Glad it brought back fond memories, I appreciate his service.

275 Loyalhanna Lodge; Latrobe, PA USA, PM

You are most welcome, glad you enjoyed it.

Agreed on all points...suggest you book your next holiday to New Zealand and visit the airstrip and tick that bucket list item. Glad you enjoyed the video or should I say audio : )

The Spitfire is a great plane, no doubt about that. A few years ago I was in Normandy, France at the D-day beaches. Suddenly out of nothing a Spitfire came over very low; so impressive, that sound, that silhouette. Awesome! The Spitfire has the reputation of being the aircraft that won the battle of Britain, but the Hawker Hurricane shot down 70% of the German aircrafts. The little Hawker, so underrated, deserves a better reputation.

I live in south east England and every so often we are lucky to get Spitfires and Hurricanes fly over my house, goosebumps every time

@@e9driver1 would the dashboard have looked different back when these planes were being built for the war? Bye the way nice video. I really like WWll aircraft.

I was out riding my new bmw s1000xr in derbyshire on sat last i parked up at a place called the strines moor i sat on a bench looking down at the reservoir. Temp was 27degrees c. Enjoying a pasty and drink. I the distance i heard a weierd sound i thought thats a funny bike. Next new a spitfire appeared and performed a mock dogfight over the res. I have seen the odd lancaster bomber with the merlin engines but the sound from that spit made me feel proud to be british. One of the greatest engines ever built

And the sound that ended up in the P51 (and others) to help end the war!

Can't argue at all, but have heard it described as a bag of hammers (in a comment in here as well) from inside the cockpit and you can hear that in the video. Yet sweet if you are watching a low pass from the ground.

@@e9driver1 Right!! t's seriously loud asf!! I'd be so pumped to fly that thing and do a low pass! Hell if a Bugatti had to race that, that would be a hard decision but the Spitfire could possibly pull it off!

@@Gamerguy-501 And I was amazed to learn that even back in the early 1940's that engine manufacturers had developed super chargers (forced induction) able to run on the new 100 octane gas with water injection, to mention just a couple of things, to develop more power!!

@@e9driver1 it's really crazy the fact that they had engines like that! They were powerful! So powerful like it's hard to describe the raw power like people couldnt compare that plane to a sports car whereas now they do which doesnt make since when this plane a super charger/turbo and a little something else too that makes this engine powerful.

Yes it is really amazing the techniques they invented and applied in aircraft engines in those days. By the way, Louis Renault patented already in 1902 the compressor/turbo technology.

Thanks for the enthusiastic comment Toma.

Glad you enjoyed it Craig and thanks for the comment. No ground hogs, gophers or Spitfires were harmed in making this video : )

Craig Pennington Ground hogs ain't gophers.

@@e9driver1 Hi great vid was just wondering why land on the grass ??

@@digger5521 Hi Digger, from memory and without searching the web, I recall something about it being about mechanical sympathy for the old girl, softer landing and less wear.

Sure is from NZ and you are very lucky indeed to have access to such amazing experiences like this. 👌👍

I had no idea when posting that no music would be so appreciated 😀

Clearly moved by the old bird, totally get it Shane and I also never get tired of looking at (or listening to) this amazing aircraft. I don't have the luxury of a flying version near me but we do have the genuine article in our local museum in Port Adelaide.

Indeed!

Thanks Jeff, glad you enjoyed it.

Glad you enjoyed it Tom, it is spectacular scenery and a beautiful old machine. Check out this link if you ever get back there. www.warbird.co.nz/spitfire.html

Looks like Ardmore, south of Auckland

I've got about 45 minutes of raw footage, might have a look and see if I can pull together another clip.

The nearest I have got to the Spitfire was flying alongside the spit in a helicopter. I did not mean to put you to any trouble but if you do find any more footage I’m sure it would be well received.

What a great comment, love it!

Epic!

Few truer words spoken; I believe it powered many a P51 Mustang over Europe as well.

Todays woke generation are pathetic and wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes in the war.

@@ianbetts4435 aye you can say that again.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks Alex, shared for enjoyment of all so I guess a good algorithm helps that cause!

That would be a special experience indeed, and something to remember! A salute to those who keep the old birds flying too if they are reading this one day.

I believe flying conditions were ideal. Would not surprise me if temperamental at low speed, high performance stuff often is but that’s speculation on my part. She is old so maybe also seeking a perfect soft landing as well.

When NZ open their borders and if you have the time and money, the owners would be delighted to take you for a flight!

You clearly know a fair bit about such things, thanks for the additional context on how this particular aircraft has evolved.

he's in the second seat, there's another pilot in the front which blocks the front view

Sure do, especially when landing with heaps of input.

Glad it confirmed what you knew about the process. Just watch for the torque trying to flip you over on that narrow landing gear 😀

🤘🤘🤘

Agreed, when I first reviewed the footage I was amazed at how different the Merlin sounded from inside. I recall a comment from ages ago likening it to a bag of hammers : )

I can’t recall exactly but around $4000 NZ for about 45 minutes in the air and an hour in the aircraft.

Glad you enjoyed it, I have so much more video of the whole flight and should probably do another edit given how many people have enjoyed this so far.

