The Spitfire Reborn✈️ Rebuilding a WW2 Spitfire From Wreckage | Inside the Spitfire Factory Ep6

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]It's a national icon, an engineering masterpiece, >> [music] >> and a war winner.

[00:00:07]For a decade, the Spitfire lit up the skies. The British Spitfire had proved to be one of the deadliest [music] weapons ever put in the hands of man.

[00:00:15]Now, it's more popular than ever.

[00:00:18]They just stand for courage and victory and all those kind of things. And at one of Britain's greatest wartime airfields, it's being brought back to life. There I was, sitting there in amongst a 12-grand lump of wreckage, basically, but feeling quite pleased with myself that I now owned a Spitfire. Over the course of 9 months, we'll be following this small team of engineers [music] as they rebuild Spitfires, There's a wobble pump.

[00:00:45]explore their history, Gosh, look at that.

[00:00:48]and give veterans another chance to fly.

[00:00:51]Uh one and four.

[00:00:53]They'll be using many of the same plans, tools, and methods as their 1940s counterparts.

[00:01:00]I've got to warn you that probably will be some banging, clattering, and and scouring the planet for as many original components as they can find. I want 15 grand. But, they're on a budget. They're on a deadline. Got to do it today, otherwise, um we'll look like a bunch of idiots. [music] And those planes have got to fly.

[00:01:19]Welcome to the Spitfire Factory.

[00:01:28]This time at the Spitfire Factory, it's December, and after 2 years hard work, the Greek Spitfire is nearly complete.

[00:01:37]But, will she fly?

[00:01:41]As one project finishes, another arrives.

[00:01:45]But, not everyone's happy. I'd like a new kitchen, but Pete's quite happy to keep the old kitchen another 20 years.

[00:01:52]And veteran George Dunn returns [music] to the hangar hoping to see his Spitfire fly. You certainly had quite a war, George. You really did. Quite a war. And And you survived. That was the main thing. We were lucky, weren't we?

[00:02:09]It's been 18 months since MJ755 returned to the UK from Greece to be restored to flying condition, a Mark IX Spitfire that last flew for the Greek Air Force in 1953.

[00:02:21]We've watched as they reassembled the fuselage, added the tail, the wings, and the engine.

[00:02:28]They've restored or rebuilt almost 7,000 components.

[00:02:32]And with just 4 weeks left to go, they're at the snagging stage. All these parts are handmade, you know, and they all They're not done to a jig, so they all need final trimming, and maybe there's some slight angle adjustments, so it all fits nicely. There's quite a lot of pods on it at the moment, cuz we're getting to the sort of like the final stages of getting it sort of finished. You just look at it and you think, "Oh, there's still so much to do."

[00:02:59]Panel specialist Mark is working on the four metal cowlings [music] that wrap around the engine, some of which he's having to replace.

[00:03:07]Even though this came [music] off the Greek aircraft, um we've deemed it not fit for flight. It's too short down here around this area for some reason, but it looks like it's it's had different rivets in, which aren't the right specification rivets.

[00:03:19]These holes here are all oversized and large. They should be They should be more this size for the fasteners to go in. He's saving original sections whenever he can. This will fit to the underside of the Greek aircraft there.

[00:03:33]Um we've had to make a new new bottom cowl, new intake.

[00:03:38]This has all been um replicated and welded as it would have been done originally with oxyacetylene. Um and that's the new part grafted to a an old original um bottom cowl.

[00:03:53]80 years ago in the original Spitfire factories, even in the height of conflict, every finished part was given a stamp of approval.

[00:04:01]This is the original top cowling off the Greek Greek aircraft. That is the original inspection stamp. You could trace that right back in the day to who held that stamp and who inspected this panel um when it come off the production line.

[00:04:15]Meanwhile, Gary is working on a part that is giving the boss a serious last-minute headache, one of the radiator fairings. The other one we've sorted.

[00:04:26]We've got the original, it's been overhauled, and it fits nicely, so that's completed. This one today, standing here, we seem to have nothing.

[00:04:34]R.J. Mitchell's original design included an ingenious cooling system for the Spitfire's Merlin engine.

[00:04:41]He moved the radiators out to the wings and covered them with aerodynamically shaped fairings with controllable flaps to regulate airflow to the radiators and the temperature of the coolant circulating back to the engine.

[00:04:55]As part of the aerodynamic design, they have to fit perfectly.

[00:05:00]But, one of the Greek Spitfire's radiator fairings needs major repairs.

[00:05:04]The options are, yes, we do repair the old one, saving only 75% of it. That's going to take us time.

[00:05:11]We're going to gain a week by using a new one. We're going to lose money, but time is of the essence, but it's the quickest solution and one with that we need to take up to get this airplane out the door on time.

[00:05:24]Peter's already ordered a new fairing, but there may be a third option stashed away in his storeroom.

[00:05:33]Enter here at your peril. I spent days up here tidying the place up. Look at it.

