2 days ago
Photographer, 83, on cloud nine after Spitfire flight over Forfar
A retired Angus photographer is almost back down to earth after the thrill of a trip in a wartime Spitfire.
During a lifelong interest in aviation, Brian Patterson has been lucky enough to take to the skies in some unusual machinery.
But the ex-Courier lensman said the flight from Perth Airport in the two-seater Battle of Britain aircraft was beyond anything he'd previously experienced.
And Brian agreed it was definitely worth the wait after fickle Tayside weather grounded the 83rd birthday thrill last year.
On Thursday, he was back at Perth for the trip of a lifetime. Wife Irene, son Iain, niece Alison and her partner watched him take to the air.
The flights are operated by West Sussex-based firm which opened a Perth Airport base last summer.
'Last year we got a really good look around the aircraft even though we couldn't fly,' said Brian.
'It's a beautiful thing, a stunning machine.
'But this time we arrived, I got kitted up and we were up and away.
'The wind was at the limit coming up the runway, but once we got up to about 3,000 feet it was so smooth.'
The Spitfire headed east from Perth and dropped down through the cloud for Brian to enjoy a couple of circuits of his home town.
He even experienced the thrill of rolls and loops in the highly manoeuvrable aircraft.
And Brian was able to take control of the Spitfire during his half-hour flight.
'The movements required were miniscule. It's such a sensitive aircraft, but so smooth,' he said.
'It lived up to every expectation; it was just a great experience.'
It's a far cry from Brian's days as a member of Forfar Model Flying Club flying small-scale planes in the town's Reid Park on a Sunday morning.
He first flew from Scone aerodrome in an Avro Anson as a teenager in Forfar Air Cadets.
And his 36-year career as a photographer with The Courier and People's Journal presented a couple of special opportunities to take off from Perth.
Brian, who retired in 2006, added: 'I went up in one of the Toyota aerobatic team biplanes when they were giving a display at the Perth Show.
'I also had a flight in a blimp from Perth, which was something different.'
The veteran flyer now has his sights set on another thrill.
'The next ambition is to go to Lincolnshire Aviation Centre for a Mosquito taxi ride.
'You don't actually take off, but it gives you a full power taxi with both Merlin engines running.
'I think that would be quite something.'
