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16
Sept 2020
Mission aborted: No Harrogate hospital NHS Spitfire flypast
Low cloud and poor visibility forced the NHS Spitfire to cancel its flypast over Harrogate District Hospital today.
The aircraft set off from Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire and was due to pass over the hospital at 10.50am this morning but the weather forced it to change route south of Doncaster.
After returning to Duxford, it was due to set off on a revised schedule over four hospitals. The figure is considerably down on the 27 originally planned.
Thousands of people had been waiting across the country to catch a glimpse of the Spitfire, which has "Thank U NHS" painted under its wings.
NHS Spitfire revised route
- Haltwhistle War Memorial Hospital - 3.39pm
- Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle - 3.45pm
- Annan Hospital - 3.49pm
- Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary NHS - 3.55pm
A spokesperson for the Aircraft Restoration Company, which is behind the NHS Spitfire, said today:
The hospitals which missed out on a flypast will get to see the aircraft at a yet to be announced date.
Read more:
- Eyes to the skies as spitfire flies over Harrogate hospital
- Harrogate is the smoking capital of North Yorkshire
- Harrogate group unveils plaque to thank organ donors
Since July, the NHS Spitfire has raised more than £80,000 for NHS Charities Together, a federation of 250 charities that support the NHS.
The blue spitfire PL983 nicknamed ‘L’ was built for photo reconnaissance in the 1940s and has an interesting history. Lettice Curtis, a famous female pilot, once raced the spitfire, which now carries her name alongside those of the NHS workers.
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