Welcome to Action Stations!
Thank you for visiting our site - no doubt like me you have a passion for the Spitfire, and / or the Hurricane, or you know someone who has! You may have just entered Spitfire or Hurricane into Google, or you may be on a mission to buy an ’air minded’ friend or relative, the most sensational gift imaginable - a flight with a Spitfire or Hurricane, or if you are being particularly generous – both!
Whatever the reason you are here, you are most very welcome, and let me kick off by describing exactly what we do at Action Stations!
Located down here in Kent, Battle of Britain country – where the most intense aerial fighting took place in 1940, we operate a Spitfire and Hurricane and as each aircraft is flying we fly groups of people up in two helicopters to meet either or sometimes both in the air, depending on the whether we are flying single or double fighter experiences.
Once the aircraft meet up, we begin a specially choreographed flight programme, in which you can see the Spitfire and / or Hurricane in a way that you probably have never seen before – our flights offer exceptional ‘air to air’ photographic / filming opportunities.
Spitfire (Stuart McKenzie)
Hurricane (Paul Andrews)
Both these photographs were taken on flights by these customers – they are two of what are now thousands taken over the past 3 years. In fact I think that through our flights, BM597 is THE most photographed Spitfire in the World!
As you can see , you’re flying within waving distance, seemingly only feet away (please note that we abide and fly strictly within CAA regulations.) We fly close enough to thrill - and far enough for safety!
Once we are into the routine, then you begin to understand exactly why we fly by helicopter, and what is so exquisitely unique about our flying experiences. The field of view is far superior to that of a fixed wing aircraft.
The helicopter is of course a rotary aircraft, and the Spitfire is fixed wing - and never the twain shall meet! These aircraft are like chalk and cheese - they both come from completely different drawing boards. In fact the people who fly helicopters refer to fixed wing aircraft as flying planks - and those that fly fixed wing call helicopters blitter blatters! I come from the school of tolerance that says ‘If it flies’ that’s fine by me!
The helicopter is unique in that it can be operated as an observation platform - that’s why they are so effectively used by the police. With their excellent visibility, you can see virtually 360º around the aircraft from inside, so when the Spitfire flies in our routine, you can see her winging around outside for apparently long periods of time, with out the visual interruption of a wing either ontop or below your window.
Everyone gets a window seat by the way – so no rushing to jump on board first to grab the best seat! Once on board and flying, the magical views of the Spitfire and/ or Hurricane transcend anything you will have seen before. It is especially dramatic when they pass below and over the top.When below, you can actually see into the pilot’s office – the dials and levers clearly visible.
It is these aspects of the helicopter that give you the opportunity to enjoy the most breathtaking and memorable views of these aircraft, which you can see and photograph to your heart’s content! All with the back drop of the White Cliffs, Dover Castle, the Battle of Britain Memorial – depending on which experience you have chosen.
The biggest thrill for me though was seeing our first customers’ reactions to their flight. People were grinning, laughing, and some were crying - they were so overcome with the sight and sound in the air of this wonderful aircraft – the Spitfire. Now, after three years of operations, these reactions have become legendary. In fact I am receiving phone calls and emails from customers who have flown many months - in fact a year or so earlier, and they are still eulagising over their flight. Many return - some have even jumped out and re-booked on the spot!
For a surprisingly simple idea, it has been quite hard to get across to people up until now. I hope that from this introduction, and the presentation on the site, we have been able to portray our fighter flying experiences, and that we will have the pleasure of hosting your visit down here in Kent.
I am confident that you will have the flying experience of a lifetime,
Yours truly, standing proudly alongside the Lone Pilot Statue at Capel le Ferne
The Action Stations Team at the end of another wonderful day of flying, with a pint of Spitfire in sight (is that why Brian is clapping?)
Kind regards – Steve
Stephen Burt – Director, Action Stations! and owner A4A Ltd
Action Stations! Some Background
How it all started
Steve Burt - Director A4A Ltd& originator and owner of Action Stations!
I’ve had a lifelong interest in WW2 aviation, starting as a boy growing up in the fifties. Being born 6 years after the end of the war, some rationing was still in place. (So I have been told!)
I was one of the early Airfix kit generations, and made their first model, which was a Spitfire. Its’ squadron markings were JE – J, and it was the aircraft that Johnnie Johnson flew.
He was one of the most decorated fighter pilots of WW2 and if you want to know how these people lived at the time – and their achievements you should read his obituary from 2001, when he died at the age of 85.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1320495/Air-Vice-Marshal-J-E-Johnnie-Johnson.html)
Whenever I made an aircraft, I was as interested in those who flew them, and the places they flew from, and being pre- internet times, I started collecting many books and magazines over the years that today make up a sizeable library!
