The ultimate Airfix kit – a full-scale Spitfire at the bottom of my garden

Published on Friday 13 March 2009 22:27

BLOOMING roses or prized azaleas are the usual draw in a neighbour's garden, but at the home of Dr Hamish MacLeod in Moffat, the sky is the limit. Garden gnomes should be attired in silk scarves, goggles and leather flying caps, for the main attraction is a full-size replica Spitfire.

Neighbours and friends are now flocking to see the fighter plane, which as a garden ornament puts even the most majestic sundial firmly in the shade.

With a lifelong passion for aircraft, the retired GP decided to commission the replica of the Spitfire he flew over Florida one memorable day in the mid-1990s. Now the plane and car enthusiast intends to gift the Spitfire to the people of Moffat, where Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, who commanded the RAF during the Battle of Britain in 1940, was born.

Dr MacLeod would like to see the plane eventually sited at Dowding House, a home for retired RAF veterans, in Well Street, Moffat, which remains the largest memorial to Lord Dowding, who plotted the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the summer and early autumn of 1940. His achievements are also commemorated at Station Park in the town, which has a sandstone and bronze memorial where hundreds gather each year to pay tribute to Lord Dowding.

Dr MacLeod, a GP in Moffat from 1965 to 1998, said: "Because of the connection with Dowding, there should be a Spitfire in Moffat. This is my way of saying thank you to the people of Moffat for giving me such fabulous support during my career. It just seems to make a lot of sense."

It was during a refresher course on night flying and instrument rating in Florida that Dr MacLeod, a former pilot officer with Edinburgh University's air squadron, had the chance to fulfil his boyhood dream of piloting a Spitfire.

He said: "I heard the fantastic sound of that Merlin engine and hopped on a bike in search of it. There were all these fabulous Spitfires being restored on the air base."

Special arrangements were made for Dr MacLeod to fly the plane, which he described as an "unbelievable" experience.

He said: "I had the controls from start to finish. We did all sorts of things. The Spitfire is so aerobatic. It is so iconic, the most fabulous-looking aircraft ever, hugely beautiful."

The replica, accurate down "to the last rivet", was transported to Moffat from the manufacturers in Norfolk last week in sections and Dr MacLeod said he had a "huge amount of fun" putting it together. Friends and neighbours helped with the construction, which he said was similar to building a giant Airfix kit.

Dr MacLeod and a friend built their own light aircraft during the 1990s, which they sold eight years ago, and he said that experience made assembling the Spitfire much easier.

Dr MacLeod said: "The neighbours think it is fabulous and a lot of people were coming around when I was building it … but I'm not putting it here as a showpiece, I just feel a huge love for the aircraft and to have this copy of one I flew is so special."

The Spitfire, which flew for the first time in 1936, was in front-line service throughout the Second World War. The plane's design, by Reginald Mitchell, was considered revolutionary at the time and no other aircraft was considered a match for its overall performance and ease of handling.

Each year, weather permitting, at the September memorial service for Lord Dowding, a Spitfire flies low over the town in tribute to him.