70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain

Sometimes you have to admit that the BBC produces some of the best telly in the world and the recent Battle of Britain series of documentaries and films to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 1940 has been excellent.

We loved the likes of First Light – a programme telling the story of Geoffrey Wellum.  At just 18 years of age, he was one of the youngest to fly in the Battle of Britain, which tested British pilots and their planes to the limit between July and October in 1940 battling against the Nazi Luftwaffe.

On a lighter note, we particularly liked the fact that Ewan McGregor hooks up with his equally non-ugly RAF pilot brother Colin, to discover what it was like to fly magnificent planes like the Hurricane and Spitfire. As an RAF pilot, it was fascinating to see Colin leave his modern fighter jets on the ground to undertake flight training in a Spitfire in a 1940s style.

Of course, flying in a Spitfire isn’t something us ‘normal’ people will ever do, but you can get up very close and personal to a beautifully restored Spitfire with our series of ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ experiences. Using a helicopter to take you up in the skies above Kent, you’ll be met by the Spitfire who will then fly in formation alongside you in the chopper.

This means you’ll get excellent air to air photos of this most iconic plane and a unique flying view to boot. The experiences go from a 10 minute flight with the chopper to a full day out including a private flying display from the Spitfire piloted by Charlie Brown.