Sopwith Camel and Spitfire flying in formation

Wanaka, New Zealand
April 2004
Two historic fighters were flown side by side to showcase the advance in technology in only 20 years! The Sopwith Camel and the Supermarine Spitfire are icons of their respective eras, both efficient designs that were very effective. The Sopwith Camel was first flown in 1916 and the Supermarine Spitfire made its maiden flight March 6, 1936.
thevintageaviator.co.nz/airsho...

[@CliffHarveyRCPlanes]

That was almost a spiritual experience, the world around me faded away as I watched, as if in a dream, my two favourite planes, wow.

[@DavidELD]

When you compare the two... it was just barely a decade or so from the Wright Brothers to the Sopwith Camel. Then you jump ahead 20 years or so to the Spitfire. Then about 20 years from the Spitfire, you have the first manned missions to space. Technology man. Then you see the two flying, the Spit flies so effortlessly like it was born to fly. The poor 100 year old Camel just wants to stay on the ground. It's probably saying. "WHAT AM I DOING UP HERE?! MAKE IT STOP! WANNA GO HOME, WANNA GO HOME! DON'T LIKE THE AIR!"

[@SulCoCrazy]

Ha! The spit during formation flighy is near stall speed and barely hangin on. The camel is right in her prime.

[@jamesshunt5123]

DavidELD It's all *relative* . The Spitfire was equally outdated by the dawn of fighter jets and all piston-engined fighters were deemed slow and obsolete by the Korean War of the early 50's already. A Sopwith Camel was a lethal plane at the hand of a skilled pilot in WWI, which is why it shot down more enemy planes than any other plane in WWI. The Wright Flyer couldn't even launch itself without a catapult and got some design elements wrong - such as the ailerons being at the front. By contrast the Camel was a practical aircraft with several times the range, altitude and speed of the Wright Flyer. As such you clearly know nothing. But alas silly people never deal in relatives and always in absolutes.

[@jvcardesign]

True True

[@Dragonblaster1]

@@SulCoCrazy I wonder why the pilot didn’t drop the flaps a bit.

[@Dragonblaster1]

16 years from the Wrights to the Camel. 17 years from the Camel to the Spitfire. 10 years from the Spitfire to the first jet fighter (Me 262). 5 years (yes, 5 years) from the Me 262 to the first supersonic flight (Bell X-1). 6 years from the Bell X-1 to the first supersonic jet fighter (F-100 Super Sabre). From the Super Sabre to the first Mach 2 fighter with supercruise (the Camel’s and Spitfire’s grandson, the English Electric Lightning), 6 years. From the Lightning to landing on the moon, 9 years.

[@Wellsy411]

5:10 doesnt even seem real.... its like something glorious from the past being relived right in front of you. thanks for uploading!

[@tasospatriwtis396]

OMG...THIS TWO IS MY FAVOURITE PLANES OF ALL TIMES...I JUST LOVE THIS BEAUTIES.

[@HSTMDad]

Beautiful vid and wonderfully clear sound. No music to mess with those engines either - perfect!

[@bbtreehaus]

Fantastic! My dad would have loved this; he was born at about the time of the Camel and was fascinated by flight since he was very young. When he joined the army in 1940, he wanted to fly. He passed every test but one. So he joined an anti-aircraft unit instead! He served in both WWII and Korea...a great man!!

[@FokkerBoombass]

Two of the best fighters of their time period... AWESOME

[@draoi99]

The sound of the Spitfire is just beautiful!

[@ChannelNotFound]

Spirfire is like "I'M AT STALL SPEED! CHEWY, GIVE ME FULL FLAPS!"

[@barrierodliffe4155]

30 mph above stalling speed, no need for flaps, it is a Spitfire not a P 47

[@doodlegassum6959]

With British accent of course Sir.

[@crazygood150]

I just love the sound of that Merlin engine in the spitfire, just beautiful

[@johnlohr5435]

I was witness to the spitfire during ww2and it's amazing performance from the waist position of a B 17 but I would not have believed the sopwith and it's scary engine and the name it finally made for itselfe. John Lohr 379th bomb groupe

[@Tuner010]

+John Lohr Try to think and put yourself doing the time of WWI pilots going through those take offs and landings and dog fights then look how the Sopwith Camel operates and maneuvers from the Allies point of view and the enemy axis. It Was a deadly Adversary in it's own rights during the WWI Era. 10 Kills was a Ace During WWI Cause of the way they worked and the pilots flew without air mask or anything to keep them warm except their clothes their wearing and their scarf and look how this taking and landing is so hard also. TOP of the line Performance Back Then. Not to mention Air Fighting was almost Unheard of back then it was just coming into existence.

