The concept of the Supermarine Aircraft Spitfire Mk26B was conceived and further developed by Mike O’Sullivan. In essence, a Spitfire replica is sold as a “Kit Airplane,” where one purchases the aircraft as a kit and then proceeds to build it themselves. Many components are already pre-fabricated, but far from everything. An experienced aircraft builder or skilled handyman will spend approximately 1,100 hours tinkering before the aircraft is ready to fly. This impressive number of hours can be intimidating to some, which is why there are companies that will finish assembling such a kit for a customer. The Spitfire that the Foundation purchased was built by Mike O’Sullivan himself in Australia, just before the move to Cisco, Texas. The High Lady served as a “Demo Model,” and was used for reviews in various magazines, including Kit Planes magazine. The U.S. tax code allows the sale of a completed Experimental aircraft a maximum of once per year for suppliers/manufacturers of kit airplanes. Supermarine Aircraft has made much less frequent use of this option, as evidenced by the age of our Spitfire, which was built in 2010. It had accrued 275 flight hours prior to the purchase.
