1000 hrs on Spits

[GeeRam]

Can't be many that have achieved this I would have thought...and still a serving pilot.

Flying Ace Celebrates Career Milestone with Spitfire Ale | Shepherd Neame (http://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/blog/flying-ace-celebrates-career-milestone-spitfire-ale)

Didn't Paul Day pass 1000hrs on Spits before retiring from BBMF....?

[Chris1012]

Well, he certainly has the 'tache for it...

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Paul Day; confirmed - I believe The Major had 2,000 hrs Hunters, 3,000 hrs Phantom, 1,000 hrs Tornado F3 as well as 1,000 hrs on Spits. Those totals may be underestimates.

[Lima Juliet]

Yup, 'Major' Day has more than 1,000hrs spits - he passed that milestone over 10 years ago and he's flown a lot more since!

LJ

[ProSentia]

Charlie Brown: a true gentleman and superb aviator. We'll done, Charlie!

[500N]

Would he be the only current Spit pilot with 1000 hours ?

[Lima Juliet]

And then there is Bill Greenwood in the USA who has over 1000 hours flying his spitfire.

If you want the last fighter pilot to have 1000 hours spits, then it is definately Paul 'Major' Day. Plus Mark and Ray Hanna must have been in and around the 1000hr club before their untimely passing.

If you want the last spitfire ace, then you'd probably have to look at 'Butch' Aikman RCAF.

[Lima Juliet]

500N

Would he be the only current Spit pilot with 1000 hours ?

Define 'current' - Paul Day delivered MJ627 to Duxford about 3 months ago. The aircraft was sold by the deceased owner's estate and so Paul no longer has one to fly. I would suggest that he is still 'current' for now! :ok:

LJ

[500N]

Thanks.

I forgot about the US aircraft.

[Lima Juliet]

How could I? I missed out Johnnie Johnson who had over 1400hrs Spits and 38 confirmed victories by the end of WWII. Now that IS an achievement! :ok:

Here is Johnnie's final entry...

http://local-history.org.uk/waltham/pix/johnson-log-5-650.jpg

[NutLoose]

I cannot get my head around this hour counting, fair enough for missions etc, but for simply flying? That baffles me

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Well, on fighters, it's rarely "simply flying".
500 ways to kill yourself every minute. Or not, with a lot of work and not a small amount of luck.

[Hummingfrog]

Well done Charlie

A real gentleman to fly with. I will never forget flying out of Humberside to the rigs when radar informed me that I had an unidentified contact in my 2 O'clock. I couldn't believe my eyes when I identified the contact as a Spitfire. (flown by you):ok:

HF

[AGS Man]

I would hazard a guess that Alex Henshaw holds the record for hours on Spitfires.

[Buster Hyman]

"....Berlin nicely aflame"

I wonder if you could say that now in this PC age we live in?

[Hempy]

I read somewhere once that in WW2 the pilots who gathered the most time on the fighter types were ferry pilots. One female pilot in the States logged over 3000 hours on all types.

[Exascot]

I cannot get my head around this hour counting, fair enough for missions etc, but for simply flying? That baffles me

I agree but we are talking real flying here not sleeping in a bunk whilst a senior 1st officer sits in your seat on autopilot. All my logged hours were at least in the seat apart from popping down the back to chat to SLF or the girlies :E

[Onceapilot]

Well done Charlie! A considerable milestone you have achieved through skill, courage and hard work! Happy landings!:D

OAP

[Arclite01]

Why is Charlie not a BBMF pilot - any reason ??

Arc

[Dysonsphere]

I cannot get my head around this hour counting, fair enough for missions etc, but for simply flying? That baffles me

If nothing else its a legal requirment for ANY pilot to track their flying hours, so much so you allow for taxi time as well. and as was pointed out there are many ways to mess up even in a PA28 so unless you have done it don't querry it.

[Corporal Clott]

Arc

Probably because 'Strangely' Brown is a bit...well strange (around me, in my experience, anyway!).

And he's not a FJ pilot that all BBMF pilots have to be before they even apply.

Clott

[Al R]

Flt Lt Brown, 53, said: “.. not only because of the joy of actually flying the plane, but the pleasure I receive from seeing the happiness it brings to others watching it.”

