Fly a Spitfire Avis 

Absolutely fantastic day! All the crew were very friendly and welcoming. It was a dream of mine to fly in a Spitfire and that dream came true on Friday. On the flight l was able to fly right over our house in Charfield which made it all the more special!
Then on the way back to Cotswold Airport Steve the pilot, did a victory roll!
A very special day to be remembered forever. At the end of trip I was l was given a certificate and SD cards of recorded cockpit footage from the flight. So now l can watch it whenever l want!
A very big thank you to the team for a wonderful experience and a great day!!

Wow, what an awesome experience. The staff at the airport were great, professional, friendly and plainly all enjoyed doing what they were doing. My pilot Dan Griffith, such a nice guy, very well qualified and hugely experienced. He explained everything that I needed to know and communicated well with me throughout. I had family there from my 10yr old grandson to mr 98 yr old mother, all were looked after extremely well. My daughter, her husband and two grandsons were surprised to be taken up in a chase plane to accompany the first part of my flight, they were blown away by the experience , it it gave them the opportunity to film the flight which complimented the on board camera footage. Dan then left them behind and we set off toward Dover, once on our heading I was offered the controls , OMG I was actually flying a spitfire ! We flew over my home on the white cliffs having executed a victory roll over Dover harbour and then headed back to the airfield.
A truly fantastic experience I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever have. Thank you all so much.

This is one of those life experiences that isn’t just about flying around in a classic warbird. This is about getting at least, the slightest perspective of what our so very young pilots went through, remembering and reflecting on their sheer bravery and just how they felt all those years ago.

I had the most wonderful time and, al the staff and pilots couldn’t do enough for you. It is an experience that isn’t cheap but my word, is worth every penny. My thanks especially to Hannah, Tony and my pilot Adam for making my day so wonderful and an experience I shall never forget. Thank you all. Miguel Sousa

Amazing experience of a lifetime. Everyone was so welcoming from the moment we arrived. The tour of the factory is a must as well.

From arrival to completion the entire crew made myself and family welcome.
Weather conditions were not ideal and it was explained that despite arriving earlier than the timed booking, it would be wise to commence flying as soon as possible, so progress with the briefing and paperwork was prompt but not hurried.
I booked the "full Chase Plane" for my family; this has to be recommended for the "complete" experience if you have company for your flight.
The weather did close in, and Beachy Head was not going to provide the experience planned, so we headed for Dover instead.
Outbound there was some hands on experience; what you may have read about responsiveness of the controls is true.
Over Dover the rendezvous with the Chase Plane occurred and flying alongside certainly adds a significant dimension.
The Return leg flew over the Medway and south of the Thames Estuary with further "hands on" experience and barrel rolls; fabulous.
The camera footage you take away is compelling viewing, and that from the Chase Plane shows the rendezvous, which the cockpit cameras do not capture; the two aircraft are much closer than the camera footage suggests!
On the ground, the Hangar Tour is well worth taking, even if it were at an extra cost. Apart from the historical and current information provided on the aircraft and other artefacts on display, this tour gives an insight into the skill, effort and cost of keeping these machines airworthy. Add in the obvious operational overheads and the price for the flight experience doesn't appear as expensive anymore.
All the staff involved are keen to ensure that clients obtain the maximum from their day, and for me, they certainly succeeded.
An amazing adventure that none of our party will forget, even the 4 year old grand daughter, who having subsequently seen a photograph of a Spitfire thinks that I fly one! .. If only.

Fly a Spitfire was not my first choice but I’m really glad it was them that made the once-in-a-lifetime flight possible. Not only did they deliver on the spitfire flight but accommodated 27 of us birthday well-wishers. We all got to visit the hangar, so it was more than just the flight we got to see (and the birthday boy to experience), it was an educational and inspirational day out for all of us. We got to see the restoration of spitfires in progress, so we could literally get under the ‘bonnet’ of the plane we’d waved off earlier. We also got to see other fascinating WW2 collectibles. I don’t believe this is offered elsewhere. From the pilot to the ground crew, the mechanics to the admin team, we were warmly welcomed and well looked after. Thank you!

Thank you to everyone for a really special day. We were all looked after really well. My daughters were thrilled to go up in the chaser plane. As for the Spitfire flight itself, I was living the dream. thank you to Barry for an excellent flight and 3 victory rolls. Got lots of onboard video footage and video taken from the chaser plane to remember the day by.
If you are thinking about doing it, stop thinking and book it. You won't regret it.

