Louis Skupien flies in WW2 Warbird with pilot Andy Goodall

Louis Skupien, who recently covered aviation to the most extreme levels, shared the details of his experience and said: “After my previous experiences, I recognised that I had covered aviation to the most extreme levels in Jets, helicopters, and Aerobatic planes, and I really wanted to make a WW2 Aviation Warbird my next project.

“On the 7th of May, I was invited out to fly in a T6 Harvard which is a WW2 trainer aircraft used to train Spitfire and P51 Mustang pilots on how to dogfight before they got in the seat of the Spitfire or P51.

“The owner, Andy Goodall from T6HARVARD.COM, was delighted at the idea of the collaboration and we met up in Fowlmere very soon after getting in contact.

“I arrived at Fowlmere and met Andy, we then jumped into his 1944 Auster and flew over to Peterborough Airfield while we got acquainted.

“During the flight over, a Spitfire flew right past us also and gave us an incredible fly-by.

"Once we landed in Peterborough Airfield, we went into the hangar and I got to see the T6 Harvard for the first time.

“An incredible piece of machinery, it looks vintage, but is a very very powerful, and robustly built plane that is a true piece of history, but still with a serious kick to give.

“We got it out of the hangar with the team and fuelled it up ready for our flight.

“After a briefing and a chance for me to equip the Harvard with my GoPro cameras and get strapped in, Andy turned the engine on and we took off. 

"I immediately noted how smooth it was.

“For an old war plane that is very heavy and generations before any of the things I had flown in before, it’s very smooth and felt great.

“We then went on to do the aerobatics and simulated WW2-style dogfighting manoeuvres.

“Beginning with a loop, going into rolls, demonstrating engine stalls, Cuban 8’s and all kinds of incredible manoeuvres in the sky that would have been performed by our WW2 pilots, often involving being completely upside down and looking up at the English countryside.

“All the Aerobatics took us to about 3.5-4 positive G’s which was very pressurising but a load of fun, though nowhere near as strenuous as the 7.5 G’s we pulled in my last flight.

“We did all kinds of Battle of Britain-style pieces and Andy truly showed exactly what this WarBird was capable of at its max performance, and I was blown away by how it handled and just how manoeuvrable and agile the aging WarBird is.

“When we got back and landed, we got some fantastic pictures and videos for my video project and I was also relieved that my cameras had all recorded exactly as planned and the ones that were attached outside stayed in place.

“I have a newfound respect for our history in Aviation now. Being 22, and having a large interest in modern aircraft, I never spent much time learning about WarBirds, but I’m glad I have now.

“The skill required to fly and operate these planes safely and effectively, even just normally and not even in combat, I feel demonstrates the amazing talent and skills our pilots possess, and that the ability and skill set required to operate these planes is in many ways a more honest reflection of raw talent especially when technology was not so prevalent in flight.”