Spitfire to take to the skies above Hampshire tomorrow to mark 90th anniversary of first flight

The aircraft is scheduled to take off at 12pm from Southampton International Airport on Tuesday, April 7 as it flies along the south coast before cutting in and heading to RAF Coningsby in Lincoln. It is the first of nine flights taking place to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire which took off from Hampshire.

It was on March 5, 1936 that test pilot Joseph 'Mutt' Summers flew prototype K5054 from what is now Southampton Airport. The flight lasted around eight minutes and after landing Summers is reported to have said: “Don’t change a thing.” The aircraft would go on to become one of the most recognised fighters of the Second World War and an enduring symbol of British aviation.

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On the first leg of the commemorative flight the Spitfire will pass over historic locations such as the grave of the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire Reginald J. Mitchell in Southampton and The Needles, before heading along the coast across to Sussex, Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.

The two-person Spitfire has been painted light blue to look like original prototype K5054. Once on its journey it will meet up alongside for two separate formations with the RAF F35, then the RAF BBMF Dakota C-47 and Spitfire Mk5. The flight time is expected to be around 1 hours and 35 minutes.

While the take-off is scheduled for 12pm, there are a number of mitigating factors that could delay it, including weather.

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For each leg of the flight, a seat on the journey has been auctioned online with funds raised going to the Mark Long Trust and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. The first leg of the journey was sold at auction for £25,001.

The full route can be found below:

• 7 April – Southampton Airport to RAF Coningsby
• 8 April – RAF Coningsby to RAF Leuchars
• 9 April – RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth
• 10 April – RAF Lossiemouth to Glasgow Prestwick Airport
• 13 April – Glasgow Prestwick Airport to RAF Valley
• 14 April – RAF Valley to MOD St Athan
• 15 April – MOD St Athan to RAF St Mawgan
• 16 April – RAF St Mawgan to Exeter Airport
• 17 April – Exeter Airport to Southampton Airport

Further information on the commemorative flights can be found at Spitfires.com