In this collection are the Aircraft of the Fighting Powers volumes, which my father passed on to me. They had originally been given to him during the war, when they were first published. Each volume was originally neatly covered in brown paper, with his name carefully written in copperplate lettering, a hallmark of my grandmother, and her generation – when people could actually write beautifully, using ink fountain pens.
Volume 1 - First edition 1940
Spitfire MK2
The Aircraft of the Fighting Powers volumes are now collectors items, and are the ‘bible’ for anyone with a real interest in WW2 military aviation. Of course at the age of 7 or 8 years old, I didn’t appreciate their value, but now I’m so glad that I looked after them!
I was particularly fascinated by the general arrangement drawings that faced the description of the aircraft. These were drawn at 1:72nd scale, handily enough as this was the same scale that Airfix used / and use today. The kits at the time were very basic, and invited modification, inspired by the drawings in my books.
I think my first ‘serious’ modification was converting the fighter version of the Mosquito (MK2) to the bomber version (Mk4), with the transparent nose, adapted from that of a Lancaster - not ideal!
Films and Airshows
The films of the time, Reach for the Sky, Dambusters, 633 Squadron, all created an impression on me - and for weeks afterwards I would be building replicas of the aircraft featured - faithful in every detail, which would then be hung from my bedroom ceiling - sometimes crashing onto me sleeping below!
My mother - like all mothers I think, was afraid that this fascination for aircraft would lead me to join the RAF. She had lived through the war as a young girl, living not far from the RAF bomber station at Hixon, in Staffordshire. In 1940 she would have been 8 years old, and one day a Harvard with two young Canadian pilots onboard crashed nearby. Together with my grandmother they ran from their house in Sandon, across the fields to try and rescue the crew. When they got to the burning aircraft, the heat was so intense they couldn’t get the pilots out. I’m sure that Mum carried this image with her, and this is perhaps why she related the story to me as young boy. I was around the same age that she was when this happened, and she probably thought that the story she told would deter me from signing up.
She needn’t have worried – I really didn’t have any other interest in flying anything apart from a Spitfire, and they were going out of service by the time I was old enough to fly! Not for me those silver cigar cases called jets - no, a real aeroplane had a Merlin up front, and a ruddy big propeller - preferably with three or four blades, attached to it!
As children we were taken to air shows of the time, when squadrons would fly over - the air would be thick with aeroplanes! We would watch flights of V bombers, Lightnings, Buccaneers, Sea Vixens, Scimitars – the noise would shatter the air as they flew over!
And then there were the displays by the last piston engined aeroplanes of the time – Spitfires, Mustangs, Hurricanes, Sea Furies Mosquitoes, Hornets, and the four engined jobs, Lancasters, Lincolns (what an ugly aeroplane!) and finally the Shackletons – looking very smart in their Coastal Command livery.
We may have seen a Sunderland, but I can’t clearly remember.
Then we had Battle of Britain week, and the whole country used to remember the Few, and aircrew who lost their lives during the wars. People selling lapel flags, and paper ‘Wings’ - collecting money for the RAF Benevolent fund, and other causes to help the aircrews who had been injured during the war, and supporting families who had been left behind.
The call to Action!
When we recently moved down to Kent, I spent time visiting the Battle of Britain sites in the area. Kent was really the front line as far as the RAF were concerned – this is where the rubber hit the grass as far as our ability to defend the country against enemy attack. This county was in No 11 Group - Fighter Command, headquartered from Uxbridge, with main airfields being Biggin Hill, Hawkinge, Manston and Gravesend.
Having visited the sites, the museums, and the Battle of Britain memorial at Capel le Ferne, I felt that my experience was incomplete. Yes, individually these places tell their own story - or part of the Battle of Britain event - but only when you visit them all do you get an overall sense of the significance and magnitude of what was achieved - not only by pilots, but groundcrew, and the people of Kent who were living - and dying through it all.
During the Battle, in the village of Littlebourne, where we live now, people lived underground in their cellars for 3 months - venturing out quickly to get provisions – if they were lucky. Over 2,400 Flying Bombs landed in Kent during the war - one that landed in Littlebourne killed the local doctor’s wife. As you travel around this beautiful county today - you would hardly know these events had occurred. And talking to people of all ages and background, the majority don’t seem to know about the events of seventy years ago now. One lad in his late twenties actually didn’t know what the Battle of Britain was – and a Polish girl of a similar age, didn’t know that Polish people flew in the RAF.
So I felt something had to be done, and I started thinking - if those aircrew were amongst us today, how would they like us to remember them? Surely not as just names on stones - or by the relics of their aircraft in museums? No, these people were in many cases extroverts - yes they were fighting a war - but they were also characters, individuals, had style and a joy for living.
