Spitfire, the iconic Second World War plane, will fly above hospitals in Tayside and Fife as part to thanks NHS staff for their coronavirus efforts.
The words “Thank U NHS” will be spotted in the skies as the blue reconnaissance aircraft, emblazoned with the names of thousands of key workers, flies past 64 local hospitals across the UK, starting tomorrow until Friday.
It is the biggest flyover organised by the NHS Spitfire Project with the team at Aircraft Restoration Company carefully planning 98 route waypoints that include 25 in Scotland.
Built in 1944 and used as a photographic aeroplane, the PL983 aircraft will fly above Tayside and Fife on Thursday, September 17. It is expected to take off from Cumbernauld Airport at 10am and land at Inverness Airport at 11.30am.
In between, it will fly over these hospitals in Tayside and Fife:
10:16 – Lynebank Hospital, Dunfermline
10:17 – Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline
10:24 – Perth Royal Infirmary
10:25 – Murray Royal Hospital, Perth
10:30 – Ninewells Hospital, Dundee
10:31 – Royal Victoria Hospital, Dundee
10:39 – Stracathro Hospital, near Brechin
10:48 – Woodend Hospital, Aberdeen
10:50 – Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
The plane had previously flown every Thursday during lockdown from its base at Duxford Airfield near Cambridge in support of NHS Charities Together and the carers campaign.
Since then nearly £80,000 has been raised with donations being made from those having their names handwritten onto the aircraft.
John Romain, founder and managing director of Aircraft Restoration Company said: “The response to our initial flight over the last 8pm #clapforourcarers Thursday was incredibly humbling, with hundreds of people from the local community sharing how wonderful it was to not only see the Spitfire, but also to read the message emblazoned across its wings.
“After such positive response we decided to leave the message painted on the Spitfire for the rest of the flying season, this is where the idea to hand write the names of the nation’s loved ones onto the aircraft to raise money for the NHS Charities Together began.”
Click here to donate to the NHS Spitfire Project.
Find out more about the Spitfire flight path on the Aircraft Restoration Company website.