Cornwall’s reborn Spitfire and the £750k dream of flight

The Spitfire that turned up at Bodmin Airfield this spring arrived in pieces. Wings off, lying beside the fuselage, ready for the road. It is a concept model of an aircraft its makers want to put back into production, ninety years after the original first left the ground. Since the unveiling it has picked up national headlines and, by the team’s own count, close to half a million views on YouTube.

The aircraft is the Aerolite Spitfire Type 433. The company behind it, Great British Supermarine Ltd, was conceived and built with Cornish hands.

What has been unveiled

The Type 433 is a two-seat, full-scale Spitfire made from modern composite materials rather than the aluminium of the wartime originals. The design draws on the Gordon Aerolite concept of 1940, a composite idea first explored when aluminium was in short supply. Great British Supermarine says the composite body is weather resistant, so an owner would not need a hangar to keep it.

Chief executive Jeremy Meeson said the timing suited a fresh take on a familiar shape. “The moment is right to reimagine the Supermarine Spitfire because today’s materials…let us evolve an icon,” he said. He described a design that “stays true to its 1940s’ lineage” with “lightweight performance, balance, and pilot connection, while introducing advanced composites, modern power systems, and intelligent avionics.”

The Cornwall connection

The company’s chair is David Spencer Evans, a Cornish resident and a familiar name among Spitfire enthusiasts. He was formerly with The Spitfire Society and later The Spitfire Heritage Trust. His reason for the project is a plain one. “Nobody will let me fly a real Spitfire, so I have to build my own, don’t I?” he said.

The figure standing on the Spitfire’s wing in the launch photograph, taken at Bodmin Airfield, is Bridget Donaldson, one of the senior team. She is a commercial and private pilot and a sustainable aviation expert.

Within reach, if not quite cheap

The pitch is aimed at private fliers rather than Hollywood budgets. A wartime original in flying condition can cost more than £3 million. Great British Supermarine puts the kit version of the Type 433 at around £750,000, a figure it hopes will bring the aircraft within reach of private owners, or of consortia who might share one.

A prototype is expected to take to the air within two and a half years, and the company is looking for investors to fund full production. The concept model, meanwhile, is on the road, with appearances planned at up to ten air shows, military festivals and classic vehicle events through the spring and summer.

A launch that travelled

Great British Supermarine says the unveiling generated around £5 million worth of media coverage. The Type 433 has since turned up on ITV News, Sky News, The Telegraph, GB News and the aviation press at Flyer, with the company’s chief executive interviewed by Indy100 and the Independent.