University of Leeds geophysics expertise will be called in to help with the final stage of Lincolnshire aviation enthusiast David Cundalls bid to locate buried Spitfires in Myanmar. Dr Roger Clark, Senior Lecturer in Geophysics in the Universitys School of Earth and Environment, and Dr Adam Booth, a Research and Teaching Associate at Imperial College London (formerly University of Leeds) will lead a geophysical ground investigation in Mingaladon, after which the site will be excavated. It is hoped the dig can take place in January, pending final negotiations with Myanmar officials. Read more
The 75th anniversary of the first ever Spitfire flight was marked in Kent this weekend (2011). Designed by R J Mitchell, the Spitfire was born 75 years ago when test pilot Captain Joseph 'Mutt' Summers took to the skies over Southampton in the first ever prototype K5054 spitfire on the 5th March 1936. The flight lasted just 8 minutes but marked a turning point in British aviation history.
On 5 March 1936, the prototype Supermarine Spitfire (K5054) took off on its first flight from Eastleigh Aerodrome (later Southampton Airport). At the controls was Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers (Aviation) Ltd., who was reported in the press as saying "Don't touch anything" on landing. Read more