The next day the Flight Commander came out with me to my first flight in a Spit. The first thing was the step up on to the wing root. No climb like the Harvard or the Masters, just a step up. Chute on, straps on, oxygen plugged in, radio in. A last look around the instruments.
Harness lock on.
Thumbs up and off. She was a little gem. Messages from my training kept filtering into my mind. I Handle carefully on the ground, the wheels are so close together because they retract from the centre outwards. I love you.