Restoration sees warbird arise with flying colours (+review)

A generation or so ago, a host of Kiwi kids would have been given a model aeroplane kit as a present.
They were simple to assemble and were decorated with the suitable markings.
More often than not the model would be of a Supermarine Spitfire, the plane made famous during the Battle of Britain in World War II.
Marton businessman Brendon Deere would have had one of those models and then some.
But then he has a special reason for having more than a passing interest in the Spitfire. His uncle, Wanganui-educated Al Deere, flew one as a wing commander of a squadron based at Biggin Hill in 1943.
Now the younger Deere's passion for the plane has manifested itself, first in the form of a fully restored Spitfire and now with the publication of a book which charts the history of the restoration project as well as shedding new light on the career of his uncle.
The book, Spitfire - return to flight, was published on August 16 and provides a fitting conclusion to a remarkable journey.
Mr Deere will not say how much the project cost him personally, except it involved 35,000 hours of work by him and a team of dedicated workers. The plane was back in the air last year in time for Anzac Day commemorations, and has also been part of fly-pasts at other commemorative events and a star turn at the Wanaka Warbirds pageant.
Supermarine Spitfire PV270, complete with Al Deere's original war-time insignia, is now permanently housed at the RNZAF base at Ohakea.
Mr Deere says his book not only signals the final chapter in the project but, importantly, will generate income to help keep the plane flying at special events. He says the book came together in the past year as the restoration was completed. "As soon as we got the Spitfire airborne, we started putting the book together," he said. "I've had a lot of thoughts about the book in my head for the past few years but we got the restoration out of the way first."
Mr Deere is managing director of the Marton company Integrated Technologies, which designs and makes automated petrol pump equipment.
The Spitfire PV270 was built in 1944 and served with the RAF in Italy in the last months of the war. It was later sold to the Israeli Air Force and finally served with the Burmese Air Force. It last flew in 1956 and, for 26 years, stood at the gates of a Burmese Air Force base.
Deere started the restoration six years ago and the plane finally moved to Ohakea in January last year.
He said the project involved a lot of "blood, sweat and a few tears".
"It's a 65-year-old plane and finding parts, information and people who know anything about them takes time," he said.
"We made it quite difficult for ourselves by making it as original as possible.
"Apart from the radio, there's nothing modern on it."
Deere said they could have taken short cuts in the rebuild but "we made the conscious decision not to take them".
"We could have used American aluminium but we used British aluminium.
"You can buy the American stuff down the road but we had to airfreight what we used out from the UK.
"It's as true to form as it would have been when it came out of the factory in 1944."
It's a big step up from a kitset model to the real thing, but Brendon Deere has achieved his dream. And, as a licensed pilot, he'll one day take the controls.
REVIEW
Spitfire - Return to Flight
by Brendon Deere, ITL Aviation, $69.95
It's fitting that a book about one of the most famous planes that fought in World War II is published a month from the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
The Supermarine Spitfire is the aircraft most associated with that momentous time in our history, but for Marton businessman Brendon Deere the plane holds a special place.
His uncle, Wing Commander Al Deere, flew the plane from Biggin Hill in 1943 and last year his nephew saw a five-year restoration project reach its climax when PV270 flew again in the skies over Ohakea.
Deere and his family financed the restoration and the publication of this book.
Income from book sales will help keep the plane flying at commemorative events around the country.
The book updates details about his uncle and his war exploits, as well as the restoration in great detail. Spitfire - Return to flight is amply illustrated and highly detailed but is still a very good read even if it includes some very technical information.
Anyone interested in warbirds and the people who flew them will want to read this. It is a remarkable story of one family's dedication and determination to keep a memory alive.