spitfire

The Classicist: UK's Elite Meet & Greet at High Net Worth Event

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings, Events, Charity, Men's Style, The Classicist, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Some of the UK's wealthiest citizens met up recently at Cotswold Airport in the heart of bucolic Gloucestershire to rub elbows while eyeballing the latest in supercars and private jets. The ultra-exclusive Elite 2010 event was organized by Aeronautics Ltd. and the Fine English Company, dedicated to the best in bespoke British luxury. 200 high net worth VIPs were in attendance at the occasion hosted by British Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy. The event benefited Fly2Help, a charity dedicated to helping those who have suffered disaster, difficulty or tragedy by allowing them to experience the fun and love of flying. We got an inside look at the proceedings thanks to Fine English Co. founder Benedict Wormald.

Aeronautics Ltd. are the UK Sales Representative for Hawker Beechcraft and specialize in the sales, acquisition, management and charter brokerage of private jets. Other participating organizations at Elite 2010 included Aston Martin Racing, the famed British marque's motorsports division; Coutts, the legendary private bankers to the Queen of England and the British Royal Family as well as famed figures from the Duke of Wellington, Charles Dickens and Lord Nelson to The Beatles; Von Essen Hotels, the private collection of individual country house hotels in the UK and France which includes the famous Cliveden, once home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor; London's The Nth Degree Club Concierge, whose services include event management, private dining, exclusive chef's tables at top London restaurants and personal shopping; PremiAir Aviation; and Affinity Marketing Group.

Gallery: Elite 2010 UK

Tags: Aston Martin, aviation, Benedict Wormald, bespoke, BMW, British Royal Family, charity, Cliveden, England, events, Ferrari 458 Italia, Fine English Company, Fly2Help, furniture, Gloucestershire, Hawker Beechcraft, helicopter, London, Porsche, private jets, Queen of England, Spitfire, UK, Von Essen Hotels, wealth

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Spitfire Sculpture Made from Fighter's Original Rolls-Royce Engine

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Men's Style

London-based TMB Art Metal's latest creation is more than just a sculpture of a classic British Supermarine Spitfire; it's actually made from the fighter plane's original Rolls-Royce engine parts. Made in a limited edition of 24, the Spitfire Mk 1 sculpture is handcrafted of aluminum originating from the Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk III engine fitted to X4276 KL-B, legendary RAF ace Al Deere's personal Spitfire for the latter part of the Battle of Britain and 1940, which crashed on 28th December of that year. The sculptures are supported by bronze stalks with precision engineered ball and sockets so the planes can be placed in various attitudes of flight. The sculptures are set upon a mahogany and burr walnut plinth and come with a certificate of authenticity signed by one of the original Supermarine test pilots.

[via Duncan Quinn]

Tags: Battle of Britain, BattleOfBritain, fighter planes, FighterPlanes, London, Rolls-Royce, sculpture, Spitfire, TMB Art Metal, TmbArtMetal, UK

Dunhill Fighter Provenance Fountain Pen

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Writing Instruments, Men's Style

The new Fighter Provenance Fountain Pen from London-based luxury goods firm Dunhill does not take its name in vain: the limited edition writing instrument is made from the original aluminum engine casing taken from the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine of the legendary World War II Spitfire MK1 fighter plane. Produced in very small numbers due to the scarcity of the material, the pen's details also reflect this iconic aircraft - the bolt and rivet effects in the original aluminum; the tapered edges echoing the aerodynamics; and a window feature on the side of the barrel displaying level of ink and even the pen clip design directly references the shape of the spitfire propeller. The cap is also created using plexiglass which is exactly the same material used for the bubble canopy of the late 1930's and early 1940's fighter planes. The pen nib is 18 carat gold with rhodium plating and the instrument is presented in a lacquered Alfred Dunhill display box.

[via JustLuxe]

Tags: Dunhill, fighter plane, FighterPlane, Fountain Pen, FountainPen, London, plane, Rolls-Royce, Spitfire, World War II, WorldWarIi

Bonhams To Auction Off Historic Warbird Plane

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Auctions

We see a lot of vintage cars on this site but not so many vintage planes. Bonhams in London is set to auction off a very collectible plane on April 20, a two-seat Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire. The plane is airworthy and comes from a private source but will be auctioned at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, near London. The plane has an estimated value of £1.5 million. This Spitfire has been restored and is a historic Warbird ready to fly. It was delivered to the Royal Air Force's No 33 Maintenance Unit at Lyneham in Wiltshire and later sold in 1948 to the South African Air Force and was eventually rediscovered in a Cape Town scrap yard. General Aviation News reports that it is the second Spitfire offered by Bonhams within the past seven months. A non-airworthy Spitfire sold for around £1.1 million.

Source

Tags: auction, plane, spitfire, warbird

$12,000 Pilot's Watch Made from Fighter Plane Parts

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Wings

British luxury watch brand Bremont's new pilot's watch, the EP120, is made with parts of a famous RAF 1942 Spitfire Mk V fighter plane which shot down six enemy aircraft on a single day during WWII. Original pieces of the Spitfire, which has been featured in films such as The Battle of Britain, salvaged during restoration, are incorporated into the EP120's dial and movement. The limited edition timepiece, which has already been spotted on the wrists of Bremont fans like Orlando Bloom and Ewan McGregor, costs about $12,600 and will be available in September.

[via Men.Style]

Tags: Bremont, Bremont EP120, BremontEp120, Britain, Ewan McGregor, EwanMcgregor, Fighter planes, FighterPlanes, Orlando Bloom, OrlandoBloom, RAF, Spitfire, WWII