[00:05:39]The trouble is it When I tidy it up, it looks bloody worse. I'm going to have to list this in there out the way.

[00:05:46]Cataloging system?

[00:05:48]Peter's memory.

[00:05:52]There's a whole mass of panels here, which I've had for donkey's years. In fact, that's a bit of the radiator fairing there. That's the That's the actual flap itself. Here is the fairing.

[00:06:07]Of course, it hasn't been moved out of here in a while.

[00:06:10]Could be a chance.

[00:06:12]I can see that it's completely original.

[00:06:14]Sounds promising. Okay.

[00:06:16]There's a definite left and a right hand to it.

[00:06:19]And uh this is the wrong hand.

[00:06:24]Back to square one. I've got to make a decision on this fairing and make it today, really.

[00:06:30]He just can't give up on that damaged original. This had some temporary repairs here. The airplane was in a museum exhibit for some years, in fact, decades. So, it didn't need airworthy repairs, just cosmetic, which is what's happened here. So, we'd have to remove this. So, it's an issue there.

[00:06:47]I've noticed that there are there's some very light corrosion on on the inside, which is what appears to be dust isn't, it's aluminum oxide, so corrosion.

[00:06:55]That's treatable. Bit of work, but I think we're in good good chance of saving this.

[00:07:00]Decision made.

[00:07:02]Unfortunately, I've I'd already ordered a new one, so I've got the 9,000 quid to find, but we'll use that on something else, and the original one will go back on. It's perfect. Peter will always go the extra [music] mile to save an original part.

[00:07:16]In the cockpit, Tony is putting the final touches to the electrical system.

[00:07:20]When uh people visit hangar, they say, "Oh, you you are so lucky. You've got a fantastic job."

[00:07:27]And this is the bit they don't see when you're wedged in some particularly uncomfortable position trying to do up a screw or something else. My job is basically to rewire the entire airplane. Uh we're 95% of the way through that now, and in the next day or so, I'll have power on the airplane.

[00:07:50]Franco is left to do all the really fiddly bits.

[00:07:54]Right now, he's making spaces called fairleads for the undercarriage cables.

[00:08:00]Right. Just going to see if they fit now.

[00:08:04]I estimated the gap, and it's not quite enough, and the cables are still touching.

[00:08:10]So, I'm going to have to take them off, make some more, and do it all over again.

[00:08:15]The Greek Spitfire's combination of original and replacement parts is almost perfect. But, there's one part Peter's been wanting for years. The Spitfire's British.

[00:08:27]We want a British propeller on there.

[00:08:32]There hasn't been a British-made Spitfire propeller since the 1950s.

[00:08:37]But, here at Hercules Propellers, Rupert Wasey is working very hard to change that.

[00:08:45]He uses a combination of authentic designs and materials with modern machinery to create propellers from all eras. Traditionally, propellers were made using hand tools, which is very time-consuming. We use a computer-controlled machine, which will mill the propeller from our laminated block of wood, and it's much quicker and much more precise.

[00:09:06]This is the software which controls the machine, and the tool is this mark here, and this shows the paths the tool is going to make over the block as it machines the wood away to leave a aircraft propeller.

[00:09:22]If he doesn't have the blueprints, Rupert can sometimes replicate original propellers from his collection. This is about the oldest propeller we have, which we've got here for copying, and this is off a Blériot airplane from France, um made in about 1910.

[00:09:39]When Rupert was asked to make an authentic wooden Spitfire propeller, its complexity meant he needed detailed original drawings to work from.

[00:09:48]And that's when fate stepped in. I got a phone call from a company about 10 miles from here, and they were refurbishing their offices and found a whole chest full of original propeller drawings and they Googled, found me and I raced over there and found this amazing treasure trove of original Spitfire propeller drawings. This was the original pen and ink drawing on linen paper. It was drawn on the 12th of March, 1942.

[00:10:20]We've got various dimensions of the blade width and thickness of all the aerofoil shapes along the way.

[00:10:28]Importantly, it tells us what the material the propeller was made out of.

[00:10:33]And it tells us the density of the wood, which is very important. In another stroke of luck, Rupert discovered that the extremely rare material they used still exists today.

[00:10:45]This is called Hydulignum. It's basically made out of very fine veneers of beech, less than 1 mm thick, coated in a phenolic resin and compressed to make a very dense, extremely strong composite. So, where we have carbon fiber and fiberglass now, this was the equivalent of the time. So, these days it's used for electrical insulators and interestingly, it's on the belly pan of most Formula 1 racing cars. So, when they bottom out on the racetrack, it doesn't cause sparks.

[00:11:18]The Spitfire's propeller needs this strong material because of the immense forces it generates.

[00:11:24]Four separate blades attached to a central hub with variable pitch to increase and decrease thrust.

[00:11:31]At full power, phenomenal strength [music] is required to simply keep the blades attached.

