The Spitfire Reborn: Will This Beast Take To The Skies Again? | Inside The Spitfire Factory

After two years' hard work, the Greek Spitfire is nearly complete. But will she fly? For the final days, all hands are on deck to get the project finished on time. Several people will be in attendance including the owners and investors of this passion project and veteran George Dunn hoping who is hoping to see his Spitfire fly again. Emotions are running high as they prepare for the maiden flight. Will it fly? Or will they see their hard work plummet?
Hidden away in a little-known workshop at one of Britain's most important wartime airbases, a team of dedicated engineers and enthusiasts are working round the clock to bring a national icon back to life. Over the course of a year and £2 million at stake, there's no room for error as Peter Monk and his engineers try to turn a 1943 Mark IX Spitfire from rusty remains into the flying legend. This is the Spitfire Factory.
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[@NakedScience]

Make sure you check out the full series on our channel! Link below to our dedicated "Inside The Spitfire Factory" playlist! kzbin.info/aero/PLpWCFDSTg8dtZbfpnqtOSP3IuirqMCVaW

[@ICu66]

@NakedScience ... "during the war, around 8 000 RAF pilots and air crew were killed in training, many while attempting to land" Are you sure? Seems to be a staggering number, (I ran it a few times, you said "eight thousand")...

[@redr1150r]

Fascinating. I'm an aircraft structural repair and fabrication mechanic with 52 years experience. I've spent the last 20 years working for the US Coast Guard and I retired this week from the US Civil Service. You guys do fabulous work. I love it.

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

Bloody HELL ! ! "You can never have too many Spitfires..." Must be Nice - and REALLY Bloody nice of him to let us watch. Thanks, Peter ! !

[@brhbrh6326]

The incredible attention to detail from Mr Rupert Wasey and Hercules propellers was just the icing on the cake. Mr Monk and fellow engineers were truly inspiring. If only the UK and society in general could once again fully value their hard-earned skills, and not worship 'influencers' and footballers.

[@fredtorres1703]

Well said!

[@davidh6300]

Yes! Great job men!

[@chrisloomis1489]

That Veteran , was so blessed to see his old airplane fly again , what an amazing life. Thank you for sharing this tale.

[@NickHellings-zq8xt]

As a Brit living in Canada now, it is good to see there is still British craftsmanship taking place in Blighty !

[@vortexgen1]

I always love to see these old war birds fly and will never get tired of that.

[@robgray7019]

RJ Mitchell had colon cancer, I read, he didn't live long enough to see her in combat. Churchill himself visited him to implore him to finish the design, as a consequence he lived long enough for first flight.

[@TheMrzekerz]

Never seizes to amaze me that at this day and age there are still people are who are in love with the Spitfire and it's heritage. Beautifully done! Oh and by the way; ain't this a Mk IX-LF version?

[@Supercruze]

What this plane back in the air again must have meant to the restoration team and the former RAF pilot must have been magical. Well done chaps.

[@annsmith8000]

Wonderful watching this old lady’s resurrection carried out with an awesome dedication, amazing that they were able to find the last of the few to witness this test flight. These iconic aircraft will always embody the spirit of their era. Thank you so very much from an old expat cheers.

[@johnshields6852]

Great story, those guys who fought in WW2 pulled the country together like no other era in our history, USA and the UK, little kids collected scrap metal, people of all ages bought war bonds and did anything they could to boost morale and help unite against tyranny and oppression, as a kid in the 60's USA there guys were real heros and men of honor.🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦

[@blueskybanshee8013]

Cant imagine what it must have felt like to be handed all that hp, at 19yrs of age! Must have been a massive rush. Super steep learning curve. When i was that age i had a Rdlc350 and thought it was something😂😂 yeah,but no! Needed a few more zero's added to the end of the hp figure. 🤔 good on them lads, all of Em. No chance we'll forget em. Respect+++

[@busterdee8228]

Such a lovely bird. It's wonderful to see a very special team preserve what might have been a dying craft. Mitchel would have passed by the time the Spitfire went to symetrical radiators.

[@markcorboy8528]

Now that the project is a success the kitchen will have to be done to ensure the other aircraft projects can move forward in peace and the boy can get his Spitfire wings. An enjoyable watch. Well done to the team.

