Col. Antonin Vendl in Spitfire Mk.VB EP120,

Hradcany air base, 2000.

an extreme dedication and love for the craft.

Thanks to friends at Classic Trainers, I was able

to get a first hand look at what it takes to keep

such aircraft flying, and I know it is nothing simple. Much thanks must necessarily go to those

that keep these birds flying today, so that they

can keep on telling their story this way, and to

help ensure that what shouldn’t be forgotten,

will not be. And let’s not kid ourselves, friends

– you are doing the same thing, in your own way.

There is great effort being expended in plastic

modeling to preserve the past….!

Historical aircraft are beautiful things to behold, and I always am incredibly pleased when

another completes its journey through restoration and takes to the air. Seeing a warbird in

the air is a great sensation. It’s an even better

feeling to fly one. That’s something that has

been recounted in the pages of past issues of

this newsletter by Radim Vojta, one of two current generation Czech Spitfire pilots. To get

a ride “only” in one is also not a bad experience.

Personally, it’s happened to me on four types,

in a Bell 47, a helicopter and so, true enough,

not a Second World War piece, a little younger

but still, an iconic piece of equipment….and

then in Bata’s Lockheed Electra, a North American Harvard, which I had the chance to also

pilot a bit (what a rush!), and the height of it

all, a flight in a…what else?....a B-17.

I will likely not meet any new World War Two

aviator veterans. That’s something you can’t

do anything about except to admit it to yourself. When it comes to the metal veterans,

I do hope that further opportunities will present themselves to go up in a few. There, the

ending isn’t quite so near.

I would like to finish this musing about veterans

and veterans with a description of an experience I had. This experience touches both – the

human and the aircraft veteran. I don’t mean

a situation where a veteran pilot comes to an

aircraft type he used to fly way back when.

I have experienced that many times over. I am

talking about a meeting when a veteran pilot came face to face with the actual aircraft

that he flew during the war years. The movie ‘Dark Blue World’ was being filmed in the

Czech Republic back in 2000 with the help of

two flying Spitfires that were used for various

flight scenes. This involved the cooperation of

our friend Zdenek Hurt. It was he who noted

in the logbook of Spitfire Mk.Vb EP120 that

one of the operational flights undertaken by it

shortly after delivery to No.501 Squadron RAF

in June, 1942, was flown by W/O Antonin Vendl.

This was a pretty run-of-the-mill convoy escort

mission, except…. Shortly afterwards, Tony

(Antonin) left the squadron and went to No.313

Squadron RAF. EP120 survived the war, and years later renovated, it flew to the airfield at

Hradcany u Mimone in 2000. Having noticed

this in the logbook, Zdenek Hurt brought the

connection of this very Spitfire and Tony Vendl

to the attention of the film’s producer, who in

turn invited the Colonel to the filming. Back

then, Tony invited me to come along. Filming

the scenes was fascinating. With mikes strategically located to pick up the most authentic

Spitfire music that was possible, the bird flew

amazingly low directly over our heads. That’s

something I will likely never experience again.

As an aside, it’s also worth noting that the Spitfire on this occasion was flown by Nigel Lamb,

former military pilot and later, a winner of

the Red Bull Air Race (and who’s father flew

Typhoons in the RAF). After landing, we were

taken over to the apron where Nigel and ‘his’,

and in a way, Tony’s, Spitfire was waiting. Watching a pilot meet up with an airplane that he

flew 58 years prior was astonishing, in every

94 eduard

From Reunion of the 100th Bomb Group in 2007. In background are B-17F by Dave

Tallichet family and KC-135R from 100th Air Refuelling Wing, USAF.

good sense of the word. Sitting in the

cockpit, he told me….’I would still dare

to take off with her. I’d be afraid to land,

but taking off I could still manage…’

This is what meeting veterans and veterans is like. Of course, in order to make

With Radim Vojta just before ride in Harvard Mk.II.

September 2018.

something like these reunions possible, a lot

of work is required, but first and foremost,

the smile of fate needs to be present as well.

And for that, I am always grateful.

Useful Links:

www.facebook.com/museum119

http://fighter-collection.com/cft/spitfire-ep120/

http://smerovka.cz/hrdinove-oblohy/plk-antonin-vendl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/František_Fajtl

www.classictrainers.cz

INFO Eduard - May 2021