Sam (80) flies Spitfire in ride of a lifetime
Sam Hewitt, who holds a private pilot’s licence, had not flown in more than 30 years but said that, once in the cockpit again, it was “like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it”.
And he described the half-hour flight in the Aero Legends Mark 9 as “absolutely unbelievable”, adding that it was even better than he had imagined.
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Hide AdThe flight was a surprise gift from his three children, Reuben, Samuel and Claire, with both of Sam’s sons accompanying him to England for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Sam, who lives at the family home of Annahugh House with wife Margaret, also has seven grandchildren.
Although Sam’s birthday was last September, he undertook the flight only a week ago as the plane had still been undergoing restoration.
The aircraft, which is worth over £1 million, fought in the Battle of Britain, a major air campaign in 1940, and shot down two ME109s, the German equivalent of the Spitfire.
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Hide AdSam has always been interested in aircraft and their history but, before last weekend, the closest he had come to a Spitfire was when he climbed into the cockpit of one in a hangar in 1954 and simply enjoyed the thrill of sitting in it.
He said, “I have always had a great love for Spitfires, all planes in fact, but the Spitfire is the ultimate plane. It’s like getting into a Formula One car. You have no conception of the speed of it until you do it.”
Sam’s flight saw him reach speeds of 200-300 miles an hour and at times he was skimming just 50 feet above the flat plains of Kent, on what was a glorious, sunny day.
For safety reasons, there was another qualified pilot in a seat in front.
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Hide AdSaid Sam, “It has made me want to fly again. I took up flying in 1972 but because of The Troubles there were quite a number of restrictions on where you could fly. I used to go to places like the Isle of Man.”