[@StevenVanLoven]

It' so good to see the people and support the company do these kind of things and taking big risks financially to keep these airplanes alive . It's passion , dedication and motivation . I 'love' it . And yes , that kitchen will come just a bit later . Thanks for the nice video.

[@georgejarman2987]

You guys must have the best job in the world, even I got emotional

[@lohikarhu734]

Quite the combination of interesting pieces and people... Fantastic to have the original ferry pilot on hand, must have been a tremendous moment for him. Lovely video!

[@chadpyett6441]

Well done gentlemen great video you are right she's a beauty in the air it's where it belongs

[@philipdrake6]

What a great job you guys are doing with that Spitfire, it looks amazing, they are one of the best looking aircraft of WW2, i can not wait to see it flighing again, a very good series of videos.👍👍.

[@ivan7453]

What a beautifully, delightfull sight! Well done, guys.

[@pietroseven8228]

Magnificent team around flying machines as like Spitfires are. On the first engine run I`ve realized that the prop spinner was little bit wobbly, but they recognize it and fix this.

[@Jim.Thunda]

I too am an ex pilot, it's hard to accept l am too old and disabled through age and accident to ever fly again. Only those of us that are has beens know the sad feeling. But l have my memory's, and quite often my nights are filled reliving the thrill and exhilaration of the pre flight and take-off and then to business of flying totaly detached from our home planet and humanity. And you thank the engineers that gave you the chance to ride our atmospher in a machine and be part of it. And believe that machine is a living thing that you love. And it will out live us all. So be it.

[@thewatcher5271]

How Cool Was That!?! Never Knew The Propeller Blades Were Made Out Of Wood. Thanks For Sharing.

[@onemantwohands5224]

Yeh it's an emotional thing to see the original pilot ask if everything was ok with the plane , that hits 🎯 . It's just an awesome 😂❤️🧬

[@yknott9873]

Nitpickingly... Propellers don't necessarily change their pitch specifically to apply more or less thrust, although some propellers do this; the simple reason for variable-pitch propellers is that a propeller works like a wing, and provides more or less thrust based-on its angle of attack. I realize this sounds exactly like what you said, but there's a big variable that mostly affects the propeller - the forward speed of the aircraft, which greatly changes the relative wind over the propeller and hence, its angle of attack. The same propeller, turning at the same speed, has an "ideal pitch" based-on how fast the aircraft is going, how fast the engine is turning and how much power it has to spare; if the aircraft is going a lot faster than that (like if it's in a dive), the propeller goes through a regime where its pitch angle is effectively "zero" and it's providing no thrust at all, which risks overspeeding the engine and damaging things, to where it's actually got a negative angle of attack and is providing reverse thrust and slowing the aircraft down - which is not ideal for a fighter. The first Hurricanes had two-bladed wooden propellers, with no pitch adjustment. This is very limiting to the forward speed, as once the propeller is going faster than its ideal pitch it generates less and less thrust when the pilot wants more. Likewise, if you put too steep a pitch on the propeller the aircraft can go faster - but it has an awful time speeding up to take-off as the propeller is "stalled-out" and doing little more than fighting the engine's effort to turn it. Variable pitch propellers allow the propeller to be continually set so the engine's power can turn the propeller at the optimum angle of attack, whatever the speed the aircraft is going and wherever the throttle is set. Hence, engineers started rigging-up variable-pitch propellers early in the 'Twenties, and by fairly early in WW2 all fighter aircraft had three-bladed variable pitch propellers, and the aircraft itself set the pitch based-on its airspeed and throttle settings, which freed-up the pilots to worry about other things - like shooting-down enemy pilots while avoiding being shot-down themselves.

[@patrickheavirland3599]

Hello from Minnesota USA! Just outstanding!!

[@chillywilly934]

What a beauty!! Great video production too!!

[@jimcourtney4306]

what a fantastic story of a great plane

[@bobhoye5951]

Great video: I recall reading many years ago that to build a Spit required 2.5 time the labour over building the BF 109. Much was in building the wing.

[@destinyangel5]

Awesome the Legendary Spitfire much better than a new kitchen .

[@meertenwelleman6249]

What a great job they did.

[@42Barley]

My father was an aircraft inspector at Castle Bromwich when I was born in 1942.

