Just as in World War Two, a potentially life-changing disability may be no barrier to flying solo in a Spitfire. Thanks to the Boultbee Flight Academy and its Spitfire Scholarship, RAF serviceman Alan Robinson has proved exactly that
AMPUTEE SOLOS A SPITFIRE
‘‘A little over five years ago l woke up in a hospital bed to find my leg gone. The simple things previously taken for granted were to become the greatest challenge, such as walking. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to ride a bike again and thought that gaining a pilot’s licence would be out of the question. I thought being unable to achieve my dream would probably be a regret that would haunt me for the rest of my life.”
So said Sgt Alan Robinson of the effects of his motorcycle accident in 2011. The RAF engineer had his right leg amputated above the knee, but as time went on he resolved that he was not about to let that get in the way of his ambitions. During 2013 he passed his microlight general skills test, proving that he could fly aircraft in that class, but Alan was far from done. In November 2016, he went solo in a Supermarine Spitfire.
How he got to that point was thanks to the Goodwood-based Boultbee Flight Academy. Using its two-seat Spitfi…
