Spitfire Hours

..and who has the least hours or even minutes

A certain ex owner of Blackbushe airfield ??

I guess some of the other BBMF spit pilots must have some hours also !

A quick look on the BBMF website confirms that Shiney Simmons is the longest serving current pilot on the flight (nine years) and when the piece was written (I’m guessing at the start of last season) he had “over 370 hours on Hurricanes and Spitfires”.

Who would follow Paul Day as the longest serving BBMF pilots ever?

I guess some of the other BBMF spit pilots must have some hours also !

IIRC Marks warbird total was 2300hrs.

I would think Mark Hanna must have had accumulated a good few hours also,but one name that people seem to have forgotten is Tony Bianchi from Personal Plane Services.He looked after and flew the late Patrick Lindsay’s mk1 when based at Booker for many years ,I should think he has also flown MH434 on occasions during her time based at Booker .
He is bound to have flown others too given he’s experience and PPS’s background .

Steve

Interesting thread…. I have a photo from Biggin Hill last year of Ray Hanna, Paul Day and Lee Proudfoot walking along the crowd line and remember wondering how many Spitfire hours those three must have between them!

I wonder how many hours Charlie Brown and John Romain have got on Spitfires?

I wonder too if Carolyn Grace has surpassed the female ATA pilots in Spitfire hours?

Moggy

Ray must be the longest continually flying Spitfire pilot ever, this must be his 35th year with 434?

I think that honour falls to Jerry Billings in Canada.

He displayed the Cliff Robertson Mk IX MK923 up until it was sold circa 1993. He was operational in Malta on Spitfires. He was check pilot for the RCAF on NH188 in the 1960’s and Don Plumb’s instructor on TE308 in the 1970’s. Five decades of Spitfire flying.

Mark

I wonder how many hours Charlie Brown and John Romain have got on Spitfires?

He must be getting a little tired by now… 35 years in a Spitfire, wow, not a lot of room in there….

Ray must be the longest continually flying Spitfire pilot ever, this must be his 35th year with 434?

I wonder if any RAF pilots, joining just after the war, clocked up more peacetime hours on Spitfire than the current display pilots?

(I realise this isn’t the point of the question, just my wandering mind)

Moggy

A chap I know, his dad was an instructor on Spit IXs and XIVs. He must have had a few hours…!

Here is Bill on the right, weathered in at Fort Dodge in July 1990, en route to Oshkosh from Aspen, Colorado.

Mark,
While your aunt is on her way to you, wouldn’t you want that shadow line removed from above those two nice chaps?

Oh right an American chap I was feeling totally out of touch with the UK warbird scene ! 😀

I’m sure I’ve seen that bloke on the left on this forum before, although isn’t he usually smoking?

Wag Wag

Bill Greenwood, owner of Tr IX TE308 since 1983. He just flies and flies around the US, and if you average 50 hours a year…

Here is Bill on the right, weathered in at Fort Dodge in July 1990, en route to Oshkosh from Aspen, Colorado.

Mark

Photo credit: Fred Larson.

A 1000 hour Spitfire pilot.

Oh Mark you are a wag 😀

Bill Greenwood is the owner of Spitfire Tr.9 TE308

Try Googling “Spitfire TE308” and I’m sure it will give you the full story

Regards,

Anyone know which non-ww2 pilot has the most hours in a Spitfire it must surely be Ray Hanna or Paul Day ? Any ideas ?

I wonder if any RAF pilots, joining just after the war, clocked up more peacetime hours on Spitfire than the current display pilots?

(I realise this isn’t the point of the question, just my wandering mind)

Moggy

excuse my ignorance but who is Bill Greenwood ? :confused:

A 1000 hour Spitfire pilot.

excuse my ignorance but who is Bill Greenwood ? :confused: