[427TJ]

That Spitfire clip was shot at Duxford airfield in England, an original Royal Air Force field dating back to at least the early 1930s. Today Duxford is home to several private flying collections and also houses some of the Imperial War Museum's collection. The Spitfire in the clip is a Mark VB (5B). If you watch the clip closely you can see the bow wave from the Spit lay down the grass just as it approaches the camera. If that had been in the U.S. and an FAA guy saw that it would be all over for Mr. Spitfire pilot and everyone involved. The Brits are considerably more laid back about such "pranks."

I went to Duxford several times when I was in the Air Force and I always felt like I was on hallowed ground, much like you'd feel walking through the pits at Indy or Daytona. One foggy morning I got there as they opened the gates at 10am. I walked out to the edge of the airfield and stood and looked out at that vast expanse of grass covering the airfield. Again, probably a lot like walking into Gasoline Alley in early May. I stood there for about 20 minutes watching the sun burn the thin fog layer off. Then, the unmistakable sound of a Merlin came cackling out from the hangar line and there it was: A beautiful Spitfire Mark IX 2-seater! (Owned by Carolyn Grace.) It taxied past my position and over to the run-up area on the grass. The pilot ran it up, checked the propeller and magnetos, and then lined up for takeoff. The power came in slowly, then the rest of the way and that beautiful sight and SOUND really put a lump in my throat. The airplane bounced across the grass, tail coming up as it accelerated, and was airborne in about 1,500 feet of grass. The Spit climbed into the sky, north of the airfield and performed several aerobatic maneuvers over a 15-minute period. I couldn't see the Spit through the clouds but I could hear that Merlin V-12 booming as the Spitfire looped and rolled. Then it was quiet. A few minutes passed and then the Spit came in on the deck from behind a large hangar. ZOOM! The Spitfire went right past me about 50 feet off the grass. The pilot pulled it up into an overhead pattern, dropped the gear and swept around and landed. Seeing a Spitfire at Duxford 53 years after the Battle of Britain was quite an emotional moment. Yes, I had my Nikon and I took several pictures---thank God!