Nostalgia in the Air: Have you ever wanted to own a Spitfire?

It is certainly and attractive idea for any aviation enthusiast but you would need a very substantial fortune indeed to fulfill such a dream. Last year, April 2009, an airworthy Spitfire was sold in an auction at the RAF Museum, Hendon by Bonhams auctioneers for over £1.7 million (including fees). The buyer was Steven Brooks a financier and adventurer.

This Spitfire had been salvaged from a scrapyard in South Africa in 1979 by the the South African Air Force and in the subsequent three decades passed through a number of owners being returned to the UK in the early 1980s. Although some initial restoration work was carried out it was the late Paul Portelli, founder of World's End Tiles in London who commissioned Classic Aero Engineering to return aircraft to full flying condition as a two seater, having purchased it in 2002.

Built at Castle Bromwich in November 1944, serial no. SM520, a Mk.IXe, was first delivered to No. 33 Maintenance Unit at RAF Lyneham for service preparation. In 1948 it was sold to the South African Air Force whose records for the aircraft are incomplete, but it is believed that it operated with the serial number 5563. In 1954 it was sold with several other Spitfires to a scrap metal dealer from whose yard it was subsequently recovered.

The announcement of it sale cause quite a stir in the media and BBC Television News carried a report on the aircraft just before the auction.

So, assuming you have financial wherewithal, are there any more Spitfires likely to come on the market that you could purchase?

The answer is almost certainly 'Yes', around the world there are many Spitfires in museums and private collections which will, from time to time, become available. Some may not be airworthy but most will have the potential to be restored to flyable condition, after all this one was virtually scrap metal. Currently the Royal Air Force's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight has two Mk.XVIs which it will eventually restore to flying condition. It is most likely that, when completed, one of these will be sold to help finance the flight.

Of course, having acquired your Spitfire the the costs don't stop at the purchase price, it will require maintenance and hangarage, insurance and if it is going to fly it a Certificate of Airworthiness not to mention fuel. Owning a Spitfire, or for that matter any warbird, makes running a Ferrari look like a poor man's pastime.

For a brief history of the Spitfire's development please see my article on Squidoo.