[00:11:38]After 4 years work, this is Rupert's prototype. If a blade detaches and comes away from the hub in flight, it'll be catastrophic. The engine will be so out of balance that it'll be shaken out of the airframe and the aircraft will crash. So, Rupert has been stress testing his blades to the breaking point. We calculated that the force throwing the blade away from the hub when it's running at maximum speed is about 30 tons, which is a a huge force just for this section of wood to take.

[00:12:08]But, we've carried out extensive tests and actually pulled a a mock blade until it broke and it actually broke at 80 tons. So, we know it's more than twice as strong enough.

[00:12:19]As the final touch, the composite blades are sealed with a thick coat of impact-absorbing epoxy.

[00:12:25]I feel immensely proud of this. It's been a huge project. We've been working for many years to get to this stage and seeing it all together being tangible and ready to go is is a wonderful moment. I'm really ready now. I want to see it fly. I want to see it run.

[00:12:40]It's going to be really exciting to see it take off.

[00:12:45]At the Spitfire factory, they're about to put the propeller on the Greek Spitfire.

[00:12:50]The new British propeller isn't certified yet, so they have to use a German-made one.

[00:12:55]But, Franco's still pretty excited. Very big moment in this.

[00:12:59]It's what makes it go forwards, isn't it, really?

[00:13:01]>> [clears throat] >> Without the fan on the front, you don't go anywhere, do you?

[00:13:05]It's a job they only want to do once.

[00:13:08]Once the prop's on, we unless we have a problem, we don't like to take it off again.

[00:13:14]So, we just make sure that belt and braces that everything's done and it's ready to go.

[00:13:20]The original hub has been restored with new blades added. It's a bit like I'm wrapping a present, really.

[00:13:28]The only thing is, it's quite an expensive present.

[00:13:31]£150,000 there.

[00:13:35]Now, first they need to attach a back plate.

[00:13:40]Once you get the back plate on, you can do it, but you can't do it before.

[00:13:43]Right, up we go.

[00:13:45]The hub should now fit directly onto the protruding propeller shaft.

[00:13:55]Get closer.

[00:13:58]>> [music] >> Push.

[00:14:08]>> [music] >> That's it.

[00:14:12]Is that on?

[00:14:15]It takes a delicate touch to get it on and then a bit of brute force to lock it in place.

[00:14:21]Am I close?

[00:14:25]It's a good day for the boss.

[00:14:27]It's another leap forward and actually convince the the owners that we're actually getting somewhere.

[00:14:34]>> [laughter] >> That's the biggest thing for me.

[00:14:36]And for very different reasons, it's also a good day for his eldest son.

[00:14:42]>> [music] >> 2 years ago, Alex Monk decided to follow in his father's footsteps and join the restoration team.

[00:14:49]>> [music] >> But, he doesn't just want to build Spitfires.

[00:14:52]His dream is to fly them.

[00:14:55]And here at Biggin Hill, he has the chance to follow in the footsteps of the young men who learned to fly them in the heat of war. Wartime pilots wouldn't have had many hours. The only difference between them and me is that that that was what they were doing. They would fly a lot regularly. I don't get to fly that regularly because I'm working on the airplanes. Most RAF pilots started their training in biplanes like the de Havilland [music] Tiger Moth. Top speed 109 mph and pretty easy to fly.

[00:15:27]The next step before getting in a Spitfire was one of these, a North American Aviation T-6 [music] Harvard, nicknamed the pilot maker.

[00:15:35]And fortunately for Alex, there's one available to use here at the Spitfire factory. With a top speed of over 200 mph, it has many of the features of a Spitfire including adjustable wing flaps, [music] a variable pitch propeller and retractable undercarriage.

[00:15:51]They call it a pilot maker cuz it's quite a good aircraft. Got a lot of tendencies in it. If you can overcome those, it puts you in good stead for flying the next aircraft up from that. It's just getting used to where the undercarriage is. That's it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And once you suddenly Jez Brickett, one of the regular pilots here, has agreed to train Alex. I think I know where I'm going wrong with this. With what? Well, flying in the Harvard and all the rest of it. Go on. I need a bigger watch. Jez has got a bigger watch than me.

[00:16:16]>> need a bigger watch.

[00:16:17]>> I need a bigger watch.

[00:16:17]>> the bigger the watch, the better the better the landing.

[00:16:20]He is exactly a trainee pilot of back in the day in the 1940s. He's a young man.

[00:16:24]He's just turned 21 and he's loving it.

[00:16:27]He's getting to play with these amazing airplanes and this is his first experience in a big Harvard. So, it's a big transition from his Piper Cub to going into a Harvard.

[00:16:37]But, Alex is not off to a great start. I I just got to go and tell Alex to put his flaps up. He's forgotten them. So, he started up left them hanging down at the moment.

[00:16:48]He's put the flaps down for the walk around check and he's forgotten to put them back up again, which is quite normal and I've done it. We've all done it and you just feel like a bit of a tit when you realize you haven't done something and everyone's watching you.

