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One of the "Few" Flies Again


upnorth

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Yesterday, one of the last surviving Czech pilots who served in the ranks of the Royal Air Force during World War II took to the air in a Spitfire for the first time on over 70 years.


Born on February, 25 of 1923 in Brno, General Emil Boček took off on a 25 minute flight from Biggin Hill airfield in a Spitfire fitted with a second seat.


This is video footage of the event from Czech Television:


http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/1853465-emil-bocek-si-ve-spitfiru-pripomnel-sve-bojove-lety-v-raf


An English language report can be found here:


http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/czech-ww-ii-veteran-fulfils-dream-with-spitfire-flight



It's good to see someone from the "Greatest Generation" still fit and full of life when most of them are gone.


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  • 2 weeks later...

Brilliant stuff. He looks completely at home in the cockpit. A great tribute to those brave Czech pilots.

I agree.

I only hope that if I live until my 90s that I have both my body and mind as together as he seems to have his.

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Brilliant! What a character - well done.

Not wishing to be over-pedantic, but the expression "the Few" is usually reserved for serving Fighter Command aircrew from the Battle of Britain era. This gentleman was, as it says in the English language article, a "mechanic" in 1940 before being selected for pilot training three years later. No not one of "The Few".

Having said that, I'm full of admiration for the General. To think in the Cold War era he might have been 'on the other side'!!!!

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