SPITFIRE AIRCRAFT WORKSHOP

The S.A.W. Spitfire is a full size, all wood airframe, homebuilt aircraft designed for the amateur woodworker.

Buy plans only or order a kit in parts and start building! The original wooden Spitfire was the brain child of an amatuer builder Clive du Cros who called on the assistance of Ray Hilbourne, a retired employee of DeHaviland with Mosquito and Vampire experience to pen all the working drawings by hand!

Clive decided to make his a replica of the prototype K5054 that first flew in the UK in March 1936. His aircraft is now in the Kent Battle of Britain Museum, recently acquired from the Southampton Spitfire Museum. Clive has been assisting the staff to re-assemble the aircraft and ready it for display. His experience is fully portrayed in his book, Birth of a Spitfire published by Victory Books. An excellent read and an interesting insight to the way the English do things. Currently available as an ebook from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Spitfire-Clive-Du-Cros-ebook/dp/B006R6F9JI . 

Clive has just announced that a re-print of his book is imminent if you want a hard copy. He installed a V12 Jaguar power plant and made the airframe as light as possible so the under-powered engine could make it fly. And fly it did.

The Du Cros plans were later re-designed and upgraded by an American aviation restorer Russ Harmuth so that the original Spitfire power plant could be installed. He chose an Allison V1710 V12 for his aircraft but a Rolls Royce Merlin will go into the same space no problem. You will find the new version plans in the PARTS FOR SALE section. An extensive list of custom parts are there to help you to a super smooth build with all the cockpit items that are exclusively Spitfire, available from the PARTS FOR SALE section also. Other parts that are WW2 era and also fitted to Spitfires are on the list depending on stock levels.  

We have supplied Museums and movie studios with dozens of items for their movies including Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" where an early MK1 Main Panel and Blind Flying Panel was required for the close up shots just before they dumped it into the ocean. They fitted it into a Yak 50 for all the flying sequences.........how many of you picked that up?!  

In the Blogs section you will see posts from builders showing their progress in pictures and words. Its where issues and solutions are discussed, often at length....and then some!

Regards

Bruce West

Pictured below is Clive du Cros's version of K5054 and the real K5054 in flight.