So let’s reflect that in how we remember them,and create experiences for today’s generation – give them the sight and sound of a Spitfire - in the air, just as it was in 1940.
And so this is how we came up with the Action Stations Spitfire Flying Experiences - please join us and enjoy these, and always remember The Few.
Steve.
Acknowledgements
My FamilyThis venture was started on a wing and a prayer – the wing turned into rotor blades, and the prayer (s) were answered. I want to thanks my fantastic wife Katherine for her support, care and kindness since the very first idea came about – without her, none of us would be enjoying the experiences we are enjoying today. My son Phil, who although he is many miles away, has been my constant friend and supporter – not just in this project, but through our life together. My stepfather Philip Inwood, who since I was an adolescent showed faith in me and has given me support and encouragement over the forty five years I have known him.
My brother Adrian - who occassionally smashed my models, and made me even more determined to make more and more – and stronger and stronger. This was good training for the rest of my life! Fortunately as he grew up, he has become a good friend and supporter of Action Stations!, and as my true brother I value his straightforwardness and humour.
Then my mother and father who I lost many years ago, who in their own way guided and nurtured my interest in model making, which I believe has been the foundation to what I am doing now. And finally to both my grandmothers – Gan, my father’s mother who generously gave me the full set of ’Aircraft of the Fighting Powers’, and Nana, my mother’s mother who ran across those fields with her young daughter Christine, my mother, to try and rescue those young Canadian pilots who had crashed in their Harvard trainer, near Hixon in Staffordshire. Her bravery, spirit, generosity and humility, I have always held in high esteem.
My love goes to my Family – past, present and future.
My FriendsI regard the majority of my partners, suppliers, customers as friends - their spirit and support has enabled me to create a business around an idea and make it work for me and my company – and for them as well. Sharing this success together, makes it all worthwhile.
There are however some very special people, who by using their special skills and abilities have been key to ’making it happen’. Gary Slater is the owner of Helicharter, our helicopter operator. It was his openess, and ’can do’ approach that allowed us to take to the air and find out if my ideas actually would work. Gary’s piloting skills are exceptional, and together we made it work.
On the Fighter side, it has been Janice and Guy Black, the owners of Spitfire BM597, and Hurricane Z5140, with their constant support and encouragement – and I would add – tolerance and trust, allowing us to fly in this unique way with their magical and precious machines that has been the other half of our flying equation.
But key to all of the above has been our remarkeable good fortune to have access to the services of Charlie Brown, the Spitfire pilot. Charlie is an RAF officer – in fact an advanced flying instructor – it is his inate flying skill that allows us to put on these remarkable flying experiences. Not only is Charlie a damned good pilot – he is one of the most pleasant chaps one could hope to meet. Always at pains to take the time to talk to all our customers and answer their questions - he of course shares the same passion for the Spitfire, and he is the embodiment of what many of would say would characterise a Battle of Britain fighter pilot – someone with guts, skill, humility - and rather sporty moustache!
The intrepid Charlie Brown, our Star Pilot, who gives his time so generously flying BM597, for the delight of the many hundred of customers that we fly, and their friends and family who are gathered on the ground at the Battle of Britain Memorial, where he puts on a ’good show’ to help raise funds for the Trust.
New to the team is Dave Harvey, who pilots the Hurricane. Dave is another serving officer, with over 30 years experience. He is an RAF fighter pilot having served on 7 of the accredited Battle of Britain Squadrons, 23 and 111, F4 Phantom, 25 and 56, Tornado F3, 79, 151 and 234, Hawk. Dave puts on an impressive show with the Hurricane, which is certainly very much a ’man’s aeroplane’!
Over to Michelina, our Operations Manager, who has transformed our business into the well oiled machine it is today. She is a qualified commercial pilot, who will be training to fly the Spitfire in due course. Michelina is constantly praised by our customers and partners - a delight to work with, great sense of humour and the ability to manage and control our highly complex flying operations - Michelina is one in a million.
Then of course, like all good outfits, we have a ’backroom boy’ - who in our case is George Paul, our wizard web designer, who is based in Hungary. He is the mastermind behind our highly effective website. George and I are emailing each other through the day and night with updates/ ideas/ new sites – the occassional correction! When he came on board, the business went into hyperdrive!
Finally to all those who work with us, and are key to the success of the operation - Chris and Jane Reynolds at Pent Farm, along with Howard Wade and his crew, who are always on hand to help us. Our ground crew, Nicky and Paul, Geoff, to name a few - your professionalism and good humour really make the difference, and I thank you for being with us.
If I have missed anyone, please accept my apologies - give me a prod, and the error will be immediatley corrected.
Steve
