You are straggling at the rear of the formation, heading slowly home, clawing your way through the sky in your Spitfire, the edge of the channel barely in sight, imagines Barnaby Dracup. The last of the Messerschmitts are still out there, harrying the survivors of your bomber wing with what ammunition they have left. Your fuselage is shot up, your men are injured, a fuel line’s been damaged somewhere, and the starboard engine is beginning to splutter. You cannot maintain full speed. You are a sitting duck.
Then, from the corner of your eye, you spot a sleek, dark shape swooping down through the clouds and falling on the Messerschmitts like a raptor among a flock.
Imagination aside, to experience the exhilaration and thrill of being airborne alongside what is perhaps the most iconic of British vehicles is second to none. The wing-to-wing Spitfire experience is offered by air operators Classic Wings
, who, in their 25th anniversary year, deliver a wide range of vintage aircraft flying options for pilot’s licence holders and ‘civilians’ alike. Customers can choose from simple city tours by air to a pilot training scheme whereby existing pilots can take the controls of a Spitfire for themselves.
Classic Wings’ offerings include sightseeing flights in the de Havilland Dragon Rapide and training flights in their range of Tiger Moths and other vintage aircraft. They have refurbished and repainted their fleet of Rapides and Tigers to reflect their RAF history and restored them to their original military colours and registrations.
Initially based at Clacton Airfield in Essex, Classic Wings has been operating from the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, since 1990, when they purchased their first 1930s-era de Havilland Dragon Rapide, a classic British biplane airliner used throughout WWII. The graceful Art-Deco lines of the Rapide can hold up to eight passengers, and it was in one of the sets that I was to fly for the Spitfire wing-to-wing experience.
Before clambering into the Rapide, the other passengers and I were weighed so that we could be seated according to mass, helping the aircraft balance once up in the air. This was a subtle reminder of the age and simplicity of the aircraft in which we were to go airborne, feelings that were reinforced after we shoehorned ourselves into the tiny bucket seats. Were people that much smaller 80 years ago? Maybe we are just better fed these days. At least, that is what I told myself.
Once settled, the pilot climbed into the Rapide’s single seat, centrally-aligned cockpit, and the ground crew helped fire up the engines. A cough and a splutter, and then they were drumming away, the powerful vibrations transmitting down the wing and into the frame of the aircraft and the seats. Chocks away, and we began to taxi forwards.
Moments later, throttles opened, we bounced into the air, and underwent the start of our exciting climb. Interestingly the whole experience, for me, was more than a little reminiscent of driving my old Morris Minor 1000. Totally different to modern commercial air flight, one felt wholly connected to the experience – every jolt, bounce and rattle of the ‘road’ ahead – and really fun because of it!
And then, to see the Spitfire gaining on you, rising from out of the green fields below, swooping past, up, over and around, until finally manoeuvring alongside, is truly breathtaking. To watch it flow through a series of graceful moves from this unique vantage point is mesmerising, and one can only imagine the hearts of our boys lifting when this angel of the air came into view.
Over the years, Classic Wings has expanded the duration and experience of the flights it offers, regularly flying over London, Cambridge and other great landmarks, taking modern passengers back to the halcyon days of the first passenger flights, when, in 1934, the first Dragon Rapides began flying passengers around the UK.
However, it was not until 2012 that Classic Wings made a move to start their wing-to-wing flights, taking passengers into the skies in their Rapides to fly in extremely close formation with a Spitfire. Then, in 2014, a change in Civil Aviation regulations made it possible for them to offer passenger flights in warbirds. Since April this year, they have been taking passengers up in a two-seater Spitfire – the ultimate dream of many aviation enthusiasts. It is also a double celebration that this occurred in their 25th anniversary year of operations.
Mr Goldspink is a third-generation aviator, having learnt to fly in New Zealand just before his eighteenth birthday. When he is not flying Spitfires, his day job is as a captain with Thomson Airways, flying Boeing 767s and 757s worldwide.
“I did my first flying while in New Zealand, and, after having leant to fly abroad, I decided that I wanted to make flying my full-time career,” says Mr Goldspink. “When I got back to the UK, I started by towing gliders in order to build up the experience hours required to gain a commercial licence.”
After this, he worked as a crop-spraying pilot and even began building his first aeroplane, a Pitts Special, in which he went on to display and compete in various aerobatic competitions, including many at Duxford.
From this, he progressed to WW1 and then WW2 fighter aircraft and was invited to fly for Europe’s finest collection of vintage aircraft, The Fighter Collection, at various aerobatic displays around the country.
Although having flown all his life, you might think that Mr Goldspink would have become quite jaded, but not when it comes to the Spitfire. “This is a mark nine Spitfire, and I never, ever, thought I’d actually get to fly in one,” says Mr Goldspink, beaming. “And the best part is, every time I’m up in her, she’s mine for the day!”
De Havilland DH89 Dragon Rapide image by Tony Hisgett is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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