[00:16:58]One of the toughest challenges [music] for any aircraft is takeoffs and landings, which is what Alex will be focusing on today.

[00:17:06]Flaps up.

[00:17:09]Oh, it's takeoff piece of piss, really.

[00:17:10]If you just do it right, it's all right.

[00:17:12]Goes off in a straight line and keep it straight is the main thing.

[00:17:23]Positive rate of climb. Flaps Flaps are coming. Speed's gearing up.

[00:17:29]And they're up.

[00:17:32]Alex is flying the plane, but Jez is keeping his hands and feet firmly on the dual controls. [music] They've got the power back to 28 units.

[00:17:40]Pull the power back to about 2,000.

[00:17:42]And we're aiming at 120. Yeah, very good.

[00:17:46]Okay, round we go then. Just right and we head off towards 78.

[00:17:50]>> [laughter] >> After a couple of circuits, Alex will start practicing landings. He'll need to be fully focused.

[00:17:59]The Harvard can be extremely dangerous.

[00:18:01]During the war, around 8,000 RAF pilots and aircrew were killed in training, many while attempting to land.

[00:18:11]Alex is going to practice a type of landing called a touch and go. He has to learn to take the power off at exactly the right moment and then pull away. So, just keep her coming down like you are.

[00:18:23]>> [music] >> Powering off.

[00:18:28]He's down.

[00:18:30]Okay, flaps are coming.

[00:18:33]Okay, flaps. I want to go again? Yep.

[00:18:38]And Flaps are up. Banking you. He's up again.

[00:18:46]Is that a lot of going on? I know there is. I know. It's fine. So, just that one's just a little bit too much of a flare, wasn't it? Just hold it up a little bit high. And it bounced a Yeah.

[00:18:54]Okay, ready to go?

[00:18:56]Next time round, he'll land it for real.

[00:19:00]During the Battle of Britain, the demand for pilots got so high that many had just a [music] few hours of training before going solo in a Spitfire. I can get on the center line.

[00:19:10]I can confirm your gear is down. You have green lights. You just concentrate on the landing. Alex will [music] probably need at least 50 before dad lets him fly one of his Spitfires.

[00:19:23]>> [music] >> I can close the hole.

[00:19:28]Hold on.

[00:19:31]Oh, yes. That is a beauty.

[00:19:34]That's good. Hold Don't Don't touch [music] anything. Just keep it straight.

[00:19:40]He's nailed it.

[00:19:42]Very nice, Alex. Very nice. Well done. I identify the lever with your hand. Make sure it is the flaps. Not going to pull the gear up. Yeah. And then pull the flaps up, all right? Yeah.

[00:19:50]All right, flaps are traveling. Very good.

[00:19:56]That's it, never again. Never been so scared in my life.

[00:20:00]You did a great job.

[00:20:02]Ah, thank you for that.

[00:20:05]Alex is a step closer to achieving his dream.

[00:20:09]But now, he needs to get back to work.

[00:20:12]The deadline for the Greek Spitfire [music] is looming. But today, there's a bit of a spanner in the works because they need to get the plane ready to be weighed as part of its safety registration. We're just putting all the panels on the airplane cuz it's going to be weighed. It's always quite interesting cuz we have to get the tail up to get it in the flying position.

[00:20:30]It's going to be several hours work >> [music] >> for a 20-minute weighing.

[00:20:34]We are slaving all the bits and pieces that aren't fitted finally on the aircraft.

[00:20:40]Well, that's also semi-frustrating cuz it'll come on and then they've got to take it all off again afterwards.

[00:20:45]Franco needs to add some lead weights to the tail of the aircraft to balance the weight of the engine at the front.

[00:20:53]Tada!

[00:20:53]No one in there?

[00:20:58]Time for a game of guess the weight. I reckon this will weigh about 3,000 uh 3 and 1/2 thousand kilos. You're making it up.

[00:21:09]I'm making it up. I don't know.

[00:21:12]How much do you reckon it get, Alex?

[00:21:13]About a quarter under that.

[00:21:15]Uh he wants to go a quarter under, do you think? I'm going a quarter under just cuz we ain't got any bits. We'll just go with that, yeah.

[00:21:22]So, that that's solid lead that is. It's heavy.

[00:21:26]You don't want to drop it on your foot.

[00:21:29]The important parameter for a Spitfire is not its overall weight, but the balance.

[00:21:35]The center of gravity needs to be close to frame five where the engine, fuselage, and wings meet.

[00:21:42]And it can't move more than a few centimeters as the fuel or ammunition load lightens during flight.

[00:21:49]I was looking for the weighing guy.

[00:21:54]Oh, they're bringing the kit in.

[00:21:56]Tom, hi Tom, it's Franco. The chief engineer. So, guys, we've just got a couple more panels to go on. Yeah.

[00:22:02]And then we'll just have a sweep of the floor and then we'll get it all ready for you to start weighing.

[00:22:08]To get accurate readings, everything has to be just as it would be during a flight.