@@e9driver1 startup was the most emotionnal part 😁

Because they HAD to.

flying them is beyond simple

Yep, 100%.

A beautiful and striking aircraft and what a donk, I can appreciate your fondness. But is it a fair comparison to match a 27L capacity of the Merlin v the 46L capacity of the 2800? By the war end the little V12 was producing around 1700hp, still no match for the 2000hp of the 2800.

@Andrew Scott My point exactly. The Brits are always in love with the Spitfires and I get it. It (and Hurricanes) stood alone in 1940 against the German wrath. It punched that bully right in the mouth. Battle of Britain is my favorite tactical air engagement to study. But, as historian Victor Davis Hanson pointed out in his fantastic book on WW2 "The World Wars", it was a regional conflict between regional European powers until the US got involved, and THEN it became a world war. Then, it became obvious who the dominant superpower would be moving forward. It's a great plane. I get it. But I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that EVERYTHING made by America was better than anything you wanted to talk about. Tanks, submarines, bombers, fighters, you name it. The only exception I've ever found is my MG-42 squad machine gun made in Germany. I shoot mine whenever I can (yeah, it's legit). But it does have disadvantages that US weapons don't even still. There was a reason Browning had almost all of his MG designed to be about 650 RPM, instead of 1200. Those giggle trigger toys are hard to feed. But I digress.

There were no guided missiles in the 40's, just rockets and bullets. But still terrifying.

ww2 missiles ? i guess i missed them

New business opportunity for you, go make it happen : )

I'd happily live next to the old war birds flying around, but I guess it's not for everyone.

Whilst I can't speak for my Dad and his experience during this flight I could speculate that whilst on the ground it would get warm but once airborne and at altitude, cold was an enemy. For example, even at just 3 kilometres (6,900 feet) the outside temp would be about 20deg c less than ground temp. And up where the bombers were it would easily be -30deg c outside.

@@e9driver1 waa really? Thnks for the info

Wish I could claim to be the pilot doing the fine job Chris and offer you some advice, this is my Dad's dream coming true using my gopro!

Was asked a similar question with my response being "Whilst I can't speak for my Dad and his experience during this flight I could speculate that whilst on the ground it would get warm but once airborne and at altitude, cold was an enemy. For example, even at just 3 kilometers (6,900 feet) the outside temp would be about 20deg c less than ground temp. And up where the bombers were it would easily be -30deg c outside."

Graphics cards are getting so much better these days : )

Thanks for asking was interesting to go and look. According to this wiki site, 188 total of which 69 are airworthy. The aircraft at the top of the NZ airworthy list is the on in this video - ZK-WDQ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_Supermarine_Spitfires#New_Zealand

Hi Sven, I believe it is the emergency canopy release should pilot and passenger need to exit the aircraft. There is one for both positions in case the other is unable to pull.

@@e9driver1Thanks for your reply. Are you sure? Some kind of grippable handle would be better for that. Isn't there actually a canopy handle anyway?My guess is that it's for orientation- it will move when you roll etc. ?

The yellow and black handle attaches to a cable that runs either side outside of the canopy. it passes through attachments that are connected to the canopy roller bearing, that run in the canopy track, pulling the handle pulls the cable out, allowing the pilot to push the canopy sideways and up, off the bearings. the wind does the rest, in the air. Every Spitfire canopy has one, not all are Yellow and black. They need lubricating regularly , or they become difficult to operate if totally dry. Look closely at a Spitfire Cockpit canopy bottom edge you can see the cable.

Could well be, maybe that wing on the Mustang made for a more stable platform.

I remember hearing this term "I gave them the whole nine yards" and wondering what it meant. Apparently the ammo belts were 9 yards long and as you point out, take 17 seconds to unload on something.

@@e9driver1 well said!

I’m grateful for your grandfather’s service.

@@e9driver1 16 at best

16 at best

Hi Dave, this is my 74 y/o father (ex RAF) and I sent him your little message and he did not recognise the reference.

New Zealand actually.

NEW ZEALAND? wow

Wolfy Wolf I still love playing the BF2 soundtracks when working.

That's amazing! Owning a spitfire is a dream of mine. You bet i'll be listening to battlefield music if i ever get to fly one :D

I hear a new version of Microsoft Flight Sim is due soon and they are adding the Warbirds in, realism is next generation. Might be a nice low cost alternative.

@@e9driver1 I bought the Flying Irons MkIX before Christmas, they have done an incredible job on the modelling and sound package. It will do until I can get over to Duxford with £3500 sterling in my sweaty fist and beg them to take me up in one of their coverted beauties.

@@andrewmorgan1819 I'll check it out, sounds great. I miss my old MS Combat Flight Simulator s/w from back in 2000, was dog fighting real people over the net 20+ years ago!!!

Not sure of exact speed but was advised that much care is taken to prevent wear and tear on the old girl so i suspect not.

Yeah apparently a tricky aircraft to move on the ground because of the long nose and a tail dragger. That is actually the pilot up front the passenger, with the GoPro, is in the back seat : )

It sure did, back in 2009. A quick search "spitfire crash land NZ" online will show results for those interested.

sure speak not you comprehend bot