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

Oh wow, I recognize that crated spitfire, I believe it came from Connie Edwards' collection in Big Spring TX, or from someone who bought it from him at least. I was given the chance to fly it but a family tragedy precluded that possibility, RIP Tex. Shame about his collection being sold off, he had some real treasures in there.

[@nickmaguire4914]

Amazing in so many ways.

[@privatepilot4064]

Always follow your checklist. It’s not a hassle, it’s a Friend.

[@RC-Heli835]

Fabulous job guys!

[@johnmchardy1229]

Excellent these planes are a legend all by themselves thank you for your efforts.

[@kevinfryer380]

Really enjoy watching

[@jamesmaddison4546]

Man this series has been available on KZbin for years I'm surprised you've just added it

[@gekolizzard]

What an awesome privilege it must be to work on something so iconic. The most beautiful aircraft ever made.

[@vintagetintrader1062]

I notice a lot of specialist aeronautical workshops like these have highly modified motorcycles hidden in corners, usually cafe racer style built to a very high standard. Quite a few in the background :)

[@brandondimmitt8467]

Beautiful aircraft

[@arnhemseptember2009]

That was wonderful!

[@joncox9719]

That's the thing about Spitfires, they were all basically hand made and the tolorences are much different! Where in the US,meverything was strictly assembly line built and many components are interchangeable from one airframe to the other!

[@n176ldesperanza7]

The Mark IX was the best looking of them all.

[@setts3]

Thank you for this!

[@KurtRauschmair]

Super Arbeit! Egal ob Spitfire Hurricane Bf109 Fw190 oder Me262 in der Luft viel besser als nur im Museum ! Grüsse aus Bayern! Gutes und Gesundes neues Jahr 2024! Ciao!

[@nlumby]

...it intrigues me ...if the propellor is composite wood why do I keep seeing blades bent back in a rounded fashion on an undercarriage up type crash land? ...presumably they would simply snap or detach? ...it surprised me

[@richardflowers8073]

Great and historic vedio !!!

[@losonsrenoster]

I met a young Rhodesian ( I think the guy left Zimbabwe soon after it became Zimbabwe), in Brakpan, South Africa during 1989. He was about 60% into the completion of a 3/5th scale Spitfire he was building. He used a V8 Rover engine as power plant. He got the plane out of Zimbabwe as a collection of parts ( which he declared to be scrap) on the back of a truck. He planned to take the Spitfire to Britain in time for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Does anybody have any further information on this project?

[@alexandremarcelino7360]

Incrível! 👏 Espetácular🌟

[@wernerschulte6245]

That was great, wasn´t it? An old military aircraft was originally built in a hurry, checked so far the time has allowed it. And then it was put into war without any guarantee to come back ever. And today every effort was made to avoid safety issues. Very impressing, I liked I could have worked on it.

[@markbilyeu6326]

The Spitfire was a beautiful plane. I have always like the way it looked. This coming from an American.

[@jagtone]

What a job!

[@losonsrenoster]

I was getting in the rear seat of a Harvard in 2000, the pilot's words were: " You throw up, you clean up!". I didn't do either.

[@georglimiux677]

Outstanding!!

[@alexanderk7776]

i built a Spit too. But in 1:18 and rc flightable😄

[@Fantomx7g6]

What's with the Wooden prop bit..

[@peterhoulis1184]

I glad its going back to Greece and also the original ww2 pilot got to see the plane back in the air

[@passinthru4328]

Though not as fast as some of the later versions, by all the accounts I've read, the Mark IX was overall the best of the many types made.

[@JillandKevin]

Beautiful job! Nice coverage as well! Just a couple of questions. Did you actually skip film on taxi tests, etc, or did you actually fly it on the first time out? And, what's the deal with the wingtips? Are they clipped or modified, or was this a rare model? Thanks!

[@oliviolanza1933]

With the technology we have today along with new materials, i wish someone would do to aeroplanes something like what others do to classic cars, rebuilt from the ground up, restomod, or a continuation of the model, like what Superformance does.

[@jkorshak]

That goes on. There are full scale ground up reproductions of a number of aircraft from both world wars, as well as restoration projects using both original and fabricated parts.

