Prototype Livery Spitfire G-TCHI and BBMF Dakota depart Exeter Airport on the final leg of UK tour!
This was the 9th and final flight of a Nationwide tour that the team at https://www.spitfires.com/ had embarked on, with the special liveried twin seat Spitfire painted in the colour of the original prototype to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Spitfire this year, with todays leg taking advantage of a weather window and moving the original scheduled departure time of 10am forward to 8.15am. Exeter Airport hosted the latest leg in a series of commemorative flights around Britain celebrating 90 years of the iconic Spitfire, a fitting tribute to the Spitfire and a poignant reminder of the role RAF Exeter played in World War Two as a Class 1 Fighter Station and home to both Spitfire and Hurricane squadrons.
The aircraft was fuelled up and left bound for Southampton, birthplace of the Supermarine Spitfire, accompanied by the Battle of Britain Memorial flight Dakota ZA947 looking glorious in her new RAF South East Asia Command (SEAC) scheme. During the war, RAF national insignia / roundels featured red circles, and to avoid confusion and misidentification with Japanese aircraft, SEAC aircraft used this two-tone blue national insignia on SEAC aircraft. Following Japan's surrender, the SEAC insignia was phased out with traditional roundels reapplied.
The supporting Gippsland GA-8 Airvan also departed, and for the final flight of #Spitfire90, the astronaut Tim Peake was in attendance, flying on board the Dakota from Exeter to Southampton.
Tim has been involved in Spitfire90, having judged the competition run by the Telegraph where one lucky winner was able to win a flight in 'K5054' when she returns back to Goodwood later today, and the assembled crowed were certainly treated to a memorable sight on a Friday morning at the usually quiet airport! | 17.04.2026
More information can be found here:
https://www.spitfires.com/spitfire90
https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/spitfire-flights-mark-90th-anniversary-of-first-flight/
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A video captures the departure of a specially liveried Spitfire and a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Dakota from Exeter Airport. The aircraft were part of a nationwide tour celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Spitfire. The event marked the final leg of the tour, with the Spitfire departing earlier than scheduled due to favorable weather conditions. The flight was accompanied by the Dakota, and the event honored the historical significance of RAF Exeter during World War Two.
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