Two British aviators take off Monday on a first-ever attempt to fly a Spitfire around the world, proclaiming the iconic fighter plane as a symbol of freedom.
The restored plane fought in World War II but has been de-militarised, stripped of its guns and paintwork to reveal the shining, silvery metal underneath.
The official record will note that this aircraft is MJ 271, veteran of more than 50 missions over enemy territory in the last two years of World War II.
Pilot Steve Brooks said: ‘It’s the most majestic machine. We’re hoping to reacquaint people with the beauty and the aesthetic of the Spitfire.’
The 76-year-old plane took off from Goodwood Aerodrome at around 1.30pm today for a four-month, 27,000 miles (43,500km) adventure westwards around the globe.
The magnificent 76-year-old WWII plane has been stripped of its camouflage and squadron markings and polished to a shine
The gleaming Silver Spitfire took to the skies over Sussex this afternoon accompanied by contemporaries. Of around 20,000 built, fewer than 250 survive, and only 50 or so are still airworthy
Taking turns, Brooks, 58, and Matt Jones, 45, who run a flight academy, will pilot the Silver Spitfire to around 30 countries and soar over some of the world’s most cherished landmarks.
Agile, short-range interceptors, Spitfires were crucial in the 1940 Battle of Britain as the UK fought off the threat of an invasion by Nazi Germany.
A design classic with elliptical wings, the outline of a Spitfire is instantly recognisable.
‘The Spitfire stands for freedom of humanity,’ Brooks said.
At Goodwood Aerodrome at 1.30pm today, British pilots Steve Brooks, 58, and Matt Jones, 45, began their epic voyage
TAKEOFF: The ‘Silver Spitfire’, which has been lovingly restored to airworthiness after decades in a museum, takes to the sky
The pair will share the flying as they touch down at more than 100 locations in 30 countries during their five month journey
The Silver Spitfire, as G-IRTY is now known, will hope to travel 27,000 miles, including a 500-mile hop from Hong Kong to Vietman – despite having only been built as a short-range interceptor designed for 300-miles sorties, 76 years ago
Of around 20,000 built, fewer than 250 survive, with only 50 or so of those still airworthy. They rarely fly and are mostly based in Britain.
The mission hopes to honour those who designed, built, and flew the Spitfire and inspire those who see it to cherish their freedoms.
Steve Brooks, 58, from Burford, Oxfordshire, and Matt Jones, 45, from Exeter, Devon, will stop off at 100 locations in 30 countries during the five-month journey.
The project, named Silver Spitfire – The Longest Flight, set off from Goodwood aerodrome, the base of Boultbee Flight Academy, the first-ever school for Spitfire pilots, in West Sussex.
This live tracker map shows the progress of the Silver Spitfire:
Silver Spitfire pilots Matt Jones (right) and Steve Boultbee Brooks are trying to fly their newly restored Mk IX Spitfire around the world in the first circumnavigation of the globe by a spitfire plane
Steve already holds an aviation record as the first person to fly a helicopter from pole to pole and has no qualms about crossing oceans in a plane that has hardly changed since the day it shot up a Junkers W 34 over Holland
Steve Brooks walks down over the wing of the Silver Spitfire as he undertakes final pre-flight checks this morning
A glitzy event was held for the departure attended by celebrities including Gone Girl actor Rosamund Pike (far right), Rocketman star Taron Egerton (grey suit) and Formula One driver David Coulthard (second left)
The same Spitfire Mark IX, original serial number CBAF IX 970, photographed during the war when it flew 50 sorties
A glitzy event was held for the departure attended by celebrities including Gone Girl actor Rosamund Pike, Rocketman star Taron Egerton and Formula One driver David Coulthard.
Speaking ahead of take-off, Mr Jones told PA: ‘I’m a bit nervous but excited to get going. It’s been a long time in planning and we’ve put a lot of work into this airplane.’
He explained that the biggest challenges the expedition faced were the weather and supplies of aviation fuel (Avgas).
He said: ‘The weather is going to be the biggest part of it but also getting fuel to the right places, Avgas is very common here and in the US, but in other countries we are having it supplied for us.’
the Silver Spitfire proudly bears its call sign — G-IRTY —and the Union Jack towards the rear of the fuselage
You can see your face in it: The plane’s original RAF camouflage and roundel have been removed and the metalwork polished
Mr Brooks, who co-founded the school in 2010, said: ‘I am terribly excited, it has taken us two-and-a-half years and the time has come to stop making excuses and to get going.
‘The biggest challenge is the weather as well as some of the longer flights. The longest flight will be Hong Kong to Vietnam which is 500 miles.
‘The Spitfire was built as an interceptor which had a range of 300 miles, so the question now is can we nurse it around.’
The pair will first head to Scotland, then westbound to places including the US, Canada, Japan, Russia and India and back to Britain with a single-seated Mk IX Spitfire originally built in 1943, followed by a chase plane for safety.
The pair said they will be taking regular breaks and switch at different stops.
The chase plane, which will have a full-time captain, an engineer, as well as a film and camera crew to video the journey for a documentary, will follow the Spitfire.
The iconic plane will visit more than 30 countries on its world-record-setting round-the-world flight which begins today
And they’re off! The pair will first head to Scotland, then westbound to places including the US, Canada, Japan, Russia and India and back to Britain with a single-seated Mk IX Spitfire originally built in 1943, followed by a chase plane for safety
The route includes a 500-mile flight from Hong Kong to Vietnam – a daunting prospect in a 76-year-old plane built to fly 300 mile sorties
In a break in the day’s bad weather, the sun gleams on the Silver Spitfire’ port wing as Matt Jones flies over the airfield after taking off for his and Steve Brooks’ world record attempt
Either Mr Jones or Mr Brooks, a property developer, will also be in the plane whenever they are not flying the Spitfire.
As part of the journey, the aviation enthusiasts will travel to Scotland, then spend a couple of nights in Iceland, head through Greenland into Canada, before heading across the US into Russia and then Asia.
Since announcing the project, they have been inundated with invitations from embassies and air shows. ‘It’s funny but even after all these years, people all over the world are still thrilled to see a Spitfire — and quite a few countries owe it their freedom, too,’ Steve told the Mail’s Robert Hardman last week.
Prince Albert of Monaco has asked them to fly over his palace in Monte Carlo. The King of Bahrain wants them to drop in. They have also been invited to join the Red Arrows in a fly-past over the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.
When a U.S. Air Force fighter squadron in Nevada learned that the Spitfire was due to be passing through their patch, a message arrived at the project’s Goodwood HQ. ‘They said if we didn’t stop in Las Vegas and say hello, we’d be shot down!’ Matt added.