We had a wonderful time with everyone from Fly a Spitfire. They are so professional and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. The flight itself was just as my husband imagined it would be, absolutely out of this world and they even did two barrel rolls!

What a fabulous experience. Everything I expected and more, so much more. The staff were, without exception, brilliant. They went way above and beyond to make the day memorable. I can’t fault any aspect of the booking, pre event admin, on the day experience, everything in fact. If you want to fly a spitfire, you must do it from Biggin Hill and fly over the Kent countryside where the battles took place.

On the eve of my 50th birthday, I celebrated by flying in a Spitfire T9, MJ627 from Biggin Hill to the white cliffs of Dover. It truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity and a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I had three of my dearest friends with me, who rode in the chase plane, and the experience was just as amazing for them as it was for me. If you can afford this experience, please do it!

We had such a warm and personal greeting by Ella, who took care of us from start to finish. She seemed just excited as we were!

The pilot (Barry), ground crew (Ray and one other guy), and tour guide (Laurie) were all a class act - lovely, friendly, professional, funny, experienced, and really made the day extra special for me. We had a lot of great banter, laughter, fun, and taking the mickey! They showed genuine interest in me as an enthusiast and in their jobs and kept safety as a priority. Ray showed me photos of the pilot who had flown the same Spitfire and also took the mickey when I didn’t know the differences between the British Spitfire and the US Mustang! Hahahaha!

Barry was fantastic and let me take the controls a few times. He treated me with 5 five barrel rolls, one of which was a victory roll over the Battle of Britain Memorial! I’ve never done rolls before, and I loved every minute of it! I don’t think I stopped smiling or laughing from excitement the entire flight!

Flying in formation with the chase plan over the cliffs was also exciting! We were close enough to see each others’ faces, and they got some spectacular photos from their plane, including the break away manoeuvre and even one of the barrel rolls! The rolls and flying in formation were probably my favourite bits in the air.

Other things to know: recorded videos of various angles of the entire flight were taken and provided on micro SD cards; take sunglasses if it’s a sunny day; directions were spot on; water / coffee available upon arrival and preparation; gift shop with t-shirts, fleece jackets, mugs, stickers, and other items is on site; the tour of the hangar / museum was interesting and had all sorts of planes and vehicles from several countries.

Thank you, Ella, Ray, Barry, Laurie, and all of the unnamed team for a top notch day and making this a dream come true!

Amazing experience from the dedicated staff who are professional, welcoming, informative and helpful. They also have a good sense of humour and put you at your ease before you embark on the flight of a lifetime! Can't thank them enough for my exciting trip in the iconic Spitfire.

Had my Spitfire experience today. An experience I shall remember for the rest of my days. Incredible! And top professionals, with sincere thanks to captain John, to Nadia and Fish and to our guide Laurie. You all made my year!

My “once in a lifetime” experience may have to become a twice in a lifetime” experienced!

Robbie.

I booked for my husband’s brother to go up in the spitfire and 5 family members to go up in the chase plane, the whole day was brilliant they had a great time, and Also went on the hanger tour after the flights, we were totally looked after by staff from start to finish, kept informed of how the day would go for us all, great family day out.

Wow, wow and wow!! We booked two Spitfires and a Chase plane with family in formation! My husband Robert was to fly in one spitfire and his father Barry in the other. This was a complete surprise for Barry who only found out once we were there. Barry is seriously ill so this was to be a very special day. What can I say. It was not only emotional but truly the most amazing experience of our lives. Everyone from the pilots, ground crew, office and museum were outstanding and incredible. They obviously just love their job and by heck it shows. Can not recommend enough would give 10 stars if I could. Thank you flyaspitfire.com for a memory made in heaven!

Can't compliment the Biggin Hill guys and gals enough. From start to finish, despite the rain, which miraculously dried out by the time his flight was ready it was just brilliant. The team are amazing, the lady running the lounge where you meet is fantastic, fun, efficient and really on it. The pilots all friendy and the tour guides great. And thanks Laurie you did an awesome job of the photos for us in the chaser plane. We brought my mum too as she wanted to do the tour as we had previously bought the tour for my father who sadly died before he was every able to make it.

Top day :) And Barry Mark had so much fun in the 818 you piloted.

This really is a spectacular experience. I’ve done both the spitfire and Mustang experiences. The team are all professional with excellent safety protocols.