[00:22:15]Have you put the door on? Nice one.

[00:22:19]They're almost ready.

[00:22:23]With vintage aircraft, especially when they're rebuilt, they can be quite out if they've had extra fuel tanks and such put in them. With this one, I'm not expecting anything too outrageous.

[00:22:34]First, it's weighed with all three wheels on the ground.

[00:22:37]Are we on them?

[00:22:40]Okay.

[00:22:43]I got 2626.

[00:22:46]And the back should be 38 something, right?

[00:22:48]Now he's weighed it as a 3-point. We're now going to lift the tail up, position the scales on the tail wheel and put it down whilst it's in the flying position. Go.

[00:23:01]The overall weight shouldn't change, but the amount of weight on each wheel will.

[00:23:06]Go on in.

[00:23:10]Ready?

[00:23:10]They're lifting about 150 kilos right now.

[00:23:15]No hurry, Tom.

[00:23:20]There we go.

[00:23:21]That was effing heavy, that was. I think that was about uh 3 tons too heavy. That means now he can do another calculation of all the weight.

[00:23:32]Add them all together to get the actual total weight of the aircraft.

[00:23:35]What was that? 5610?

[00:23:38]Yeah.

[00:23:38]Divide that by 2.2.

[00:23:42]Is that all it is? 2,550 kilos?

[00:23:45]What did I say?

[00:23:47]I don't know. What did you say?

[00:23:48]>> 1/2.

[00:23:49]Did you? So, you're the nearest. All right, you make the tea.

[00:23:52]I join. Now he's just dropping plumb bobs.

[00:23:55]Uh and then you'll see that he'll be laying chalk lines across the floor to work out the center of gravity.

[00:24:02]Tom uses the plumb lines to calculate the exact dimensions of the plane.

[00:24:07]So, the aircraft weighs 5,610 lb, which is pretty much what we expected. And the center of gravity ever so slightly further forward than I'd expect. Uh so, it might mean that we have to put some ballast in the back just to bring that back.

[00:24:24]Now, it's time to undo all the morning's hard work.

[00:24:30]It might feel like a day's work lost, [music] but they're a big rubber stamp closer to getting her ready to fly.

[00:24:39]Meanwhile, team historian [music] Robin is heading off to visit the last British pilot to fly her, 97-year-old George Dunn. Once these gentlemen have gone, if their memories are not recorded, then it is lost forever.

[00:24:54]Before he flew Spitfires, George was a bomber pilot.

[00:24:59]Now, George, who are these guys? That was my crew. Your crew.

[00:25:03]>> They're all dead now, but Are they really?

[00:25:06]Yeah. You had a good crew there, you really did. Of the dozens of operations that George flew, one of the most important and dangerous came on the 17th of August, 1943.

[00:25:17]We were told that it was a secret research station radar connected and was a very important target from the country's point of view.

[00:25:34]The target was a military research facility where V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets were being developed deep inside Germany on the Baltic coast at Peenemünde. V2 fell without warning.

[00:25:50]At a speed of 3,300 mph and it could not be intercepted by fighter aircraft or brought down by anti-aircraft artillery.

[00:26:00]We were told in the briefing that if we didn't do the job that night, we go back the following night and the night after and the night after until it was.

[00:26:13]George's Halifax was one of 596 bombers that took part that night.

[00:26:19]He was fortunate to be one of the first to fly with the element of surprise.

[00:26:25]I decided that the raid was going to be carried out in three waves. Right.

[00:26:32]We were originally going to go in the last wave, the third wave. Right.

[00:26:40]But they moved us from the third wave to the first. Right.

[00:26:46]And they, of course, as you know, all the losses were from halfway through. Yeah, yeah. So, we had a a fairly easy run.

[00:26:57]We had a bit of flak, Yeah. but no fighters or anything.

[00:27:00]>> No, nothing like that. So, we got able to bomb and get away and get back on our return, whereas the people in this halfway through the second and the third waves Yeah.

[00:27:14]really copped it. So, again, but a lot this year we're lucky. Came into it absolutely.

[00:27:21]>> hadn't If we'd have been in the third wave, Yeah, so you probably I might not have been talking to you now.

[00:27:27]George still has his logbook from that day. The following day, they did a Spitfire wrecky.

[00:27:33]>> Reconnaissance, yeah, yeah. [music] And uh saw saw the photographs that came back and uh decided that it had been a success.

[00:27:45]It's thought the bombing raids put back the V2 rocket program by a vital two months.

[00:27:51]After the war, George was posted to Egypt for a very different assignment.

[00:27:55]Suddenly found myself sent to 132 maintenance unit Ismaelia. Right.

[00:28:02]And reported to the flight officer, chap.

[00:28:07]I said that I thought I'd finished up here. I don't know what I'm doing here.

[00:28:11]I said, "What What do you What do you do?"

[00:28:14]He said, "Oh, we fly Spitfires here, mainly for a lot of them going for sale to Greek Greek Air Force."

