This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
Below is a statement regarding this flight next year.
"AN ICON IN FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD
The Spitfire marked MJ271 was built in 1943 in Castle Bromwich. At present, the aircraft is being stripped down to its component parts and painstakingly restored. Every single part is being lovingly polished by hand to a brilliant sheen to give the plane its dazzling silver appearance. In spring 2019, the public will have their first chance to see the aircraft, rechristened the "Silver Spitfire".
The round-the-world flight will depart next summer in England. The first part of the tour will see it fly via Canada and into the USA. This route allows the expedition team to benefit from the comparatively mild weather conditions of the Arctic. From there, the route continues via South East Asia to India, before turning towards the Middle East and flying on back to Europe. On its way, the "Silver Spitfire" will also touch down in several countries that have never before seen an aeroplane of this sort on their runways."
Below really nice artwork and computer renders along with a couple of photos of progress in the restoration of Spitfire MJ271.
Below is Spitfire Mk IX (MJ271) at Duxford in 2016
Quick silver: The life and times of one very special Spitfire Mark IX <>.... Matt Jones, Steve Brooks, Lachlan Monro and Gerry Jones's grand project – called Silver Spitfire – is to entirely refurbish an old Spitfire Mark IX, dress it only in sleek, polished silver, then circumnavigate the planet by stopping more than 150 times in over 30 countries. ....<>
An artist's impression of how the Silver Spitfire will look
Silver spitfire is making its journey around the world now. It’s at Bowling Green ,Kentucky according to its flight tracker . G-IRTY has not flown its intended route and was yesterday near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Weather and other causes changed routes. It was to be in Huntington,Indiana according to plan, but who knows.
Seen on live flight tracker that Silver Spitfire had landed for overnight stay at Comanche Ranch near Eagle Pass , Texas. Comanche Ranch has private runway and is Tom Friedkin’s home base for his collection. The flight plan looked to vary a lot then looked at weather and could see why,big mess to go around.
looks like they are heading to either Prescott or Sedona for the night, I would lean more to Sedona, well they blew right past both of those stops, I guess they are pushing for Nellis
Matt Gunsch wrote:looks like they are heading to either Prescott or Sedona for the night, I would lean more to Sedona, well they blew right past both of those stops, I guess they are pushing for Nellis
Looks like they did a little sight seeing circle over Sedona, en-route, probably for some nice backdrops to some air-to-air photos taken from the support a/c.
At Santa Monica Ca.now,would be cool if they could be at the Reno Air race but their schedule is to be in Russia at those dates September 11-15. Just to make an appearance would bring in more people.