Plane mad Brit fulfils childhood dream of being a fighter pilot by building a working SPITFIRE in his garage
Former driving instructor Alan James shelled out £18,000 on three-year project
A PLANE MAD flight buff has fulfilled his childhood dream of being a fighter pilot by building a working SPITFIRE in his garage.
Alan James, 63, even gave up work to concentrate on recreating the World War Two jet.
He spent £18,000 on the three-year project - establishing a DIY aircraft plant at his home in Reading, Berks.
At first Alan beavered away in his spare time on plans he bought for £150 in 2012, but soon his hobby became an obsession.
He found a 100hp Rolls Royce engine in the Netherlands which he re-built, the wheels were bought on eBay and the seat belts were specially made in the USA.
After three years the plane was ready and Alan proudly flew it for the first time in September 2015.
It is an Isaacs Spitfire - a 6/10th model of the iconic Supermarine Spitfire - which was designed as a single-seat replica to be built at home.
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Alan's has since been flown by an ex RAF test pilot to clear it for aerobatics and he has already clocked up 60 hours flying time.
Former driving instructor Alan said: "Like every true Brit I wanted to fly a Spitfire.
"Five years ago you could only get a flight in one if you enrolled in a two-day course. It cost £5,000 and you only got 40 minutes flying the Spitfire.
"So I thought about it and realised I could spend that money on building one.
"I built it purely because I wanted to build it."
Alan had previously built his own Pietenpol Air Camper and before that made and flew model planes competitively for years.
The dad-of-one added: "I like making model planes. I've been doing it since a lad - but full-size planes interest me too.
"I always wanted to build one for myself so I built a Pietenpol about 25 years ago and have been flying it since.
"But you cannot just build a plane and fly it - there are very strict rules.
"The aircraft was inspected numerous times during construction and then checked again by a different inspector when completed to obtain CAA certification.
"So far I have flown it around the West Country, Northampton and the Isle of Wight.
"It's a single cockpit plane so it's just for me."
The Isaacs Spitfire weights 500 kgs and has a top speed of 160mph. It has 100hp engine and can reach 10,000ft.
Alan said his wife Margaret, 59, had been less involved in the Spitfire than his previous creation.
"My wife was the first one to go in the Pietenpol but this is a selfish plan," he said.
"It only has one seat - for the driver."
He added that daughter Debbie, 29, was also less involved - leaving the plane for his sole use.
"Debbie used to come flying with me until she found boys - and that was that," he added.
Alan is now getting to grips with aerobatics in his Spitfire which he keeps in a hangar at a private airstrip in Berkshire.
He added: "This is the first time an Isaacs Spitfire has been completed and flown since the prototype was built more than 40 years ago.
"In fact, it's probably the only one that's flying in the world today and I feel very proud to be the builder and pilot of this aircraft.
"I found the whole project challenging and very satisfying and now I'm flying most weekends.
"It's a little scary but I am getting used to doing aerobatics.
"I'm also training for my 'Display Authority' to enable me to show it."
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