A truly awesome and unique experience, huge thanks to Barry for making it such a special and enjoyable trip. Absolutely recommend! Jim who piloted the chaser plane was equally fantastic and went out of his way to let us know what to expect and how to get the best pictures of the spitfire! We all had the most incredible time and cannot recommend enough! Thank you to all involved.

The whole experience was unforgettable. Safety is a number one priority and the staff are welcoming and helpful. It a true family experience.

As soon as the Spit took to the air, the mighty V12 pulled the plane through the air and further into the clouds. This elegantly designed aircraft has proven itself well in World War II and over the years. Together with the pilot's high level of skill, I felt SAFE at every moment. IMPRESSIVE is the word.

Not to forget the warm feeling of welcome that team FlyaSpitfire gave me that day. I am very honored to have contributed a little bit to the preservation of this heritage.

Kind regards from the Netherlands – Richard Zandvliet.

My first flight in a spitfire back in June last year was the beginning of a love affair with these incredible warbirds. Some think it’s an expensive indulgence, I say the utter joy of a spitfire flight will long out-live the memories of a 2-week luxury holiday.

Through a long cold winter I recalled that fabulous sunny day in June last year when I took to the skies in a spitfire for the first time. As June this year approached again I found myself loitering on the Flyaspitfire.com website once more and before I knew it, I’d booked another flight.

I’ve visited the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar a few times since last year’s flight - the Battle Of Britain Hangar Tour was superb and the Technical Tour I did in the Autumn was fantastic with an incredible engine run at sunset. During my visits I’ve learned a lot about the many amazing warbirds that grace Biggin Hill and one particular aircraft stood out for me - spitfire MT818, G-AIDN. She was the first ever factory produced two-seat Spitfire MT818 and is one of the most original still flying today, as well as the only surviving prototype Spitfire of any variant. I just knew I had to fly her!

The guys at Biggin Hill were super-helpful and carefully noted my request to fly MT818 from their amazing fleet of spitfires. Whilst no request can be 100% guaranteed because much depends on aircraft maintenance schedules and availability, I was absolutely over the moon to arrive on Friday to see her waiting for me on the apron, fuelled up and ready to take me to Beachy Head.

I was warmly greeted by the team and we went through the safety briefing and I got kitted up in a flying suit. It was a blisteringly hot day but the attentive staff kept handing out chilled drinks as I got ready. I absolutely love the authentic wartime decor in the passenger lounge. It really gets you in the spirit for your flight. I had a briefing with Steve, my pilot, who took note of my request to perform a victory roll over the grave of my hero, military engineer Guy Maunsell, as we flew over Southborough (we actually did two!)

Having flown before, much of the detail was familiar to me, but the one thing that is unique is that the three two-seater spitfires operated by Biggin Hill (yes, they have THREE two seaters and goodness knows how many single seat spitfires!) all have their own quirks and individual personalities. Last year I flew Grey Nurse (TE308) who felt smoother. By comparison, in MT818 her glorious rattles and creaks meant I got a real sense I was flying in a wonderful piece of aviation history.

I took a deep breath and inhaled a lungful of those fabulous fumes as her merlin engine fired up (the boys at Biggin fHill really need to bottle this scent - they’d make a fortune selling it!)

Again, I upgraded to include the Chase Plane so my friends could fly too. I throughly recommend doing this. Not only does it mean they get to share the fun, but they will be able to take some amazing photos of you flying. You don’t have to be a brilliant photographer either as the chase plane flies amazingly close to the spitfire so even iPhone pictures will look ace. But if you wanted to have a photographer accompany you this could be arranged too).

We were blessed with clear blue skies and the pure white cliffs at Beachy Head looked particularly stunning with the tide out. In my opinion this is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the UK and there’s no better way to see it than through the canopy of an 80 year old warbird - just as those very young pilots would have done during the war, only under very different circumstances back then.

During the flight I was able to take the controls and fly her myself. At that moment I felt an immense sense of joy that I was one of probably only a handful of people on the planet doing that at that moment in time. What price can you put on an experience like that?

All too soon we were landing back at Biggin Hill to enjoy a fantastic private tour of the Heritage Hangar (whetting my appetite for flight number 3?) Before leaving, I was given lots of free gifts: a full set of SD cards from the three GoPros which filmed my entire flight, a beautiful signed flight certificate, Pilots Notes, a flight suit patch and an “I Flew A Spitfire” car sticker which has pride of place next to last years sticker.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! There are few opportunities in life to do something truly exceptional - this is definitely one of them.