Legal Spitfire Passenger Flights

[Extra76]

It looks like the CAA have approved the Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood for the carriage of passengers in their Spitfires under the new SSAC criteria. Lots more info on the Boultbee website. Bread and water for a few weeks then :ok:

[Contact Approach]

The price is absolutely absurd!

[Basil]

Supply & demand, I guess.
Shall I do a frozen ATPL or get myself Spit qualified? Hmm ;)

[JanetFlight]

"the carriage of passengers"

Will they apply for an AOC..?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

One day intro course - £5500+VAT! Nice work if you can get it.

[Hotel Tango]

Hmm, much as I would relish the experience, definitely beyond my budget :(

[Extra76]

Looks like £2450 to me. £5500 is the full Intro Course thing. Doesn't seem too bad considering the cost of running those things.

[Tankertrashnav]

Bread and water for a few weeks then

I seem to recall that the upper weight limit for the passenger is 180 lbs. So in my case it would be water only - and for more than a few weeks :(

[CharlieOneSix]

Not so it seems, but still a bit too low for me:{

WEIGHT LIMITS: 100kg (220lbs). (To fly aerobatics you must be less than 90kg (200lbs))

[Downwind Lander]

CharlieOneSix says:
"To fly aerobatics you must be less than 90kg (200lbs) "

Is this a/c restored to full operational standard? I doubt it. Surely, ammunition and fuel would have taken the all up weight well over this limit. It must be fragile. When I have five grand to blow, I will be passing on the aeros.

[Thud105]

I very much doubt its even remotely 'fragile'. More likely a CG issue - too much weight too far back = poor spin recovery characteristics.

[Wander00]

I have a friend, to whom I may never speak again, who is booked for the "long" course.

[Sleeve Wing]

Downwind Lander,

FYI, I watched this aircraft being rebuilt at Thruxton over a period of 7 years. When it was finished, it looked as if it had come straight out of the factory. In fact it was better than a factory-built machine as it had had one-to-one TLC from day 1 by proud and extremely well qualified engineers. For example, it took just on 2 weeks just to ream the holes in the main spar attachments to ensure the pins were a proper fit.

Additionally, I flew this aircraft 3 weeks ago.
Apart from the rest of the care and preparation the aircraft always get - there are two, the G limits are restricted to +3 and - 2 to preserve the airframe. These are as well as other self-imposed limits on engine rpm/boost and Vne.
Yes, DL, you pass on the aeros. It's your loss. The aircraft is a dream and flies beautifully.

[Dr Jekyll]

The problem with the passenger flights is you aren't allowed to use the controls, to do that you need to be on a training course that is far more expensive.

[Downwind Lander]

Sleeve Wing says:
"Yes, DL, you pass on the aeros. It's your loss. The aircraft is a dream and flies beautifully".


Maybe I should not be too hasty. No need to rush to judgment. Does the passenger sit in the front seat as per primary training? I had better remember to get a lottery ticket tonight.

[4Greens]

Is it possible to get a flight in a Spitfire at Duxford or is it just at Biggin Hill ? All that Duxford seems to advertise is going alongside one etc

[rightbank]

I'm not sure about Duxford but you can get one here

Most Thrilling 50-minute Spitfire Flights over the English Channel (http://www.boultbeeflightacademy.co.uk/)

if you don't mind travelling to Goodwood

[VictorGolf]

You certainly can fly in a Spitfire at Duxford. Contact Classic Wings and they will give you chapter and verse. They tend to fly on a Fri/Sat/Sun twice a month and they use the Biggin Hill Heritage Spitfire T9 MJ627. Enjoy!

[4Greens]

Thanks VG wil do.

[4Greens]

Just finished my Bucket list by flying in a 2 seat Spitfire at Duxford. It was a very professional operation but only lasts half an hour. Thoroughly recommended and you get to do a bit of straight and level with a few turns.

Go for it !

[Wander00]

I was at Duxford a few weeks ago and was amazed at the number of trips a couple of Tr9s were doing - a lot of people seem to have just shy of £3k to spend - on 30 minutes. Sadly I cannot, but good luck to those that can

[endevol]

You can also get a trip in a Spit out of Sywell as part of a 'Blades Day'. Did this myself 2 years back, fortunately it was a gift otherwise it wouldn't have happened. The trip in the Spit followed an incredible flight in an Extra 300 - formation & solo aerobatics, and in formation with the Spit. That was a very memorable day! I can heartily recommend a day with The Blades.

[India Four Two]

a lot of people seem to have just shy of £3k to spend

I had a Spitfire ride in NZ, four years ago. Significantly cheaper. For £3000, I could have bought a return ticket from the UK, paid for the Spitfire flight and still have some holiday spending money left over.