[00:28:23]So, I said, "Well, I haven't flown a single-engine aircraft since my Tiger Moth days."

[00:28:29]Oh, he said, "You'll be all right." He chucked me a set of pilot's notes.

[00:28:34]>> Yeah. He said, "Have a read of that and you'll be okay." As easy as that. As easy as that, I honestly. So, how many did you actually ferry in all? I did two trips.

[00:28:45]>> Right. We flew 10 at a time. Refueled at Nicosia in Cyprus.

[00:28:49]A Lancaster did the navigation. Right, yes.

[00:28:53]>> And then we all came back Yeah. in the Lancaster. In the Lancaster, yeah. You certainly had quite a war, George, you really did. Quite a war. And you survived, that was the main thing. We were lucky, weren't we? You know.

[00:29:05]>> Yes, yes. Robin leaves George with an invitation to come and see his Greek Spitfire again when it's ready to fly.

[00:29:16]Back at the hangar, a dry December day is an opportunity for a big leap forward.

[00:29:22]Hopefully, we can get the aircraft to a state where we can run it. The engine's already been checked. We've got to check the function of the propeller and make sure that it's harmonized with the engine.

[00:29:33]And we've got the pipe work to look at.

[00:29:35]There's lots of joints, lots of connections, and we can make need to make sure that none of those leak. But, they've been having some problems with the fuel tanks. We have fuel leak on the bottom tank.

[00:29:48]Hi-ho, never mind.

[00:29:53]Finally, they get the main fuel tanks installed.

[00:29:56]Daylight is an issue for us today. Got about an hour and a half before it gets dark.

[00:30:02]This is a frustrating time. I don't want to have to go back to the owners uh and say that things are taking [music] longer than they should do and uh ask for more money cuz that's that's not how we work. We we never have. So, each day that it goes on now is becomes a little bit more of a worry and a a few less minutes sleep at night. So, yeah, we need it we need to get it done.

[00:30:23]The ailerons are going on, but the light is fading fast. If we're not outside in probably 20 minutes, we'll bin it because um we won't have we won't have sufficient daylight and we won't be able to check see that we've got leaks. We don't want to be running it under artificial lights. No point.

[00:30:41]Time has run out. It's a downer for me and I can't put pressure on the guys. I don't cuz it's not the right thing to do. So, we still need the job done properly. So, it's it is what it is.

[00:30:51]Get there eventually.

[00:30:54]Well, we do what we do.

[00:30:56]He's failed today. The boss hasn't failed. We failed the boss.

[00:31:00]I feel very gutted.

[00:31:06]>> [music] >> But, it's not all bad news because Peter's [music] Christmas present to himself has arrived. Oh, it's brilliant day. We Apart from being in the middle of winter and freezing cold is a a something just to cheer us all up. We've got another Spitfire arrived. Another two-seater. So, um that gives us quite a number actually in the hangar. Exciting moment. Very exciting moment. Quite a big dent in the bank balance, though.

[00:31:32]Sometimes it's excitement and sometimes it's waking up at 3:00 3:00 in the morning thinking what the bloody hell am I doing?

[00:31:40]Aha, more bits.

[00:31:41]Uh we'll just keep going, shall [music] we?

[00:31:44]It's a 1945 Mark IX two-seater complete with ready-to-fly Merlin engine.

[00:31:51]The engines that are overhauled in in England are generally black.

[00:31:54]So, to see one gray, yeah, it looks quite different.

[00:31:59]Shiny and beautiful but to handle with care. No, no, no, no, no, down. We're not going to drag the engine. It's too close to the side.

[00:32:08]Look, if that touches the side once, that could just destroy that.

[00:32:13]Keep coming.

[00:32:15]He's not going to do anything. He's going to go straight out and put it down.

[00:32:19]We'll do That's it.

[00:32:21]That's fine. We're going to put it over there beside that wing.

[00:32:25]Now for the fuselage.

[00:32:27]Oh, the joy of unwrapping a new toy.

[00:32:30]Fantastic. Another airplane to put together.

[00:32:34]Are we in?

[00:32:36]That'll do, then.

[00:32:38]Peter's a happy man.

[00:32:40]Oh, it looks to a good standard, but this makes me laugh.

[00:32:44]Someone's actually written on there what it actually what it is.

[00:32:47]I don't know why.

[00:32:49]There's just one small problem.

[00:32:52]He hasn't told the wife. There might be one or two discussions with Linda later as to how much it cost and so on, but we'll worry about that bit later.

[00:33:02]Uh-oh, look who's here. Do it.

[00:33:06]I walked right by it. No. Yeah.

[00:33:09]There's another one.

[00:33:12]Time for the third degree. When was it flying last?

[00:33:15]Oh, a few years ago. 10 years. 10 years ago? Yeah.

[00:33:18]So, how long do you think this is going to take before it's up and running? I'm allowing 6 months. It won't take 6 months, but I'm allowing 6 months.

