RTW in a Spitfire Mk IX (solo, yes really)

[ian16th]

Spitfire pilot, Ian Smith, is ex-Red Arrows.

I was under the impression that Ian Smith flew Hurricanes!

[CharlieOneSix]

Spitfire pilot, Ian Smith, is ex-Red Arrows.

I was under the impression that Ian Smith flew Hurricanes!

Quite correct, and he was shot down in a Spitfire in Italy in June 1944, evading capture until he met up with American forces that November. Enroute he took part in sabotage operations with Italian partisans for three of those months. He didn't have a quiet war!

[ian16th]

Met him once, at a Rhodie event near Lanseria Airport!

An amazing speaker.

[Boac]

Not wishing to spoil Ian's joke, but for those who are interested, Flt Lt I Smith, flew No 8 in 1997, 4 in 1998 and 8 in 1999 and was not involved in Rhodesian affairs (as far as I know).

[ian16th]

With a name as common as Smith, this sort of thing will happen.

It's having the 'Ian' as a forename makes them stand out

[CharlieOneSix]

[Boac]

Correction to #64 typo:

Flt Lt I Smith, flew No 2 in 1997, 4 in 1998 and 8 in 1999

in between sorting out independence for Rhodesia...

Nice video, C16.

[CharlieOneSix]

Looking at the tracker the Spitfire did the tourist route today past Long Island and circled the Statue of Liberty a couple of times before landing in New York for the night. Quite a high circle though at 1600ft. When I did it in '82 we were restricted to not above 300ft - which was both great fun and unforgettable - before a night stop at Teterboro.

[CharlieOneSix]

Airborne from Beaver County at 1418z - sounds a good place for a nightstop(!) - and it looks as though the schedule has been ripped up. Not sure where they are headed but it's nowhere near the planned Huntingdon or Oskaloosa. The track is headed directly towards Memphis or with a slight track adjustment to Nashville which is closer......or maybe Jackson Tennessee...


EDIT: All guesses wrong - landed at 1619Z at Bowling Green - Warren County Regional Airport, Kentucky.

[Stoneboat]

Airborne from Beaver County at 1418z - sounds a good place for a nightstop!

Nice little airport, I've been there a few times. Not much else except the Beaver Valley Mall, about 15 minutes away. They used to have a P2 Neptune on display, and I once spent an afternoon climbing all over Nine-O-Nine, a B-17 that was awaiting repairs after running off the runway.

[Tall Bird]

before a night stop at Teterboro ...

Whenever Teterboro is mentioned I think of this song, which was written by Canadian Oscar Brand. Brand wrote other aviation songs in addition to satirical ones. Teterboro Tower was played regularly on Canadian radio right into the 70s. Maybe it still is played somewhere.


'In the mid 1950’s, Arthur Godfrey was preparing to take off from Teterboro Airport in his private DC-3. He requested a take off on a runway, which was into the wind. The tower refused his request and instructed him to use a runway, which had a sizeable crosswind. He complied, but he buzzed the tower, almost running into it. The tower personnel dove for cover and reported him. After a long hassle, Godfrey had his license suspended for six months.'

[Stoneboat]

^^^^

I have several of Brand's albums in the Bawdy Songs And Backroom Ballads series. A good ol' boy from the 'Peg.

Brother Bill was first to notice and he hollered to her, "Turn!!"
But before those words were uttered she was split from stem to stern.

Oh we tore that dude to pieces, he was dead within the hour,
And we left his curse-ed member for the coyotes to devour.

Those two boys didn't fool around.

[CharlieOneSix]

Haven't hear that Teterboro Tower ditty for many a long year!

I see the Silver Spitfire folk have ripped up their itinerary on their tracker page. It says from Comanche Ranch TX to Nellis AFB today. Surely they can't do that in one hop....

[TheGreenGoblin]

Great thread.

[Undried Plum]

I'm surprised to see the canopy closed, ie in the forward position. I thought it was SOP to slide it aft for takeoff and landing as a precaution against it getting jammed closed if the rails are damaged in case of accident.

[CharlieOneSix]

The Spitfire left El Paso 20 minutes ago on the second leg today and is on track for Nellis Air Force Base. 41C there at the moment!

[Undried Plum]

The last time an RAF fighter, flown by an RAF pilot, shot down an enemy fighter was a Spitfire on Spitfire engagement over the Sinai in 1947.

[TheGreenGoblin]

The last time an RAF fighter, flown by an RAF pilot, shot down an enemy fighter was a Spitfire on Spitfire engagement over the Sinai in 1947.

It could so easily have been a Spitfire against what effectively was an Israeli flown, Czech built, Messerschmitt BF109G-6 marketed as the Avia S-199. The Avia was known as the knife or messer, the word for knife being the same in both Yiddish and German. The wily British continued to sell aircraft to both the Egyptians and the Israelis well after the Sinai war, as test pilot Bill Waterton highlighted in his classic autobiography 'The Quick and the Dead'.

[CharlieOneSix]

Week Three Update

[Stoneboat]

They're overnighting in Whitehorse, YK, tonight. Some friends of mine have a small company in YXY, they'll be staying in their hangar.