[4Greens]

Recently did a Spitfire flight from Duxford. Heaven for half an hour. Glad to report it was a very professional operation, highly recommended for the 'Bucket list'.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Good on yer... I should be so lucky!

[Wander00]

I can feel myself turning green...........

[Wageslave]

Nowt to do wi' luck lad, as Wander suggested it's all down to the green stuff. Bags of it!

[4Greens]

£3900 for 30 minutes.

[megan]

Gulp. Well, that's one thing crossed off the Xmas list.

[10 DME ARC]

Classic wings has it at £2995??

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

My wife and I did 1 hour in a Catalina in New Zealand for £30 each. Guess they have a good reason for the charges here.

[Octane]

NZ went decimal in 1967!

[4Greens]

10 DME arc. You are right about the cost. Too much excitement!

[greybeard]

I did one in the so called "Grace Spitfire" in 1992, Cost 800 Pounds.

Best fun ever.

:ok::cool:

[John Eacott]

Except the beautiful Merlin growl (from outside) sounds like a Fergi tractor in the cockpit ;)

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/7553-2/Spit+flypast+cockpit+view.JPG

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/7559-2/Spitfire+taxiing+.JPG

[BobbyHowie]

Had a flight in B-17G Aluminum Overcast for about £100 while working in Chicago a few years ago. Pity the CAA won't allow passengers on SallyB as that would help a great deal with upkeep.

[Isleofthanet]

A two seater Spitfire is flying through September from Exeter and living in Newton Abbot we have had aerial displays every day so far with three on Tuesday. One was with another Spitfire flying alongside, that Merlin is something else!

[Double Hydco]

After a BIG birthday and the generous contributions of my nearest and dearest, I find my self in the fortunate position to be able to book a flight in a Spit, and satisfy a long held ambition.

I'm just after any feedback from anyone who has flown with any of the Spitfire operators in the SE UK, with the good, the bad etc, etc. They all have wonderfully slick websites......

Thanks, DH

[PPRuNe Towers]

I've experience of the Bremont trips out of Goodwood.

Very professional and well run. The in-house photography is expensive but so difficult to say no to the dual camera video on board supplemented by stills from the ground.

Rob

[pulse1]

I visited Biggin Hill recently to look at their collection of Spitfires and sit in one but, unfortunately not to fly in one. Their 2 seat Spit was busy most of the day and it seemed a very relaxed and professional outfit. With a potential trip over Beachy Head on offer.

[vctenderness]

This probably answers a question I posed a while back. I have seen a Spifire fly over my house three times recently and, by air, I’m not far from Goodwood and also quite close to Beachy Head.

[Danny42C]

Did a wartime OTU on Mks. I and II (but never flew them operationally), postwar flew Mks XI, XIV, XVI, and XXII.

Never saw any need for a Spitfire trainer (thousands of wartime lads just jumped in and took it away with no trouble). But can see the value of a "Spitfire Experience", although the IX(T) cannot possibly mimic the handling characteristics of the "real thing", which is simply the nicest aircraft that ever flew.

[Wander00]

They were pretty busy at Duxford today - quite a few happy looking faces

[megan]

is simply the nicest aircraft that ever flew What Alex Henshaw had to say Danny I loved the Spitfire in all of her many versions. But I have to admit that the later marks, although they were faster than the earlier ones, were also much heavier and so did not handle so well. You did not have such positive control over them. One test of manoeuvrability was to throw her into a flick-roll and see how many times she rolled. With the Mark II or the Mark V one got two-and-a-half flick-rolls but the Mark IX was heavier and you got only one-and-a-half. With the later and still heavier versions, one got even less. The essence of aircraft design is compromise, and an improvement at one end of the performance envelope is rarely achieved without a deterioration somewhere else

[India Four Two]

Seven years ago I when I was flush with some discretionary cash, I splurged on some warbird flying in NZ. I had several flights in a Yak 42, a Stearman and a Vampire and one flight each in a Harvard, a Mustang and a Spitfire.

All the flights were memorable, but the Spitfire was without doubt, the best. Very expensive but worth every penny, for the memories and seeing other pilot's reactions when I mention I've got stick-time in a Spitfire.

I'm indulging in this reminiscence to mention that warbird rides in NZ are now on a more organized basis and to point out that a Spitfire ride is significantly cheaper than in the UK - about £2100. Anyone who has a reason to go to NZ and thinking of flying a Spitfire, I recommend doing it at Ardmore:

Warbird Adventure Rides - Flight Experiences (http://www.warbird.co.nz/flight-experience.html)