[@hemmarket]

+John Lohr God Bless ya John !!! I flew in a B-17 as a civilian in 1994 (50th anniversary), just an amazing experience. And so much better when no one is shooting at you ! : ) My father served in the Navy during WWII and Korea.

[@harrypagetflashman1]

god bless you mr. lohr, thanks from an english patriot for your service...

[@CIWS1]

You have to love the sheer difference in the engine sounds. The "Playing card in wheel spokes" sound of the Sopwith and the aggressive and sexy purr of the Spitfire. Two amazing aircraft to be sure!

[@AmerAhmad]

Supreme. I hope this video gets preserved for posterity. As a pilot I never realised the curios stepped throttle of the sopwith. Amazing and very well flown, formation and filming

[@gjmoore5757]

what a beast.great sound .and the spitfire as well.

[@Baroness1015]

Wow! What a beautiful image. It's so cool to see how much planes of all kinds have advanced. Just between WW1 and WW2 you can see such a big diffrence in how far technology had come, and now look what we have. These planes are wonderful reminders of the birth of flight, keep em flyin!

[@callinstead09]

Man, what a phenomenal scene! I can't get over how good it is to see these planes still flying.

[@kirkconway]

that is sooo neat ,listening to Gene De Marco talking about the old planes and thier design's and flight characteristic's. and then that shot where the Spit is right there with Gene, and then Gene peel's off going back to the field. and the spit speed's up over the pretty countryside and then climb's into a loop,and the noise of that Merlin in the open air is beyond word's doing that loop with it's sillouette against the sky hard to discribe. INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!.

[@philipstrachan455]

This is truly wonderful! You need to know that this video clip has made my week :-) What skill Sopwith Camel pilots must have had (and still have for that matter)!

[@speedy_comet]

The planes, the scenery... beautiful.

[@streakeagle]

Outstanding footage. Simply amazing to see a rotary engine still working so well.

[@davidcompton7559]

Beautiful aerial shots -- thanks for this!

[@sopgravy]

Two of my favorites and a joy to watch! Thank you! DL

[@lanceortega1]

Amazing and interesting film - thanks to this interview in the beginning and the perfectly clean sound. PS Spitfire nearly stalled next to this biplane :-)

[@Enid2Sacramento]

Way to go, Kiwis! Never thought I would see something like this.

[@kirkconway]

the way that late model Spit is going thru that large loop with the hill's and greenery, and river's in the background and that sound od that merlin in ABSOLUTE MAJESTY. Totallly Incredible.

[@barrierodliffe4155]

That Spitfire Mk IX was not really a late model, they first entered service in 1942, they continued trough the war, there were 10 models made after the Mk IX.

[@JonnieCometLtd]

I am reminded of Hermann Goering's comment about the Mosquito, 'this beautiful wooden airplane' that, he said, Germany could not make whilst Britain, who, he said, had all the steel and aluminium Germany wanted, had the Mosquito being turned out by 'every piano shop in London'. We often think the Krauts had it all; but we forget to see their side. They were as afraid of the Allies as the Allies were of them. That's called 'at war'.

[@billygillan821]

Truly amazing seeing two of the most iconic fighters together

[@niklassilen4313]

Amazing footage!

[@GGigabiteM]

Gnome Monosoupape engines had no throttle. The engine was either "on" or "off", with reduction in power done by grounding the magneto on specific cylinders, or by turning the ignition off and blipping the engine.

[@Mostrichkugel]

Removing the chocks this way is quite dangerous. Why don't they attach strings to them and pull them away from the side?

[@The11thgrape]

Painfully beautiful, two of the worlds most beautiful aircraft flying in formation over New Zealand.

[@jjaybeebee1]

The Merlin does sound nice. I flew with RAF Bomber Command in the big war and heard 4,000 Merlins in 1,000 Lancasters in unison many nights of the week, That was really something to hear.

[@JonnieCometLtd]

This is super cool. Well worth watching!