[@ChrisB257]

Just wonderful :)

[@redr1150r]

P.S. - Yes I have, I have worked on the T-6 as a civilian, and the T-28 while in the US Navy. 🙂

[@alanhodge984]

Brilliant!!!!!!

[@johnmarkgatti3324]

Great job , well what a great job too ,do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life . May I suggest though a few more hangars , to spread the risk of losing to much in one go if a fire happened .

[@andrewnorgrove6487]

Did anyone notice the slight Aileron input rolling starboard once the back wheel had lifter on the Harvard ? quite common ))

[@davidduffy9806]

vIP.... The radiator fairings delivered some thrust via the pressure change over the radiator. The thrust delivered just offset the drag of the fairing

[@TheRoguelement]

Wouldn't allowing the motor to come up to operating temp then check with a system fully charged with coolant fuel and at temp ?

[@StormLaker]

This is an original shape spitfire before the bubble canopy?

[@georgevprochazka5316]

You can never have enough Spitfires ! How many people can say that ? LOL

[@public.public]

Start building them again. Bet there's a large number of people who would buy a brand new one.

[@vangogle1]

At 5:41 in transcript says "ordered a new one" regarding part of radiator fairing. Where/who is making "new ones"?? Or did he mean he ordered a used one but it was new to his inventory? If someone is making NEW spitfire parts, that his BIG NEWS!!

[@Ropetangler]

It's just sheet metal, easily fabricated by experienced metal bashers if you have the drawings or another one to copy.

[@joncox9719]

The clipped wing tips kill the famous Spitfire Eliptical Wingtips! The eleptical wing tips ARE the Spitfire! Just does not look right if you know what I mean!

[@marlobreding7402]

For Peter, A happy wife equals a happy life. ❤ 32:40

[@docwill184]

Who figured this stuff out originally(?) Acd drawing board to first flight in 18-mos(?!)

[@yuglesstube]

Id like to know what this restoration cost.

[@stevenm7211]

what if they made like an all new Spitfire?

[@Afro408]

The kitchen still does it's job and you only live once..............😉🤣👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🍻🍻🍻

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

5:49 9,000 quid, that has to be a joke.

[@LuckyLuke3331]

A kitchen? to do what? you have no more money to buy food :) I prefer to fly with the Spit :)

[@mustardtiger5080]

wow

[@geoffb108]

Surely if you can rebuild Spitfires you should be capable of repairing or adjusting the cupboard door hinges.

[@justme.9711]

Seriously! Why can't we get the original plans to a Hurricane etc and build one. It's only wood and canvas and 1940's wood grades at that.

[@damianbrennan2258]

Funny how the rich joke about the $5000000 spitfire

[@stephenqueen7686]

Wow

[@mauricester]

Brilliant for 2023,,, July 1940,, land get out,,,, take a piss, have a cup of tea,, Reload,, Refuel ,,, and,,,,, Get back up there again

[@englishmaninfrance661]

Tally ho chaps :)

[@vanmust]

Give us back the stolen marbles and you can keep the spit

[@tbas8741]

Why so much Dramatization and Fake information or even just "Lies" i guess. (ITs not an american Doco, Why make it for Americans? ) Instructor pilot was NOT "keeping a tight hold" on controls during the guys flying lessons.

[@sandybarrie5526]

i ncant understand why the english government dosent set up a factory to just remake ‘new’ spitfires. they have the exact plans etc. and withthe original aircraft now eaching 80 od years old, andpossibly serious metal fatigue problems may arrise, this lead to possibl serious accodent at air shows etc… and there would seriously be a few rich pilots and movie recreationist that could purchase them.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

While the story is fascinating and the people (salute!) are passionate about the project, the production sucks. It's like any other so-called "reality TV" show: too much fake drama.

[@PDZ1122]

What is that ridiculous thing in the thumbnail?

[@peterasp1968]

The Spitfire was not a beast ! In its proportions and sweep It was almost a work of art comparable to the Laocoon and the Prima Porte statue of the Emperor Augustus.

[@boydgrandy5769]

The Spit was fast, maneuverable, and well armed, a fighter pilot's aircraft. Not a beast tethered to the earth, but rather a bird of prey capable of defeating any foe. It is a perfect example of form fitting function.