[00:33:26]>> Fly next season, then. Oh, yeah.

[00:33:28]It's not really what Linda wants for Christmas. I'd like a new kitchen, but Pete's quite happy to keep the old kitchen another 20 years.

[00:33:37]Okay, so when was it built and then when was it um Early 1945, but it did take part in the Battle of Britain film.

[00:33:44]Peter seems to be winning. So, you've got to give and take, haven't you?

[00:33:49]And Pete will give in the kitchen.

[00:33:52]Maybe not. Now that it's here, that subject will come up over dinner tonight. It's all right, how much did it cost? When only 2 days ago I suggested that a a figure that we could spend on the kitchen, which is 15 years old at home. So, um and the doors are starting to fall off.

[00:34:10]Anyway, who's worried about doors falling off the off the kitchen units when you can have a Spitfire?

[00:34:16]You can never have too many Spitfires.

[00:34:21]After days of setbacks and snagging, the Greek Spitfire restoration team has one last chance of getting her running before Christmas. Today, hopefully engine running day. We said this last Was it last Friday or Thursday?

[00:34:36]>> Last Wednesday.

[00:34:38]Since then, they've had to completely take apart the fuel tank, reseal it, and put it back together. Fingers crossed.

[00:34:44]No fuel leaks and then we'll tie it down and do some runs. It'd be nice to get it done now, couple of days before Christmas so we can all break away, go home, and uh enjoy a bit of turkey. Got to do it today. Otherwise, um we'll look like a bunch of idiots.

[00:34:59]With the light starting to fade, they're ready to push her out and fuel her up.

[00:35:05]80 L, right?

[00:35:06]Yeah.

[00:35:08]The tail is secured to the tarmac and the fuel system checked for leaks.

[00:35:13]No no leaks. Guys are just going to get precautionary fire extinguishers and um yeah, we're ready to give it a go.

[00:35:20]As a qualified pilot, Peter's doing the honors in the cockpit.

[00:35:25]But, the temperature is plummeting.

[00:35:26]Going to put the cover on underneath here. Bloody draft going to come right up my trouser leg round my nuts.

[00:35:33]It's now or never.

[00:35:44]Bit slow.

[00:35:46]Is this 382's battery by any chance?

[00:36:01]What we always do is just run it just for a few seconds and then need need to check to make sure that we've got no um air locks in the coolant system.

[00:36:11]The coolant is [music] topped up and they're ready for a second go. Yeah, clear.

[00:36:23]Bugger.

[00:36:24]I'm struggling at the minute to keep the engine running. Cuz it's quite likely that the idling system [music] is running a bit lean. It's not getting enough fuel to air ratio, which we call lean mixture. So, Frank's richening that up with um the mixture screw. So, we'll give it another bash now. Have you done it? Yeah, clear through. Okay.

[00:36:42]Clear?

[00:36:43]Clear.

[00:36:52]That's more like it.

[00:36:59]The engineers crawl underneath to check for leaks.

[00:37:03]Right, I'm happy with that for a first run.

[00:37:07]Job done and a big sigh of relief all round.

[00:37:12]It's satisfying.

[00:37:14]It does what it's supposed to.

[00:37:16]Got to another milestone so then we can move on.

[00:37:19]Alex is being silly as normal, but you can't get around that.

[00:37:22]It's the perfect Christmas present for everyone [music] on the team.

[00:37:26]But, come New Year, will she fly? There do you. Stop there.

[00:37:40]It's the big day and the engineers are polishing up Spitfire MJ755.

[00:37:46]Well, if you go into Ferrari dealership, they put a mat out for you and it's [music] all polished. So, why shouldn't you do the same for a Spitfire? Here we are, just going around getting all the grubby engineers' hands off of it.

[00:37:59]Finger marks.

[00:38:00]Alex is getting a bit emotional. It's um the pinnacle of the last sort of year and a half of my life, I guess. It's all accumulated into this here. So, it'd be nice that it works. I like that this vintage. Yep. Makes it more unique.

[00:38:14][music] It does. Adding a little extra pressure, the money men have flown in from Greece. It's the most original Spitfire that we've ever had in the hangar. And it's the only probably one the the most original we'll ever have.

[00:38:25]They haven't seen it, I think, for uh nearly a year. And the last time they came came through, it was just in bits all over the floor.

[00:38:33]Yeah, no, we need to fly some hours on it. How many hours? 20.

[00:38:37]20 hours? If we can.

[00:38:40]We need your permission. It's your airplane. Yeah, okay.

[00:38:43]>> [laughter] >> We can't just fly the airplane. No, you can't fly it.

[00:38:48]We've done as much as we can to make sure that we've mitigated all the possible risks and um it's ready to go, but yeah, slightly nervous.

[00:39:01]George Dunn has arrived.

[00:39:04]Hello and and I understand you're flying it.