Nice, that's what it's about. I heard a Merlin burbling and growling over the other week, as did a few others in the village.. we were all meandering and nattering by the shop. We stopped what we were doing, shielded our eyes against the sun and followed the little fighter until the sight and sound had gone and we were left feeling quiet, reflective and insignificant.

Congrats, Flt Lt Brown.

[Ivor Fynn]

Charlie,

only flown together once, it was a pleasure.

Congratulations

Ivor

[CoffmanStarter]

Start saving if you want 1000 Hrs on a Spit :ok:

Noticed this today ... out of Headcorn Kent from 1st July 2014 ...

Aero Legends UK (http://aerolegends.co.uk)

Messes Pinner, Mason and Parkinson would appear to be the Staff Pilots.

[GeeRam]

I would hazard a guess that Alex Henshaw holds the record for hours on Spitfires.

I would hazard a guess that Jeffery Quill might hold the Spitfire hours record, given that he was assistant TP to Mutt Summers at the time of the first flight of the Spitfire and flew the prototype for the first time just 3 weeks after Summers had made the first flight - and was still flying Vickers own Spitfire V AB910 right up until it was donated to the BBMF in the mid-1960's.

[Onceapilot]

Just to correct, Charlie is an ex fast-jet pilot Cpl Clott. BBMF pilots come from a different path that Charlie did not follow (bless his cotton socks, hope you don't mind me saying old fruit?).:ok:

OAP

[Tashengurt]

Not besmirching the gent at all (god knows he's done things I could only dream of) but how normal is it to see out such a long flying career as a Flt Lt?
I'm aware of a chap who was on Tremblers when I was back in the mid '90's who still I believe, flies Typhoons (and Spits!) but I can't recall this being the norm in any way?

[Wensleydale]

"but how normal is it to see out such a long flying career as a Flt Lt?"

Very normal since PAS replaced Spec Aircrew...the "honorary SA scraper" has long gone.

[Corporal Clott]

OAP

I forgot about his short dalliance with the Fin for a tour before hanging about in training command for 30 years.

Apologies...

CPL Clott

[Tashengurt]

Very normal since PAS replaced Spec Aircrew

Oh go on.. Gis a clue?! :confused:

[GeeRam]

Why is Charlie not a BBMF pilot - any reason ??

While not BBMF, CB was one of the small group of service pilots selected to fly the MOD’s Me109G ‘Black 6’ after it had been restored by Russ Snadden’s team, and CB in fact flew more than 50% of the hrs flown by the 109 post it's restoration (and should have been flying it on it’s last flight :rolleyes:)

As a result of that 109 time, back in 1999, CB flew out to California to perform the initial test flight program on the freshly restored BoB veteran Me109E that had once been flown by famous Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille.

[ShotOne]

I wonder how many of the pilots who flew Spitfires in combat ever got close to 1000 hours? Not many I suspect.

[Bert Angel]

Tashengurt: PAS stands for 'Professional Aviator Spine' - they are aircrew who wish to fly & not follow the career path (as they see it), the RAF's definition is something like ' JOs who narrowly missed promotion but who remain in a flying post whilst they sort out their scores by running Summer Balls & the pony club etc' or some such.


So not unusual to have relatively elderly Flt Lts sitting in aeroplanes while much younger (but keen & thrusting) Sqn Ldrs sit behind what used to be called 'mahogany bombers' before the RAF procured those nasty veneered chipboard things.

[Tashengurt]

Thanks Bert. Seems reasonable. I can think of worse careers than flying fast jets.


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[Stitchbitch]

Well done Charlie, it was always nice to see you at BBMF when you took the baby fighter pilots out in the Harvard, and when you were trapping at Boscombe Down a little later. :E

Heres to the next 1000+ :ok:

[Ginandtonic]

I was privileged to have flown on Charlie's 10,000th flying hour sortie and his last (for now) Tucano sortie. Memorable. Well done on your 1000hrs (and 5 mins!!) on Spitfire Charlie.

[NutLoose]

So not unusual to have relatively elderly Flt Lts sitting in aeroplanes while much younger (but keen & thrusting) Sqn Ldrs sit behind what used to be called 'mahogany bombers' before the RAF procured those nasty veneered chipboard things.

I often thought it was a waste of resources sticking folks on a ground tour, I realise it was to give a more rounded person, but it still seemed a waste of resources.