Flight Line

摘要

Today, the first flight of any new British aircraft type is a media event, attended by news cameras and commentators ('experts') live-broadcasting to the world. Or, at least, if there were any new British aircraft types, that would surely be the case. But it was not always like this. The maiden take-off of Spitfire prototype K5054 at Eastleigh in 1936 was, of course, a very low-key affair. 'Mutt' Summers was the pilot and Supermarine's chief designer Reginald Mitchell had parked his yellow Rolls-Royce around the side of the hangar to witness the flight, but few outside the company were present on the airfield and test pilot Jeffrey Quill remembered it as very much "a family affair" Indeed, the date, generally accepted as 5 March 1936, remains the subject of discussion with some contemporary reports stating that it took place the following day. It is surely the case that the significance of the new aircraft - referred to as the Type 300, F37/34 or, more prosaically, "the fighter" - was not recognised at the time.