By Lisa Gordon | July 24, 2013 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 38 seconds.
The iconic Supermarine Spitfire is probably the most well-known Allied fighter of the Second World War. In continuous production throughout the conflict, the Spitfire was the subject of numerous design improvements over the years, to increase both its speed and maneuverability. More Spitfires were produced than any other British aircraft, and all were loved by the pilots that flew them.
Today, legacy Spitfires hold pride of place in museums around the world. But for those who want to buy (and fly) a piece of history, all-aluminum, scaled-down Spitfires can be ordered in kit form from Supermarine Aircraft of Cisco, Texas. The company, originally founded in Australia, has sold kits to builders around the world.
One of those kit aircraft is almost ready to take to the skies over Waterloo, Ont. This Spitfire is a labour of love that has been four years in the making.
Its owner, Bob Poole, is an Englishman who came to Canada in 1976. An aircraft maintenance engineer by trade, Poole worked for Canadian Pacific Air Lines and a few other aviation companies before founding Aerostructural Inc. – an aircraft structural repair and modification business – in Mississauga, Ont., in 1995. The company moved to the Region of Waterloo International Airport in 2008.
Today, Poole and his employees, including his son, Rob, are busy handling structural repairs on a full range of aircraft, from small single-engine Cessnas to large commercial aircraft. But when they have a bit of spare time on their hands, they turn their attention to Poole’s pet project – building his MK26B Supermarine Spitfire, a 90 per cent scale version of the world’s most famous Second World War fighter.
The MK26B is the third model produced by Supermarine Aircraft. It first launched with the MK25, which is 75 per cent to scale, and then followed with the MK26, an 80 per cent scale model. In mid-2004, the company decided to produce a 90 per cent scale Spitfire for customers who were looking for the same performance and agility in a two-seat configuration. Poole’s is serial number 71, powered by an Isuzu 260 h.p. V6 engine (the MK26B is also available with a General Motors LS2 430 h.p. V8 powerplant).
After years of painstaking assembly, Poole’s Spitfire is almost ready for lift-off. It should be flying by the end of this summer, but when it does, it won’t be Poole at the controls. That honour will go to local aviation legend Gerry Younger, now in his late 70s, and a Canadian aerobatics champion many times over.
As for Poole himself, he told Canadian Skies that he got the idea to build the Spitfire during a conversation over a pint in a British pub. “Many good ideas start that way,” he chuckled. “It’s exciting to think that we are nearing our first flight after years of work.”
