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[Misc] Flying in a Spitfire help/advice



vegster

Sanity Clause
May 5, 2008
27,867
Monkeys on the ceiling dropping tenpenny ones in the custard.
 




jaghebby

Active member
Mar 18, 2013
300
My family got me this for my 60th and was due to fly on the 24th May but the good old British weather intervened (it pissed down all day bloody typical!) and it has had to be rescheduled and is not until September now. That was the earliest they could do as they were booked solid until then, so my advice would be to get it booked asap! I am doing it with Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood. I am looking forward to some aerobatics and having a go myself (I am a lapsed PPL!) it will be a dream come true. However, in the blurb they send you there is apparently a 1 in 300,000 chance of death!
 


clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
My family got me this for my 60th and was due to fly on the 24th May but the good old British weather intervened (it pissed down all day bloody typical!) and it has had to be rescheduled and is not until September now. That was the earliest they could do as they were booked solid until then, so my advice would be to get it booked asap! I am doing it with Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood. I am looking forward to some aerobatics and having a go myself (I am a lapsed PPL!) it will be a dream come true. However, in the blurb they send you there is apparently a 1 in 300,000 chance of death!

But just think how proud your family will be when they can truthfully recount how you went down in a Spitfire. :D. Win-Win. Enjoy your flight :)
 


Sussexscots

Fed up with trains. Sick of the rain.
I usually won't get on any plane you can't get a drinks trolley down the aisle, but jealous of this.

Have a great day.
 




Cheshire Cat

The most curious thing..
Tally-ho. Bandits at 12 o'clock. Angels one five....
 


Frutos

.
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patreon
May 3, 2006
35,493
Northumberland
Very jealous.

No advice other than to enjoy it. [emoji106]
 


BlockDpete

Well-known member
Oct 8, 2005
1,143
“I always get a kick seeing a Spit in the air”

Just enjoy it, though it may be a little different than EasyJet from Gatwick.

Come back and tell us how that Merlin engine sounds from inside the plane.
 








dadams2k11

ID10T Error
Jun 24, 2011
4,943
Brighton
Gulp. If I had that money to blow I think would get my Mrs a breast enlargement*. I would get much more pleasure over a longer period of time.

*Not that she needs one, just my own personal agenda.
 




Grizz

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
1,247
I did it 2 years ago at Biggin Hill and even now looking back on the POV video you're given at the end I still get goosebumps.

A 30 min flight was enough and I love flying, it's very bumpy up there even on a clear day, so if you haven't got the most robust of constitutions bare that in mind. The flight pretty much consists of 7 mins for take off, 16 mins pottling around the sky and doing some aerobatics, then 7 mins for lining up for landing. Depending on how you feel they usually give you the stick to fly it for a bit, but that's not guaranteed. I did and I was astonished at how light a touch is needed to fly her. Everything you've read about how she flies is 100% true and even then it can't do justice to the feeling of being up there in the blue flying the thoroughbred. It's impossible to describe the thrill unless you've done it. I loved absolutely every second of it, it was worth every penny and then some.

I flew at the beginning of August, blue skies, some high cloud. The cockpit gets hot! You'll only need a t-shirt underneath the flying suit. Take your sunnies if you wear them, it's bright up there. I would suggest a decent breakfast in the morning and then nothing but water or tea until you've done it. I did that and felt fine, one of the other chaps had lunch and vommed on landing.

Make sure you're comfortable before take off. The cockpit is cramped, so make sure the seat is adjusted for your legs, as you'll struggle to do anything once you're tightly strapped in.

If he says do you want to do some aerobatics just say yes! You'll do some G turns and then a victory roll. After that it's up to you how much more you do.

If he asks do you want him to talk you through all the technical things for take off and landing say yes. I dunno you're background, but I ain't got a clue about mechanics, but it was fascinating listening to everything he was doing.

Since you're going to do this. Think to when you were a kid and you heard that Merlin start up and accelerate for the first time. Now picture you being in the cockpit and enjoy the thrill of that noise, it actually sounds a little different in the cockpit. You are going to absolutely love it.

Take as many photos at the end as possible, you'll wish you took more hehehe.

God it was such a thrilling day. Good times!
 


Templeton Peck

Faceman
Jul 15, 2009
107
Brighton
My family got me this for my 60th and was due to fly on the 24th May but the good old British weather intervened (it pissed down all day bloody typical!) and it has had to be rescheduled and is not until September now. That was the earliest they could do as they were booked solid until then, so my advice would be to get it booked asap! I am doing it with Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood. I am looking forward to some aerobatics and having a go myself (I am a lapsed PPL!) it will be a dream come true. However, in the blurb they send you there is apparently a 1 in 300,000 chance of death!

My dad flew with the same company. Loved every minute of it.
 


Invicta

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Nov 1, 2013
3,195
Kent
Enjoy. Something I'd love to do. Flying in a Spitfire the ultimate. I did a Harvard flight a few years back which was amazing !
 










Barham's tash

Well-known member
Jun 8, 2013
3,612
Rayners Lane
http://www.boultbeeflightacademy.co.uk

Speaking of which, just waiting for the flypast to go over our allotment :salute:

Was playing golf in Northolt this morning/afternoon and the whole fly past went over at about a thousand feet EXCEPT the BOB contingent - brilliant but frustrating in equal measure.

Amazed at how quiet the A400M was for a turboprop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 






Charlies Shinpad

New member
Jul 5, 2003
4,415
Oakford in Devon
I’m going up in one in August as my belated 60th Birthday present
Can’t bloody wait
Done time in Submarines so this will be the complete opposite and a boyhood dream come true at last
 



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