Want to Train to Fly a Spitfire?

“The sight and sound of a Supermarine Spitfire performing a loop and a victory roll against a blue sky over the South Downs of Sussex always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand out”, Chris Bunning readily admits.

In 1940, a Spitfire sighting would have been common for young warplane spotters, but now of course it is a rare and evocative experience.

Approximately 20,000 Spitfires were built during World War 2, and all pilots were volunteers with an average age of around 20 years. During the Battle of Britain, it was estimated that the average life expectancy of a Spitfire pilot was four weeks. This desperate situation put pressure on developing a rapid training programme for new pilots.

After selection, student pilots progressed through several stages of training. Tests and examinations had to be successfully passed before the next level of instruction could be undertaken. Initial training provided an induction and ground instruction on the basics of flight. During basic training at Elementary Training Schools, pupils learnt the basics of how to fly in aircraft such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth. Advanced training at Service Flying Training Schools introduced them to more powerful aircraft, such as the North American Harvard.

Final tests and examinations completed advanced training and, if successful, the student received his pilot’s wings. Qualified pilots were then sent to Operational Training Units to prepare for front-line duties. The time taken to qualify as a pilot could vary. At the start of World War 2 it could be as little as six months with only 150 flying hours.

An original wartime pilot's handbook. Image credit: Chris Bunning.

After a brief introduction, those pilots sent to operational Spitfire squadrons were soon confronted with an initial flight in the Spitfire after familiarising themselves with the pilot handbook and taking advice from experienced pilots. Unlike the Harvard, the Spitfires were single seaters and therefore first-time pilots did not have the benefit of backseat monitoring.

The comparison of the performance of the Spitfire vs the Harvard was like comparing a family saloon with a supercar. The Harvard engine developed around 550 horsepower, but the Spitfire’s Rolls Royce Merlin engine developed more than twice the power and was integrated into a more slippery airframe. Consequently, many aircraft were damaged or written off during initial training flights, with resulting pilot fatalities.

Fortunately, most pilots and aircraft survived training and were eventually introduced into combat. Coincidentally, it later emerged that the German Luftwaffe, with a similar training issue, lost more Me109s in training incidents than in combat.

Still Flying … and Training

Fast forward 80+ years, there are now approximately 60 flying Spitfires in the world, and their airframes are considerably more valuable than they were at the beginning of World War 2. A single Spitfire cost approximately £13,000 to produce in 1939, whereas today an airworthy Spitfire is worth £2-4 million.

Although the current demand for Spitfire pilots is relatively limited, the training is not without risk to pilot or airframe. The difficult transition from a Harvard type to the Spitfire has been helped by a handful of two-seater aircraft.

Boultbee Flight Academy, soon to be known as Spitfire.com, The Spitfire Academy, based at Goodwood Aerodrome, West Sussex, was established in 2010 – the world’s first modern-era Spitfire pilot training school. The academy has developed a pilot transition course for the Spitfire utilising a real-time Spitfire flight simulator.

The Spitfire has a long and illustrious connection with Goodwood Aerodrome. Formerly RAF Westhampnett, the airfield was created on Goodwood Estate land which was donated by Freddie March, the 9th Duke of Richmond, the renowned amateur racer and aircraft engineer who assisted the war effort. Flying training began at Goodwood early in 1940 when young pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires. It was active from July 1940 to May 1946 as a Battle of Britain station, and home to 43, 129, 145, 602 and 616 Squadrons, operating Hawker Hurricanes, P-51 Mustangs, and Spitfires. Douglas Bader flew his last wartime flight from Westhampnett. It was also from there that the first operational sorties by the fighter groups of the US 8th Air Force flew in combat with the allies, one of the first sorties being the infamous Dieppe raid.

Boultbee Flight Academy is approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to give training in the Spitfire. Boultbee operate a single-seat MK IX Spitfire, a dual-seat MK IX Spitfire, a North American T-6 Texan, and two de Haviland Chipmunks. Boultbee has spent the past three years developing a Spitfire simulator to provide a valuable aid to Spitfire transition courses.

The use of simulation for training World War 2 fighter pilots is not new, of course. The first electrical simulator, patented in 1929 in the US, featured a dummy fuselage controlled by motors linked to the rudder and steering column – the Link Trainer. Designed by Edwin Link, it used pneumatic bellows to control pitch and roll and a small motor-driven device to produce disturbances. Link was the first to fit instruments to his trainers to teach pilots instrument flying. By the beginning of World War 2, many major allied air forces were undertaking basic instrument training on Link Trainers. These early basic simulators were designed to enhance airmanship skills, but were not type-specific, unlike the Boultbee simulator, which is the first sim approved by the CAA as part of a Spitfire training programme.