[@letlivedidsbury]

Beautiful footage! Saw a spitfire and hurricane flyover at Kirmington, Yorkshire, England in 2003 for Squadron 166 reunion. I will never forget it

[@crazygood150]

This video changed my whole view of aircraft before 1930 and how they operated

[@dannyinaus]

wow, thumbs up for those pilots! That is some truly remarkable flying - just awesome to watch!

[@eromadrol]

Beautiful video, thanks ! And without f... music !... The engines sound is here PURE MUSIC !

[@N21X]

Simply incredible! Aviation history is so rich!

[@PrinceBishop3]

Man, great to hear that! I'm a huge Vampire fan. Was lucky enough to get in the cockpit of one in Langley BC. A stunning aircraft.

[@johnnorman7708]

WWI ended in 1918 and 20 years later in 1938 WWII was on. Two aircraft seperated by only about 2 decades almost as different as night and day. Stark contrast. Rotary Gnome was a scary little engine. What it took to fly that thing in air combat was extreme.

[@bossco09]

Awesome!!! love the sound of both aircraft......

[@DayTheBanksCollapse]

Check out that torque just after start! A fantastic aircraft, very very impressive to see flying in the flesh too.

[@Vicsam7]

Awesome Vid such Great Planes ! and Beautiful video quality ! Thanks !

[@MartinHatchuel]

So interesting and wonderful to watch. Thank you

[@glennsmith8676]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video!

[@LostCloudx4]

Pure love! Love for the planes, Love for Wanaka & Love Of Flying

[@PrinceBishop3]

I agree that the Mustang is a gorgeous plane and also agree that beauly is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it's because I saw my first Spit in an airshow when I was a kid and I'll never forget the speed, the sound of the Merlin and it's grace. I'm not into 'my dad's better than your dad' arguments. For me it's just the plane I love.

[@loreztaken]

stunning video. thank you!

[@bbtreehaus]

Oh yeah! When I was about 10, my dad took the family to Rinebeck, NY, where they had a bunch of WWl planes on display. I remember they staged an air show, and my little sis and I couldn't see; so we climbed a tree, along with a boy about my age, to get a better view! Also saw a big air show at Barksdale AFB once!

[@blackbirdpie217]

Would be nice to see the Sopwith Camel fly with the Hawker Hurricane. Both companies were founded by Thomas Sopwith. Hawker was one of his partners.

[@barrierodliffe4155]

Probably because the Camel was the top scoring fighter of WW I, the Spitfire the yop allied fighter of WW II, unfortunatelt there are no original Bf 109's.

[@lazyorangehousecat9164]

You can't hear that beautiful Merlin engine...That's how loud the Camel was. Beautiful aeroplanes, both of them.

[@Linkage1992]

5:10 it's ww1 and ww2 coming together! What a difference 20 years makes.

[@Rainhill1829]

Absolutely stunning.

[@birthoftime]

Epic, wonderful to see, keep them flying.

[@BammBammBering]

Great planes, thanks for the video!

[@biggles1483]

Such beautiful machines...

[@NeerajGupta-fu7vq]

Despite its age, spitfire is as beautiful as ever

[@worldoftone]

Awesome info. Interesting to see just how hard the SC was/is to fly.

[@spoada]

never knew that camel engine had that oil spewing system. so cool. the sdadd sounds really cool too.

[@McLarenMercedes]

fighter aircraft development went really fast during its early stages not to mention the wars sped up the development with the factor of 5

[@Airplanefreak14]

very well done!

[@jerrymail]

Very beautiful vid! It's great to see a WW1 aircraft in flight Thanks for the post ^^

[@warrenchambers4819]

The sopwith is screaming I think I can! I think I can! The spits is going Pardon me sir but could you speed up just a bit I'm going to fall out of the sky soon.

[@jamesshunt5123]

Funny how the cheapest jet airliners today operated by small charter airlines in smaller nations can easily outrun them both. Heck, TGV trains can outrun the Spitfire at max speed.

[@googleisshittoss]

Both Aircraft Immortalised, and part of our British Culture!..wonderful

[@MrRatley]

I agree that it is arguable weather or not the Spitfire is the most famous plane of WWII. It is of course one of them and I agree also that its fame is more so for us Brits. The funny thing is the P-51 Mustang was actually a British designed plane commissioned for the U.S.

