Spitfires

[Kelly Wilson]

This may be old news to some of you, but if you love Spitfires and would enjoy seeing the real things flying get a copy of a movie called "Piece of Cake". It is a six part (three dvd's) miniseries produced in England. I rented it from Netflix. The take offs and landings are awesome. There are also lots of good closeups and a few Me-109's on the aerial shots.

Check it out. You wont be disappointed.

[Bill Heher]

I think I have a book with the same title, I'll look when I get home. As I recall it was entertaining and fairly accurate fictional depiction of the '39-'40 air war in Europe. Worth reading.

Googled it - as I remembered.

Piece of Cake is a 1983 novel by Derek Robinson which follows a fictional Royal Air Force fighter squadron through the first year of World War II, and the Battle of Britain. It was later made into a television series.

[Neville Legg]

Here in England, we saw it when it came out in the 80's. One of my heros did a lot of the flying scenes, Ray Hanna one time leader of the RAF's Red Arrows, and (I think?) owner of the Old Flying Machine Co. His flying displays in a MkIX Spitfire, are legendary over here, I have dozens of photo's of him flying this aircraft, low, very low smooth flying was his trademark, very exciting stuff! He died a few years ago of natural causes. if you want to see his style of flying, just Google Spitfire, low pass, and watch the TV presenter have a heart attack!

Cheers

[PerttiMe]

... which reminds me:
A few minutes from Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2010

http://www.airshows.org.uk/2010/airshows/duxford-battle-of-britain-airshow-review.html

[mike hartung]

Also there is an old tape called the Perfect Lady. It was put out by EAA and cronicals the rebuilding of a Spitfire in England. Really nice flying shots over the white cliffs of Dover.

[john e. holliday]

Love watching the old warbirds in action, especially in person.  The Confederate Airforce put on a show years ago when my son was just in grade school.  The Olather Naval Air Base was still active.   We got there early so we get up close to the planes.  Then came show time when they started herding us spectators out of the display area.  Off to the East it looked like a swarm of bees coming at us.   At the same time the sirens starting going off.   Engines were firing up on the bombers and fighters.  It was total mayhem with planes taking off and emergency equipment running up and down the pavement.   Finally all planes are air borne and it got really got hectic as the pryo technics started going off and planes going both directions.   The cheers going up when a Jap Plane starting trailing smoke and going off below the horizon/hill  to a ball of flame.   I watched the same Zero landing at the far end of the runway.  Finally after all the planes had been destroyed of Jap air force it quieted down.   The casualties started landing and the B-17 was the last.  One engine trailing smoke with props feathered and only one main gear down.   He did a touch and go with that.  The high light was watching the dead engine quit smoking and fire up as he pulled up for landing.   Talk about a pilot as he came to a stop in front of the crowd with the tail still in the air.   Someone went running out on the runway waving at him.   The announcer said, "Yes he flies commercial passenger planes and keeps forgetting he has no nose gear".   Would love to see another show like that but both our military airbases are history.   I got more stories of the old military planes, but I better quit here.