The development and maintenance of the simulator is managed by Nigel Coverwell, Boultbee’s IT Manager and sim instructor. Nigel, together with operational input from Boultbee’s Chief Instructor, Tim Granshaw, have created a mature training device. The simulator has been carefully constructed to replicate the cockpit of the MK IX single-seat aircraft in the Boultbee operation. The fuselage, from frame 5 to 13, has been constructed from mostly original parts from dismantled aircraft. A few parts have been made specifically for the simulator to aid the conversion from analogue to digital operation.

The cockpit and instrument panel for the new Spitfire simulator. Image credit: Chris Bunning.

The cockpit is indistinguishable from the real environment, even to a wartime or modern Spitfire pilot. The instruments are all original with the internals modified by Airtech Simulation to incorporate modern digital to analogue drivers. All the controls and dials work exactly as they would in the aircraft. Original parts include: the Spade grip; fuselage frames; rudder mechanism parts; fuel tank cover; all instruments; the undercarriage selector; primer pump; seat belt mechanism; canopy frame; door mechanism parts; switches; throttle quadrant parts; gunsight; and numerous other controls. A great deal of attention has been made to ensure there is close correlation with the Boultbee single-seat MK IX aeroplane.

The fuselage is mounted in a fibreglass dome of 1.5m radius that covers 220 degrees of horizontal field of view. Seven projectors are mounted on a structure at the rear of the fuselage and their images edge-blended on the dome surface. The centre of the dome is situated at the eyepoint of the pilot. The nose of the aircraft is projected onto the dome, and so are the computer-generated wings which are exactly correct to size and scale. The visual representation of flaps and aileron movement are also computer generated. Detailed visual models have been created for Goodwood Aerodrome, Southampton Airport, Shoreham Airport, and their surrounding areas.

Engine sound is provided through the headset worn in the cockpit. The simulator instructor has the ability to act as an air traffic controller as well as introducing common malfunctions into the simulation.

The motion system works in pitch axis providing the runway surface effects, engine vibration and turbulence, which can be felt through the airframe. Active control loading is applied to the primary controls to give realistic feedback to the pilot.

The Spitfire software aerodynamic model was developed initially by A2A Simulations, who provide warbird simulations for the gaming/home simulator industry. The software available for Microsoft Simulator and other platforms has been well developed for the Spitfire. To verify and further develop the aerodynamic model, A2A were invited to the UK to instrument the Boultbee MK IX two-seater with accelerometers and cameras to collect data from various manoeuvres and thus refine the aerodynamic model. The results benefitted both the Boultbee simulator and the gaming environment and demonstrates the increasing crossover between the gaming world and the synthetic training world.

The aim of the Boultbee Spitfire conversion course is to teach pilots to fly the two-seat aeroplane safely. The prequalification for the course is a Chipmunk or equivalent rating and a Harvard/Texan or equivalent rating. The syllabus comprises 20 hours of ground school instruction and a minimum of 16 flights with 15 hours flying time.

The simulator is a valuable component of the ground school. It is used for familiarising the student with systems operation, normal, abnormal, and emergency procedures. Use of the simulator plays an important in preparing the student for the tricky transition from Harvard to Spitfire and a vital tool in avoiding any time loss due to the startle effect if an abnormal situation were to occur in flight.

After completion of the conversion course, Boultbee offer an additional course to prepare a pilot to fly the single-seat aircraft. This includes 10 hours in the simulator to prepare the pilot for three hours in the wartime MK IX.

Boultbee, as well as being an approved training organisation, offers experiences associated with the Spitfire. Simulator sessions are offered as a stand-alone experience or as a preparation for back-seat experience flights in the two-seater Spitfire.

Boultbee also offer Spitfire display services, and the simulator is a valuable tool in preparing for display flights. Display pilots can safely plan and practice their display routines in the simulator and therefore reduce valuable flight time.

The mission of Spitfire.com, The Spitfire Academy, is to provide a safe and effective pathway for training the future generation of Spitfire pilots. These pilots will ensure that valuable historic aeroplanes are flown safely and that future generations will experience the sight and sound of a Spitfire performing aerobatics over the English countryside. This pathway has been substantially enhanced by the use of modern digital technology in the development of the world’s first Spitfire flight simulator fit for training.

About the Author

Chris Bunning, FRAeS, is Director of Hornbeam Consulting, Redhill, UK, and former Regional Director Customer Management for Boeing Training & Flight Services.