The Rolls-Royce Spitfire, PS853, was flown into the skies once again at Duxford, Cambridgeshire last Tuesday, October 9, 2013.
The Spitfire took to the skies once again after 23 months of extensive repair and refurbishment. The Aircraft Restoration Company and Historic Flying Limited took charge of the project.
The restoration team made great effort to complete the project. They dismantled the plane, inspected the systems and structures, repaired the damage and reassembled the aircraft.
The owner of the Aircraft Restoration Company and also a chief pilot, John Romain, ensured the project was complete before taking the Spitfire out for its first test flight at the Duxford runway.
The refurbished Spitfire is powered by a 36.7 liter, V12 Griffon engine. When taken out of the Duxford runway, the aircraft ran with smooth acceleration. It was then lifted off into the air. The restoration team and visitors at Duxford were delighted to see the Spitfire in the air once again.
John Romain, who flew the aircraft, did preliminary handling assessments to see what needs to be done to further improve the flight of the plane. After 20 minutes, he landed the plane and the restoration team did some adjustments with the fuel in the wing tanks and with the trailing edge of the port aileron. Still, Romain could not help but feel satisfied at the improvement of the aircraft.
After the adjustments, Romain was ready to take the plane out for the second test flight. The second test flight did checks on the efficiency of the aircraft at different airspeeds and throttle settings. The plane landed again for the final adjustments.
On the third and final test flight, Romain was proud to show off the capacity of the aircraft by doing some aerobatics. The aircraft was able to awe the crowd at Duxford. The restoration team were also proud at how well they have refurbished the Spitfire.
After the final test flights, John Romain concluded that the Rolls-Royce Spitfire PS853 did impeccable performance throughout. He also declared his delight to fly the PS853. The Spitfire, according to the pilot, was also “very fast”. The flight was also a very memorable one for Romain given that the Spitfire is the 100th aircraft type that he has taken to the skies.
The Rolls-Royce News reports that the company is congratulating the Aircraft Restoration Company and Historic Flying Limited, including John Romain and his team, for their hardwork. The company says that they commend the team for “restoring the Rolls-Royce Spitfire back to as-new condition in the 16 Squadron, 2nd Tactical Air Force Colours exactly was when first delivered into RAF service in January 1945”.
The Rolls-Royce Spitfire XIX, PS853, is known as one of the “best-loved and widely recognised British aircraft of all time”. The aircraft was designed by Reginald Joseph Mitchell.