[@Nikifuj908]

@hinegums What's the P-51 Mustang, a flying apricot?

[@DazDaMan]

@nolhrt The Spit was, and still is, generally considered to be one of the easiest tailwheel warbirds to fly...

[@dacke93]

spitfire looks so futuristic in this video

[@55chh]

simply gorgeous, both of 'em!!!

[@camfroghoofy]

that camel splutters a bit . the odd Exhaust cloud ... any ideas why ?

[@mikcol44]

Just brilliant !

[@simeon3always]

Great stuff!

[@RomanatorII]

This is the castor oil he was mentioning. The particles of oil/exhaust allow water to condense more easily. The Camel has no throttle. The only way to reduce power is to periodically turn off the engine. If not done right, the engine can explode.

[@sirstiffpilchard]

Fantastic!

[@agwhitaker]

Both were cutting-edge, state of the art, air superiority fighters for their time. Look how the Camel, after it is started, seems to be anxious to get air-borne.

[@bitemykrank1970]

What documentary did you extract that from ? I would like to see the rest of it.

[@spydermonkey44]

would someone please explain to me how they dont shoot their prop?

[@VideoBlanket]

What's the name of this doc? Where can I buy it?

[@thegreat_I_am]

You can’t hear the Spitfire at all, presumably because he’s throttled right back while the Camel’s giving it everything it’s got.

[@ICEMAN440X]

Awesome video - what's the original full length video this clip is taken from?

[@willy30303]

I remember seeing a Sopwith Camel in a hangar at the Winnipeg airport and that it had been built by a group of retirees. I am not sure if it crashed or is still somewhere in Canada.

[@JackFlemingFan1]

Excellent!

[@comradeboris]

@SonOfRDGear No, that IS a rotary engine, a radial is fixed, it doesnt spin with the prop.

[@Peaks209]

633 squadron theme in the background of this would be nice WITH THE ENGINES ROARING IN THE FOREGROUND

[@JonnieCometLtd]

That is very cool.

[@Stylensky]

Beautiful!

[@pcka12]

The Camel (in experienced hands) was known for 'leaping' into the air from the tarmac before ever reaching the grass airfield, when you see the Camel in the Imperial War Museum, London you realise how small they are!

[@ImpendingJoker]

It's a rotary-radial engine. I don't know why people always drop that part.

[@EJ205T]

@spydermonkey44 Machineguns synchronised with propeller, so they do not shoot when the prop blade is in front of machinegun.

[@Arrowtone]

I like both of these aircraft

[@inkey2]

that must have been hell to start one of these up on a cold day

[@Stukadriver]

Excellent video. Wonderful in-flight scenes. What did you use to get such a steady platform? Was it the Clay Lacey set-up? The Camel must have been scary to fly. How did that fellow get started in one? No dual control ones exist do they?

[@Kohl423]

There were many famous fighters from WWII not forgetting very many German aircraft and one or two Russian & Japanese planes as well. Certainly from the allied side and based upon international recognition and submission the Spitfire must be one of, if not the most famous allied fighter of WWII. The others mentioned in various posts were tremendous aircraft and extremely well known and respected, but the name Spitfire was on everybody's lips.

[@DjKorppi]

When the Merlin joins the Gnome... such sweet music

[@MrRatley]

Your 100% right! I had once watched a program where I mistakenly remember the ordering and design of the Mustang by Sir Henry Self. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. For the record my previous post was by no means argumentative or an attempt to prove anything if that is what you meant by a "good try".

[@GGigabiteM]

The Clerget and the Bentley series both had proper throttles. The reason the gnome series didn't have throttles was because they got their air supply from the exhaust port, instead of mixing air, fuel and caster oil in a carburetor.

[@flyforce16]

Imagine what a WW1 Sopwith Camel pilot would do upon seeing a Spitfire, this strange new plane, approach from the skies!

[@thegreat_I_am]

It’s remarkable that many WW1 pilots lived to see the moon landings and the Concord.

[@clintonearlwalker]

Great vid, Nice upload, Thanx!! I was wondering how they were going to remove the chocks from the Sopwith, I believe I'd tie a rope or chain!!

[@Raul1971xxx]

I ask myself if those mashine guns in that Sopwith Camel could work.

[@Takamin500]

what is with the enegine from see camel :-?