Air Commodore Chris Lorraine,
Director Netherlands Military Aviation Authority
The author is the display pilot for the Netherlands Air Force Spitfire Mk.IX MK 732.
13
ENGINE FAILURE
IN THE SPITFIRE
De Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX van de
KLu Historische Vlucht op de dispersal
It is Thursday 7 July 2011 and the second day
of the Belgian Air Force Open Days at Koksijde
Airbase. l am participating in the 2-day show as
part of the flying display. On the arrival day - Tu
esday - l flew an acceptance demo for the organi
zation, on Wednesday the weather is fine and the
Spitfire display goes ahead without a hitch. Today,
the second and last day, l aim to fly my display at
Koksijde (situated on the Belgian coast) and depart
direct back to home-base: Gilze Rijen Airbase in
The Netherlands. The weather is perfect, the sun is
shining, there are a few fair weather cumulus and
- important for the Spitfire - the wind is within li
mits at about 10 knots from the south (the direction
is relevant later in the story). The Spitfire has been
granted a prime slot around 15:00; start-up and
taxy are without hold-ups. ATC understands better
today that the 27 litre, 12 cylinder Rolls Royce will
not hold for many minutes without overheating.
"Spitfire cleared for take-off and display" sounds
over the single VHF radio (another significant fact:
the Spitfire has a single and no UHF capability
The display is uneventful, the last aileron roll at
crowd centre is completed and the journey home
