Special event

Carolyn and The Grace Spitfire

Official achievement authored by Bobby Allen.

On the 7th of December 2022, news broke that Carolyn Grace, the World's only female Spitfire pilot sadly past away in car crash whilst visiting her family in Australia, the same unfortunate fate that her husband suffered 34 years ago.

Carolyn Grace pioneered the restoration of World War Two Spitfires in the 1980's with her late husband, after his death, she decided to keep his memory alive by learning to fly the famous warbird herself and has been flying and exhibiting it at airshows throughout the UK and Europe amassing over 900 hours on the type ever since. Carolyn flew the aircraft in significant commemorative large formations including the 'Big Wing' formation of 23 Spitfires at Duxford.

The Grace Spitfire (ML407) was originally built at Castle Bromwich in early 1944 as a Mark IX single seat fighter and served in the front line of battle throughout the last twelve months of World War II with six different allied Squadrons of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force. ML407 flew a total of 176 operational combat sorties amassing an impressive total 319 combat hours. ML407 was delivered to 485 New Zealand Squadron on the 29th April 1944 by Jackie Moggridge, one of the top lady pilots of the Air Transport Auxilllary (ATA), where it became the "mount" of Flying Officer Johnnie Houlton DFC who was accredited, whilst flying ML407, with the first enemy aircraft shot down over the Normandy beachhead on the 6th June D-Day.

I personally had the pleasure to meet Carolyn on a number of occasions when she, for a while stored and operated her spitfire at RAF Bentwaters (an ex-USAF airbase in Suffolk, England) which is close to where I live - A genuinely lovely lady!

In order to participate in this memorial flight and earn this "special achievement" - you will depart from Sywell Aerodrome (EGBK) in Northamptonshire, UK (the aerodrome where "The Grace Spitfire" is based at), you'll fly to and do a "fly pass" over Duxfold (EGSU) (a famous British WWII aviation museum and airshow location and a frequently visited airfield for "The Grace Spitfire") before heading for and flying close to RAF Bentwaters (now closed) in Suffolk (for a final farewell of where the Spitfire was previously based) and then the final stretch, passing over the City of London, over to and landing at Bodmin Airfield (EGLA) in Cornwall, close to where Carolyn lived.

Whilst it would be fantastic if pilots would complete this achievement using a Spitfire aircraft in the simulator, this achievement (memorial flight) can be flown using any aircraft.

We have prepared a downloadble LittleNavMap flight plan if you would like to follow along to ensure you achieve the "minimum flight distance" for this achievement flight.

Criteria

Depart from EGBK, fly to and land at EGLA (182 NM), your flight distance must be further than 280 NM.
This event has finished and the achievement can no longer be obtained.
Date Departure Arrival Pilot Aircraft Landing rate Distance Flight time
15DEC22 2300Z EGBK EGLA alepouna Socata TBM-9X0 (TBM9) -77 ft/m 361 nm 01:14 View
15DEC22 0504Z EGBK EGLA TrailMix Beechcraft 18 (BE18) -383 ft/m 299 nm 01:46 View
14DEC22 2026Z EGBK EGLA Dan Cooper Pilatus PC-12 (PC12) -188 ft/m 359 nm 01:26 View
14DEC22 1748Z EGBK EGLA Ironbird Cirrus Vision SF-50 (SF50) -95 ft/m 326 nm 01:01 View
14DEC22 1223Z EGBK EGLA TrapperM Cirrus SR22 Turbo (S22T) -50 ft/m 375 nm 02:12 View
14DEC22 1126Z EGBK EGLA Bobby Allen Supermarine Spitfire (SPIT) -8 ft/m 383 nm 01:28 View
14DEC22 0056Z EGBK EGLA Bobo Lockheed P-38 Lightning (P38) -60 ft/m 359 nm 01:21 View
13DEC22 2123Z EGBK EGLA Martell Piper Turbo Arrow 3 (P28S) -72 ft/m 369 nm 02:30 View
13DEC22 1848Z EGBK EGLA Juno Pilatus PC-12 (PC12) -220 ft/m 376 nm 01:37 View
13DEC22 1522Z EGBK EGLA G Neild Supermarine Spitfire (SPIT) -276 ft/m 348 nm 01:45 View
12DEC22 2132Z EGBK EGLA Matt T Supermarine Spitfire (SPIT) -651 ft/m 401 nm 01:47 View
12DEC22 1613Z EGBK EGLA Restoring 226 Cirrus Vision SF-50 (SF50) -15 ft/m 365 nm 01:26 View
12DEC22 1611Z EGBK EGLA Prio Socata TBM-9X0 (TBM9) -201 ft/m 319 nm 01:15 View
12DEC22 0929Z EGBK EGLA Quasar Core Cessna Caravan (C208) -127 ft/m 360 nm 02:14 View
12DEC22 0328Z EGBK EGLA MarioH99 Piper Turbo Arrow 3 (P28S) -135 ft/m 287 nm 01:49 View
11DEC22 1717Z EGBK EGLA Chuck Beagle BAE Hawk (HAWK) -651 ft/m 366 nm 00:54 View
11DEC22 1524Z EGBK EGLA Marcus C Airbus A320 neo (A20N) -671 ft/m 366 nm 01:10 View
11DEC22 1453Z EGBK EGLA Javier M. Cessna Caravan (C208) -295 ft/m 365 nm 02:56 View
11DEC22 1225Z EGBK EGLA Seb Pacific Aerospace P-750 XStol (P750) -469 ft/m 384 nm 02:37 View
11DEC22 0818Z EGBK EGLA Patrick Ringal Pilatus PC-12 (PC12) -268 ft/m 338 nm 00:28 View