How to enjoy Blackpool's newest £2-per-second attraction with panoramic views from a legendary WW2 Spitfire
Blackpool’s Spitfire Visitors Centre is offering the flight of a lifetime in a WW2 Spitfire, but it comes with a hefty price tag
Aviation fans can enjoy an unforgettable flight in a legendary World War 2 fighter plan offering breathtaking views of Blackpool and the Fylde Coast. But the experience may cost you - a 30-minute flight will cost up to £112.50 a minute, or nearly two pounds per second.
Visitors to Blackpool’s Spitfire Visitors Centre can book a flight as a passenger on the two-seater T9 Spitfire. Packages cost £3,375 for a 30 minute session, £4,875 for a 45 minute flight and for 55 minutes, it will set you back £5,875.
The flights are available on one weekend a month, when the historic plane is flown up from its base at Biggin Hill, near Bromley, Greater London, where the Battle of Britain Spitfire squadrons were based.
‘You’ll have the opportunity to fly a Spitfire’
A spokesman for the Spitfire Visitor Centre, based at Hangar 42 at Blackpool Airport, said: “You can see the Pleasure Beach and Blackpool’s piers from the rear seat of our T9 Spitfire.
“You can discuss possible routes with your pilot in a pre flight briefing. Perhaps follow the coastline and check out Morecambe Bay or head inland to see the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
“Our Spitfires have dual controls and as part of the experience, you’ll have the opportunity to ‘fly a Spitfire, under the guidance of the pilot.”
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‘The flight of a lifetime’
Biggin Hill based operators Fly A Spitfire say their T9 was manufactured in 1943 at Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands, as a single seater fighter. After the war, it was converted to a two-cockpit armed training aircraft and was due to be sold to the Egyptian airport, but the sale never took place.
It was decommissioned in 1968 and was used in the filming of “Battle of Britain”, starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine which was released the following year.
A spokesman for the firm said: “We’re a Spitfire flight and restoration facility dedicated to returning Supermarine Spitfires to the air and offering people the chance to fly in a lovingly restored and maintained two seat Spitfire.
“With the help of our guests we’re able to keep these historic aircraft in the Skies where the belong. In addition, traditional warbird workshop restoration skills and techniques are kept alive in our unique living ‘Spitfire Factory’.
“Our team of pilots, engineers, ground crew, tour guides, volunteers and customer service staff are here to deliver the flight of a lifetime in the worlds most famous aircraft.”
Photographer Steve Simpson captured the historic fighter arriving at Blackpool airport for last weekend’s flights. The next Spitfire flights take place on the weekend of July 4 and 5 at the visitor centre.
Tickets can be booked at flyaspitfire.com/flights/30-minute-blackpool-airport-spitfire-flight