Frequent Spitfire traffic?

[CAPP0]

I live in Kent, near J4 of the M20. For some weeks now a plane which looks and sounds like a Spit has been overflying several times a week. Seems to be broadly on a SE heading. I don't always get to see it that closely but I believe it has black & white stripes under the wings. Friend of mine who lives nearby and works permanent nights says it sometimes wakes him up - so, I don't think it's one of those 3/4 scale replicas, unless they are fitting those with Merlins?

It's certainly fast when he gasses it. I did point FR24 at it the other day (although it had long passed by the time I tried that) and it just said "Stapleford Flying Club" but there is nothing obvious on their website about running a Spit.

I imagine it must be hugely expensive to run one of these (any figures?) several times a week, I'm just curious as to what might be the reason? Perhaps it's those Spitfire experience flights, but there must be a big take-up if so!

[Eric Mc]

Sounds like a real one to me. They are now being flown commercially by a small number of operators and I would expect the white cliffs will be a favourite place to take their customers.

[Boatbuoy]

My guess would be that it's the Biggin Hill based 2 seater taking pleasure flyers up. http://www.intotheblue.co.uk/mobile/flying-experie...

I work just outside Chichester and the two Baultbee Spitfires that operate pleasure flights out of Goodwood can be heard most days, and normally several times in a day. With that kind of uptake I'm not surprised you see/hear one so regularly.

Olly

[Hooli]

CAPP0 said:

I imagine it must be hugely expensive to run one of these (any figures?)

I've seen £5k an hour quoted when you include maintenance etc.

[CAPP0]

Thanks all. I don't know whether they would focus on it but I'm near King's Hill which was a WW2 air base, although it's now a rather americanised toy town "mixed use community", in other words homes and office blocks. The listed control tower remains, but it would not be easy to pick out from above as it's surrounded by new builds now, and in any case you might not like to see that most of it has become a Costa!

£5k ph makes the £2.5k flights sound like a bargain!

[Boatbuoy]

If I was in a Spitfire I wouldn't give a toss about where I was flying over, I'd be soaking up the overall experience. I imagine it's more likely to be a suitable location in a fairly busy corner of the country.

As for costs, the Goodwood experience is £2700+ for a 30min sortie, of which 20mins is in the air. So it's about on par for £5k ph.

[5pen]

I was playing cricket at Detling (J7 of the M20 I think) a few years back (c.2008) and we were treated to frequent fly pasts of a Spitfire for around an hour.

One of the opposition players told me that it belonged to a local chap who flies it regularly. King's Hill to Detling is heading SE - maybe he was going home!?

[CAPP0]

5pen said:

I was playing cricket at Detling (J7 of the M20 I think) a few years back (c.2008) and we were treated to frequent fly pasts of a Spitfire for around an hour.

One of the opposition players told me that it belonged to a local chap who flies it regularly. King's Hill to Detling is heading SE - maybe he was going home!?

Tis entirey possible - given the frequency of the flights and the fact that it almost always travels in the same direction, I did wonder something like this. I assumed of course that it would in fact be a PHer at the controls!

[mad4amanda]

it runs out of headcorn aerodrome now might go and see if it is there tomorrow!