the Super Marine Silver Spitfire.

The shining one-seater aircraft is now at the Yangon Airport, and is here to dazzle local history and aviation buffs. The aircraft flew 51 missions in Europe during World War Two.

The aircraft was manufactured in 1943, and took to the air again almost 80 years after defending British and allied forces from Luftwaffe strikes in the English Channel.

Designed in 1934 by Reginald Mitchell, the aircraft was mounted with eight wing-mounted machine guns to rival the weapons of the German air force. Nimble and deadly, the plane’s design and agility played a major role in the victory of the Battle of Britain in 1940.

To bolster their aerial power, Spitfires were powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines in 1943. With a top speed of over 400 miles per hour, they were also used to combat the strikes from V-1 bombing raids over allied countries.

Over 20,000 Spitfires were produced, and were used throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Some models were assigned to attack the German cities of Cologne and Essen.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war came to the Pacific and Spitfires came to Myanmar to fend off the Japanese Imperial Army in the Burma Campaign.

The British deployed the Super Marine Spitfires to attack the Japanese, some of which are allegedly hidden in the jungles waiting to be excavated.

“This wonderful airplane is not a symbol of war, it’s a symbol of peace” said Mr Dan Chugg, British Ambassador to Myanmar, in a press conference.

The Longest Flight project started three years ago with two Spitfire pilots, Steve Brooks and Matt Jones. A helicopter pilot who has visited over 150 countries, Brooks joined forces with Jones to found the Boultbee Flight Academy, an oranisation devoted to Spitfires.

The visit to Yangon is an opportunity for people to view the aircraft, and to inspire to a new generation of aviation enthusiasts.
It’s also a chance to examine the plane’s mechanics, design and aerial skills.

The project’s aim is to fly the aircraft to new places around the world. It has taken two and a half years to restore all of the original parts, retaining as much as the original as possible.

The aircraft is 95 percent original, with worn engine and moving parts being replaced. It’s restored with the original metallic finish, and hasn’t been painting – like many of the planes during combat.

The plan is to visit over thirty countries within a four month period. So far the pilots have already flown over Iceland, Canada and across Russia, down to Japan and South East Asia. The journey continues through the rest of South Asia, and on to Europe.

“There are some places where the history is very hard ignore, where the planes had a very strong impact on the conflict. Myanmar is definitely one of those countries,” said Lachlan Monro, project director of The Longest Flight.

The crew had a reception with the Myanmar veterans at the British Embassy after arriving in Myanmar. Already in their 90s, the veterans recalled the Spitfires flying overhead when they were younger – according to the pilots.

The journey continues to India, Pakistan, Africa, Egypt and Europe, before arriving back in England in December.

“Flying over Myanmar gives us such a sense of freedom. The journey over the Ayeyarwaddy River will be spectacular, and perhaps one of the most memorable landscapes as we approach Mandalay,” said Steve Brooks. – Additional reporting by Andrew King