Historic Flight Foundation..operator of Spitfire SL633 and B-25 "Grumpy" moving

The Historic Flight Foundation is relocating all operations from Paine Field, Everett Washington to their new facility at Felts Field in Spokane, Washington.

Spokane is approximately 300 miles east of the Seattle area on the other side of the Cascade mountains and 280 miles south of Calgary, Alberta Canada. UK visitors can get there via a 4 hour drive from Seattle or an hourly 50 minute Alaska Airlines flight.

The group opened their new purpose built new Spokane facility in December as an adjunct to their Paine Field home and later decided to consolidate all operations there. The decision was made because of the lack of expansion potential in Everett. Everett was also home to the FHCAM, which recently announced its closure.

The new facility has a visitor mezzanine, dedicated classroom, member library, flight simulators (a new Spitfire unit is being built in the UK). Considerably larger than its previous location, the hangar space is large enough to simultaneously shelter the group’s B-25 and DC-3 as well as smaller types.

Over the winter the Spokane operation showcased the “Pan American” DC-3 (a recent visitor to the UK during last year’s D-Day commemoration), P-51B “Impatient Virgin”, (ex 361th FG veteran with seven victories and recovered from a UK crash site in 2002-05), Beech Staggerwing, Travel Air biplane and the newest acquisition, the sole airworthy Hamilton Metalplane single engine airliner.  All foundation aircraft are airworthy. Many, including the Mitchell, are available for member rides. (A UK friend is desperate for a Mitchell flight, his father was a crew member in the RAF).

Last week they were joined by Spitfire IXe SL633, L-4J, WACO UPF-7, and AT-6A Texan, as well as two DHC Beaver Bush planes (one is ex British Army and now in period USAF colours, the other in civil markings is on amphibious floats).

They will be joined by the HFF’s Grumman Bearcat and the well known ex-Duxford B-25D “Grumpy” when their maintenance is completed. The group’s DH Rapide will return there once its restoration in complete.

Felts Field is a rather historic airport, in operation since the early 1920’s, it was the site for the 1927 National Air Races which were held shortly after Charles Lindbergh’s NY to Paris flight. Lindbergh stopped at the field during his cross country tour to promote aviation. It features its restored original “art deco” terminal building (with a nice aviation themed restaurant) and clock tower as well as two period hangars. It’s now strictly a general aviation facility, the airlines and Air National Guard moved to a larger airport in the 1950s. The airport also features a seaplane base on the adjacent Spokane river.

Felts is also home to a number of pilot/restorers with about a dozen wartime Stearman biplane trainers being based there in addition to several other antique types (including a Puss Moth, Stampe, Howard, and Bucker Jungmann). It’s also the home of Pemberton and Sons Aviation, a family restoration group best known for the restoration of the sole airworthy Boeing 40 mailplane/airliner and current operator of a Grumman Goose amphibian.

Great video of several aircraft in flight over the area’s mountains and SL633 at Duxford as well as the D-Day commemoration with the DC-3….

http://historicflight.org/feltsfield/

You can also see the facility and videos of SL633’s arrival  on their Facebook page:

https://m.facebook.com/HFFSpokane/

Due to the Civid-19 Virus, the facility has been closed to the public since mid-March but is expected to reopen in the next phase of government -sanctioned reopenings…perhaps as early as mid-June.