Fly Past

November 2018 FLYPAST 53

To gain familiarisation on type, he
went to Florida and flew Mustangs
with Stallion 51 before completing
his first solo in ‘JJ’ at Duxford. He
flew his new pride and joy back to
North Weald in February 2003.

The Holy Grail
With the Mustang and Staggerwing
at North Weald, Peter turned his
attention to acquiring a British
fighter. The first of these was a
Spitfire Mk.IX project; PT879 was
built at Castle Bromwich in 1944
before being shipped under the
Lend-Lease agreement to Russia, to
fly with the Soviet Air Force. The
Spitfire crashed during a dogfight
in spring 1945, after just 28 hours’
flying time. It was recovered by a
farmer who perhaps realised the
machine’s potential future value.
In 1998, PT879 was brought out
of Russia by Biggin Hill Heritage
Hangar’s Peter Monk. Upon arrival
at Airframe Assemblies
in the UK, original
paint could clearly be

seen on significant parts and the

aircraft was remarkably complete.

The fighter moved to Essex in 1999;

Peter purchased it in 2003 and

transported it to North Weald.

Peter initially opted to store the

project as he continued to pursue an

example of the ‘breed’ that he could

fly right away. “In 2004 the search

for an airworthy Spitfire was on, and

I considered a few different aircraft,

but none had interesting histories,”

he says. “I wanted an airframe that

stood out, and the one that really

did that was the sky-blue example

I came across. At Woodchurch

airshow in Kent I met ‘Taff ’ Smith

from the Breighton-based Real

Aeroplane Company, who then

operated PR.XI PL965.

“It transpired that this

reconnaissance Spitfire was for

sale and it had an impeccable

wartime history, having completed

some 45 missions with the RAF’s

16 Squadron while based

at Melsbroek in

Belgium.”

Built at

Aldermaston, Berkshire, in 1944,

PL965 flew without armour or

weapons. The PR.XI was the fastest

of the Merlin-powered variants – its

top speed of approximately 450mph

(724km/h) meant it could outrun

German fighters. After RAF service

it was sold to the Royal Netherlands

Air Force and in July 1947 was

flown to Deelen to be used as an

instructional airframe. By 1960, the

Spitfire had moved to a museum at

Overloon where it remained for the

following 27 years.

A return to the UK was initiated

by Nick Grace in the 1980s and the

Spitfire’s restoration to flight was

completed in 1992. It then spent

time at Duxford and was often

flown by legendary Old Flying

Machine Company boss, Ray

Hanna. Joining the Real Aeroplane

Company in 2001, PL965 was to

travel across the ‘pond’ to Florida

before returning to Yorkshire six

years later.

“I swiftly purchased the aircraft

for the Hangar 11 Collection and

had it moved to North Weald,” says

Peter, with a smile on his face. “My

first solo was in October 2004, from

RAF Henlow where the star-shaped

grass runways proved more practical

and thus a very good location for a

first flight on type.”

Enter the

Kittyhawk

Barely a year had passed before

Peter set out in pursuit of an

additional fighter. This time it was

to be another US design, in the

distinctive shape of a Curtiss

Below

A warbird cockpit

will always hold an

attraction for Peter.