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Bucket List? - Oh Yes !

BroadAmbition

By BroadAmbition
in The Broadscot Lounge

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BroadAmbition
BroadAmbition

Friday 29th Oct 2021 What a day, what a day to enjoy and remember forever The warbirds secretary had rang me twice Friday forenoon concerned about the Wx forecast, basically giving me the op

BroadAmbition
BroadAmbition

Tomorrow will be the 15th May.  That means exactly four months to the Battle of Britain day on Sept 15th It also means only four months until I'm airborne in a Spitfire. Balance now fully pa

BroadAmbition
BroadAmbition

Emotional.    Now being chauffeured home Awesome experience. I got to fly her too. Fingertip feather control, you can almost think her into a turn The last flight of the year, the sun

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BroadAmbition

BroadAmbition

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Friday 29th Oct 2021

What a day, what a day to enjoy and remember forever

The warbirds secretary had rang me twice Friday forenoon concerned about the Wx forecast, basically giving me the option of cancelling to May 2022 or coming down and risking that we could fly.  It was my choice.  I had quite a few friends and family planning to attend so they had to be considered.  Seeing as we all had organised oursens for the day off etc, I decided to go for it and informed my entourage of the situation and left the it to them.  Everyone had the same thoughts that we come on down, surely we couldn't be that unlucky twice?

Having stopped at Leicester Forest service station - part of my brief was that blood sugar levels had to be kept up so I must have eaten prior to the flight we arrived on site at 1520 with everyone else already there (I can sometimes make a suitable entrance).  The staff informed us that they were running behind due to the previous high crosswinds and rain but we were good to go and ours would be the last flight of the day / season.  We had just got settled into the Pilots bar when we were informed that Richard Grace (Owner of the Spitfire Grace and Warbirds)  was ready for us.  He had promised us a tour of the workshop and storage hangers as a result of our previous botched September visit.  These tours are not normally offered due to H&S, insurance limitations not to mention the blasted Covid effect.

Well, was I / we glad we got the tour or what?  I could have spent a whole week in those two hangers marvelling at the aircraft being restored / serviced and stored.  Richards knowledge / enthusiasm and simply put undying love for these historic aircraft is truly astonishing, no huge surprise really considering his own history.  We commenced in a small reception area in the workshop hanger with a glass bulkhead allowing us sight into the hanger itself, mechanics were beavering away on a Hurricane. The hanger was rammed full and very busy.  On tressle frames right next to us were two immaculate Merlin engines, one rated at 1600hp, the second one being a Merlin Griffon at 2000hp - Wow.  He told us that Merlin engines are fairly cheap nowadays, the 1600hp - £250'000, the Griffon about £600'000 - Sounds cheap enough to me !  He pointed out which airdraft they would be eventually installed in.  Photo's, we could take as many as we liked but not to post them on social media as some of the aircraft were privately owned - Fair enough, Oh there was a fully airworthy spitfire for sale, with the deal nearly completed - £4:5 million, I daren't ask if that included vat!

Then it was time to go into the hanger proper, I was most concerned about our young ones so instructed, no, make that Ordered all parents to keep a very tight reign on them.  I just couldn't keep up the the torrent of information flowing from Richard as we walked round, he kept pointing out parts of aircraft in various stages of restoration or being made new from scratch, the skill and attention to detail was truly phenomenal.  in what seemed like the blink of an eye (It was far longer of course) we were ushered outside and into the next hanger - There was more? - There certainly was.  Sea Fury, Spitfires, Tempest, P51's a very rare one off Spitfire the only one of its kind in the world, another one that is recorded as the most original flying Spitfire worldwide etc etc.  Richard explained he was flying in a Tiger Moth at 12 weeks old with his Mum / Dad.  That Tiger Moth (Airworthy of course) was right here.  He gained his Spitfire pilots license at just twenty three years old, arguably the youngest ever age outside of the RAF and post WW2, he also said if he had been in the air battle and survived at aged twenty three years old he would have been retired from operational flying and be flying a desk - True

We were then introduced to a genuine war hero.   A surviving combat Spitfire, fully airworthy with 6:5 kills confirmed. We had plenty of photo's with her.  The children we had with us were agog, so were we adults.  I said to Richard -

So, I am resting my hand on a genuine war hero that brought down enemy aircraft then?

The reply came back:-

Indeed you are. But, there is another - one more Spitfire that is currently in airworthy condition that has even more kills confirmed, she is recorded as having shot down the first enemy aircraft on the day of the D-Day landings. Of all the Spitfires left today in airworthy condition around the world that particular Spitfire has recorded more kills / sorties / operational hours than any other in existence. That Spitfires name is 'Grace' and you, Charlie Griffin will be flying in her very shortly

Now that really does take ones breath away, stunned or what?  That statement really hit home, just about speechless, what a privilege.

All to soon we were back to the hotel lounge, I was called forward on my todd to the briefing room for fitting of flying overalls / gloves / helmet, toilet visit and final briefing

We were good to go!

Griff 

 

 

  

 

 

 

BA NBN 1066.jpg

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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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8 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

Charlie Griffin_T2.mp4 (dropbox.com) 

Griff

 

8 hours ago, BrundallNavy said:

That’s telling me it’s a subscription site @ £7.99 per month can you upload them to Flickr. 

Or how about to the forum?

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Bikertov

Bikertov

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35 minutes ago, BrundallNavy said:

How did you get the full video it stops for me after just 14 minutes. 

 

29 minutes ago, grendel said:

yes, I just got 15 minutes worth too.

That is just the preview, you have to select the option to download it. The full video is about 46 minutes, and every minute is superb !

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grendel

grendel

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oh wow, just finished watching the whole thing, just one question Charlie, have you stopped grinning yet?

I dont think I will ever get to do that, I saw how tight the cockpit was with charlie in it, i just dont think I would fit, and if i did, i think i wouldnt be able to get out after.

another question that occurs, you said the controls were sensitive, did you find that your experience riding motorbikes helped with that at all?

but overall - just wow, chuffed to bits you had such fun

 

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DAVIDH

DAVIDH

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Wow, what an experience. The impression it left me with was how "nippy" the aircraft is. You get used to seeing airliners slowly limbering up for a take off. I get that the Spitfire had to be highly maneuverable, but it was a surprise to see it so agile.  

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