Hampshire WW2 enthusiast sees replica Spitfire take to skies

The first take off from RAF Odiham in Hampshire after more than 14,000 hours of build time

A retired engineer has fulfilled a boyhood dream of owning a Spitfire plane by spending 16 years building his own.

Hampshire aviator Steve Markham lost out twice on buying WW2 planes to wealthier bidders, so instead bought a kit from Australia.

After 32 test flights, the plane has just been declared fit to fly by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr Markham said: "I just love it, it's gorgeous."

The fascination with flying began when Mr Markham was eight and watched a film about the aviator Douglas Bader.

"Life would have been very different had the RAF not won the Battle of Britain," the WW2 enthusiast from Odiham noted.

"As my career went by I tried to buy parts for a spitfire but was outbid. Ten years later another chap was selling shares in a Spitfire but a man with a big briefcase of cash from Belgium outbid me," he said.

Taking shape, Steve Markham inside the cockpit of the Spitfire during the earlier stages of the build

In 2005, he found the 80% scale-sized kit of the reconnaissance spitfire in Australia, and bought it for an undisclosed amount.

"These were the spy planes of their day, they didn't have guns or cannon and were painted blue so you couldn't see them in the sky," he said.

"I think there's about 100 of them world-wide, 15-20 of them are flying and only three of four in the UK.

"There were several major hurdles along the way, the thing about Spitfires is there are no straight lines, everything is curved.

"It's like a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle."

Constructing a wing in one of the three workshops the Spitfire took over during the 16 year build

The plane was housed in three workshops and the initial build took 11,250 "religiously logged" hours.

Another 3,000 hours were spent on it "but I didn't count them", he added.

Engineers at the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) analysed data from the 32 test flights before the Civil Aviation Authority issued its permit to fly.

"Much to my pleasure the LAA awarded me the prize of best UK kit built aircraft of 2022," Mr Markham said.

The plane has a maximum speed of 266mph (428 km/h) but for fuel efficiency and at a cruising speed of 140mph (225 km/h), Mr Markham can get 23mpg.

"At that speed I can get to Rome and back, if there's no wind blowing," he said.