Own a Spitfire — or part of one

LONDON — Always wanted to own —and fly — a Spitfire? Now you can — or at least part of one.

The Boultbee Flight Academy is now offering the possibility to purchase a 1/10th share in an original Supermarine Spitfire in flying condition. In addition to this, as the only accredited Spitfire training academy in the world, the Boultbee Flight Academy will provide training that will allow the new owners to fly this iconic machine themselves.

“This initiative is the answer to a question I’d been asked by a number of students on completion of the Introduction Course we run. Having been truly engaged by both the professionalism and experience of our instructors and, of course, the aircraft during training, they wanted a continued involvement with the academy but needed a goal. While the full Spitfire conversion course sparked an interest, it wasn’t quite enough. They wanted the ultimate — to fly a single seat Spitfire themselves, an option that only really exists to individual owners or their trusted pilots. The result was this syndicate concept. This both fulfills their requirement and fits our company aim to make the Spitfire as accessible as possible,” said Matt Jones, Managing Director of the Boultbee Flight Academy.

New owners will learn to fly on one of the academy’s two seat Spitfire TR9s. Once the basics of the Spitfire have been mastere,d owners can complete further training, which will allow them to display at their own private events or even airshows, according to academy officials.

Syndicate members will need to hold a current Private Pilots License if they wish to undertake training towards flying the Spitfire; however, this training can be undertaken at the Academy.

The aircraft will be based at Goodwood Aerodrome, West Sussex, formerly RAF Westhampnett, a Hurricane and Spitfire base during the Battle of Britain and World War II.

Each share will cost in the region of £250,000 (or about $380,500 U.S.) and be available for purchase by both pilots and non-pilots. The aircraft is classified as a wasting asset, thus avoiding capital gains tax, academy officials noted.

For more information: BoultbeeFlightAcademy.co.uk