[00:39:06]>> [laughter] >> It's very rare that you get to rebuild an airplane and actually still meet the pilot of that aircraft. Alex, how you doing? You've done a jolly good job, I believe. The Greeks are keen to meet George. He knows the way and he perhaps he should [music] fly it to Greece again. Yes, of course.

[00:39:21]>> [laughter] >> Next, veteran pilot meets modern-day Spitfire pilot. Hello, Pete. Hello there. Hi. You're going to take it back to Greece. This is the plan. Yeah.

[00:39:31]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, setting off in what, 10 minutes?

[00:39:34]It's a tremendous responsibility for me to be standing out there watching this thing take off.

[00:39:48]>> It's a perfect January day for flying.

[00:39:51]George, did you want to go up in the air, Ben?

[00:39:55]Oh, yeah, that'd be great. [music] You want to do that? Yeah.

[00:40:00]Big day, very big day.

[00:40:02]>> [music] >> Finally, she gets airborne again.

[00:40:05]It'd be great to see it. Can't wait.

[00:40:08]It's a group effort. It's a joint effort. It's a group effort, a group effort.

[00:40:12]Peter [music] Kynsey is an experienced test pilot.

[00:40:16]But flying a newly restored veteran aircraft for the first time is not for the faint-hearted.

[00:40:35]Alex is on ground crew duty today.

[00:40:44]There seems to be a problem.

[00:40:47]>> [music] >> Fortunately, just a seatbelt issue.

[00:40:55]MJ755 TAKE TWO.

[00:41:06]CHOCKS AWAY.

[00:41:14]GEORGE IS ALREADY IN position at 2,000 ft as MJ755 starts her run.

[00:41:21]About 7,000 parts, most of them 75-year-old originals, hundreds of them safety-critical, restored, rebuilt with no room for error.

[00:41:33]Everything is at stake right here, right now.

[00:41:44]Okay, guys.

[00:41:46]He's airborne.

[00:41:48]Just waiting for undercarriage to go up now.

[00:41:51]>> [music] >> There go the undercarriages up.

[00:42:14]>> [music] >> That's quite something, isn't it?

[00:42:23]Tension gives way to relief. Looking back over how it's got from the back of the container [music] in bits, dusty, dirty bits, and uh and there it is, it's now flying on a beautiful day, blue skies.

[00:42:38]The piece still up there, so he's obviously [music] happy with it.

[00:42:42]And enjoying it. Why not?

[00:42:45]I wish it was me, actually, right now.

[00:42:51]I think that might be flying for the for the un- uneducated here, I think that's flying.

[00:42:59]What what do you reckon that is, flying?

[00:43:00][music] Yeah, flying. It's a deeply emotional moment for everyone involved. It's such a special airplane, that one.

[00:43:10]But especially for a proud dad whose son is following in his footsteps. I remember Alex at 2 years old running around in um the fuselage of the Kent Spitfire [music] before it was before it was completed, running around with bits in his hand, not knowing what what he'd got in his hand and the >> [music] >> and the significance of those parts.

[00:43:34]It is a way of life for me. I have no no doubt about it. I can't see that I'll ever retire. If I did, I wouldn't know what to do.

[00:43:41]>> [music] >> Here we are, first flight of the of the Greek Spitfire. The guy that originally delivered it in '47, a 73 years ago.

[00:43:51]I sat there thinking, "Five years ago, I was in that same seat." I said, So, welcome back, George.

[00:43:59]How was that? That was a lovely flight.

[00:44:01]>> Was it? Good.

[00:44:02]>> You see that chat? He's so close to us.

[00:44:04]>> There you go. There you go. Fantastic.

[00:44:07]Look at that.

[00:44:09]>> [music] >> They've done it.

[00:44:18]>> [music] >> A perfect flight and a perfect bit of parking.

[00:44:30]Pretty good.

[00:44:33]>> [laughter] >> Fantastic. There he is. Character building. Yeah, it goes well. Yeah.

[00:44:39]Lovely. Everything all right? Yeah, pretty much.

[00:44:43]Happy? Yeah, very happy.

[00:44:45]Yeah, very happy.

[00:44:47]The Greeks are keen for a full report.

[00:44:50]It flies beautifully. It's It's a really nice airplane. Uh nice engine, nice and smooth, propeller smooth.

[00:44:56]On a day like today when the air is smooth as well, it's just perfect.

[00:45:05]Few nervous moments there, but um all went well, and it's all wrapped up today. Airplane flew, pilot was happy, the Greek representatives were very happy, and uh we're just about to put it away, put it to bed. It's been a super day, really has.

[00:45:22]It's a lovely thing to see, you know, after you've done all this work. I do get emotional cuz I see, you know, you go through it so many times that you restore an airplane and see it fly for the first time, and then we just move on to the next one.

[00:45:34]We've started the next one already, so the factory never stops.

[00:45:37]>> [music] >> We've got to keep these things in the air, so there's uh I've got to keep going for a while longer [music] yet.

[00:45:46]See you soon.

[00:45:47]>> [music] [music] [music]