Supermarine Spitfire owners’ workshop manual

True, not many people actually own a Spitfire and those that do probably don’t need an Owners’ Workshop Manual. However, the Haynes Manual format is rightly famous for presenting complex technical information in an easily understood manner. This format has helped millions of car and motorcycle owners worldwide understand their machines and carry out servicing and maintenance.

A Royal Air Force Official Product, this new manual from Haynes gives readers a unique insight into what lies beneath the skin of a Supermarine Spitfire, and the techniques, resources and experience required to restore, fly and maintain an example of this British aviation icon some seventy years after the first prototype flew.

The book has been written with the full co-operation of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, whose aircraft feature heavily in the superb colour photographs depicting the aircraft’s structure and major systems. The fascinating text, complemented by numerous technical drawings, cutaways and photographs, reveals every detail of the aircraft, from the fuselage and wing structures to the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and its systems, including the cockpit instrumentation and controls, hydraulic and pneumatic systems and even the armour plating fitted to wartime examples.

As well as the technical insight, coverage includes a brief illustrated history of the design and evolution of the Spitfire and a fascinating look at the eye-watering costs and resources required to own and fly an example today. Former and current Spitfire pilots put the reader in the pilot’s seat, and if you’ve ever wondered how to start the engine on a Spitfire, look no further! Maintenance, servicing and preservation are covered, and illustrated appendices provide details of a selection of surviving Spitfires, along with a full list of all currently airworthy examples around the world.

The Supermarine Spitfire Owners' Workshop Manual has been written by Dr Alfred Price, an acknowledged authority on the Spitfire, and Paul Blackah, an Airframe Specialist with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and one of UK’s leading Spitfire engineers.

Publication date: Sunday 14th October 2007
RRP: £17.99 Hardback, ISBN: 978 1 84425 462 0