Mike (#11633),
Yes, it is true that this, "our" Thread, and IMHO the Prince of All Threads in the Forum, has its somnolent periods - but that holds true for the aged in general ! So far, it has always awakened refreshed after its "naps", and long may this continue.
Looked up the Goodwood Spitfires, seems they are all the Mk.IX (T)s: never having flown in one (and no desire to), can't help feeling that a lot of the Spitfire handling must have been lost with the added weight and aft movement of the CoG caused by the second cockpit (yes, I know the front has been moved forward 19 [?] in to compensate, but even so .... and what have they done with the fuel tanks ?)
So, even if it were physically possible (which it ain't), would not pay an arm + leg to the operators for a ride in a thing which looks like a Spitfire, but doesn't feel like one. But the "Merlin Song" will be as sweet as ever. As an engineer, you'll know that the "snarl" comes from the shock waves of the supersonic gases from the open exhausts.
Some six years ago I wrote this paean of praise here (in 1942 I finished my OTU on Mks I and II at Hawarden):
..."My three summer months with the Spitfires came to an end. I count myself lucky to have had the chance to fly them, and even more to have flown the earliest (and therefore lightest) Marks of that incomparable aircraft. They were not as fast, or could not fly so high, or were not so heavily armed as later Marks, but they were nicer. The "Spit" was simply the most enjoyable aircraft to fly of all time. In memory I liken it to riding (or rather freewheeling) a bike in three dimensions. You just had to think about going round a corner, and round you went!
In later years I would put in around 140 hours on the Mk XVI (which was basically a Mk IX with the US "Packard" Merlin, and no worse for that), and another dozen on the Mks XIV and XXII. These last two I disliked, but no doubt, with more time, I may have learned to love. The Spitfire remained in Squadron service at least till 1951. But:-"They never could recapture / That first fine careless rapture"...
'Fraid my helmet (old style leather), handed in at Weston Zoyland 1954, is no more - but my "Bates" Cap SD still hangs around the house - the womenfolk haven't the heart to chuck it out!
All the Compliments of the Season to you and yours,
Danny.