There are rarely events that truly make our fingers tingle, but this, dare we say, is one. And the best part is, thanks to our aerospace fasteners, we can say that we’ve had the privilege of playing our part in the very nuts and bolts of the enterprise.
In a daring project that brings to light the beautiful and elegant design of one of our all-time favourite aircrafts.
Two pioneering aviators, Matt Jones and Steve Brooks, along with their dedicated support team, are attempting to fly their Silver Spitfire around the globe.
Their tour will take them to some of the earth’s most impressive landmarks. From the Grand Canyon in the Arizona desert, to Mount Fuji in the East.
Taking off from Chichester-Goodwood Airport on August 05th, the team will head north to Iceland, then Greenland, Canada and the USA before crossing over into Russia and heading down across Asia and India.
They then make their way west across Pakistan and into the Middle East, across North Africa then over the Mediterranean and back into Europe. They are expected to land back in ‘Blighty in time for Christmas, touching back down at Chichester-Goodwood on the 08th December.
Many of the countries visited will have fought alongside the British during WWII so it’s fitting that this iconic symbol of freedom should pay them a visit on the 75th D-Day Anniversary year.
It’s also one of the best known and treasured emblems of British aviation, and this project will showcase the heritage and engineering of a timeless classic. One that has helped shape the very course of history.
The Silver Spitfire is a symbol of the possibilities of aerospace engineering and design, as well as an act of remembrance for those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice standing up to the regimes of oppression that threatened the free world in the 1940s.
This project then, to put it mildly, has us thoroughly excited. To see the Spitfire take to the skies again and inspire future generations as it inspired so many of us is truly awe inspiring.
The Background of the Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire was developed and designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell.
Mitchell pushed the Spitfire’s distinctive elliptical wing (designed by B. Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, helping give the aircraft a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane.
It was a single seated fighter aircraft that was used throughout World War II (and for some time after) by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries.
It gave the Allies a distinctive advantage in many air battles, not least during the Battle of Britain.
The Spitfire had several variations, using a few different wing configurations. It was the only plane that saw continuous production throughout the war and was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft.
How the Silver Spitfire compares
The Silver Spitfire is an Mk.IX Spitfire finished in polished aluminium with the guns removed. The demilitarisation of the aircraft removes the distraction of the traditional guns and camouflage paint.
Instead it allows people to see the elegance and beauty behind this carefully engineered machine.The shiny silver of the polished aluminium is eye-catching to say the least and draws attention to that timeless design and famous shape.
How did our Historic Fasteners help?
We are specialists in our field and have been producing a broad variety of large batch and small batch fasteners to the industry for decades as well as specialty fasteners.
Our historic fasteners were used throughout the rebuild of the Silver Spitfire and are literally holding it together.
We are proud to have been involved in such a momentous project that is doing so much to bring back to the public eye the historic symbol of freedom that is the Spitfire.
To stay up to date with the project and find out more about the Silver Spitfire and the immense adventure that the intrepid pilots are taking it or visit Silver Spitfire where you can follow their progress, donate and support the project, or even buy some classic Silver Spitfire memorabilia.
Good luck chaps!
For more about fasteners get in contact: +44 (0)208 504 8833