Supermarine Spitfire, warbird aviation and modern aerial innovation, with Keith Russell

About this episode

The episode explores the comparison between modern reproductions of the Supermarine Spitfire and original wartime aircraft, featuring insights from pilot Keith Russell.

How close can a modern reproduction come to the legendary Supermarine Spitfire from World War II? And what does preserving and flying these aircraft reveal about aviation engineering, military history and innovation? In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Keith Russell, owner and pilot of the Whitsunday Spitfire, a 90 per cent scale reproduction of the iconic World War II Mk26B Spitfire aircraft. Formerly known as the Port Hedland Spitfire and White Gum Spitfire, Russell's aircraft recently appeared at Warbirds Over Scone 2026 in NSW and Warbirds Over Wānaka in New Zealand. Russell is also the former owner of Golden Eagle Airlines, a regional airline previously operating out of Derby, Western Australia, and has spent decades immersed in aviation operations and historic aircraft. Drawing on his experiences flying both reproduction and original wartime Spitfires, including a two-seat Spitfire flight at Duxford in 2005, Russell discusses the engineering, handling and passion behind operating one of the world's most recognisable fighter aircraft. The podcast conversation includes the following topics: How the reproduction…

People in this episode

Host: Robert Dougherty

Guest: Keith Russell

Topics covered

• aviation engineering
• military history
• modern aircraft reproduction
• warbird community
• flight dynamics
• pilot experience

Keywords

• Supermarine Spitfire
• aviation
• warbirds
• aircraft engineering
• military aviation
• flight experience
• replica aircraft
• Keith Russell

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Golden Eagle Airlines

Products: Supermarine Spitfire

Places: Warbirds Over Scone, NSW, Warbirds Over Wānaka, New Zealand, Derby, Western Australia

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