Camcom Radio Supply Spitfires.Com with Icom Airband Ground-to-Air Base Solution and Experiences Once in a Lifetime Flight in a Spitfire

Eddie Jones, the Managing Director of Cambridge Mobile Communications T/A CAMCOM RADIO has recently sent us two pieces of good news, one on the business side the other on a personal side, and both connected to the iconic Spitfire aeroplane.

CAMCOM RADIO has been in business since 1990 recently moving to its new premises between Newmarket & Bury St. Edmunds. For over 30 years the company has been supplying a wider range of professional portable and mobile radio equipment with a large radio hire fleet for short- and long-term rental and workshop facilities for servicing and repair.

Neil Parkinson, Chief Pilot at spitfires.com at Goodwood Aerodrome recently contacted Eddie about supplying radio equipment for their operations channel. The outcome was that CAMCOM RADIO supplied and installed an IC-A120B ground-to-air base station for them and also a pilot-aware ground station that relays live aircraft location data to all aircraft in the area to improve the safety of their operations.

Eddie said, ''Spitfires.com has been issued one of the new 8.33 kHz spaced frequencies for their operations and their old equipment couldn't be tuned to that frequency. Before we installed the base station the guys in the operations room had no direct contact with the aircraft. They could only communicate by ringing the control tower and messages were relayed through them. Now, if a technical problem requiring an early return to the aerodrome occurs, details can be speedily passed to the maintenance team.''

He added, “They are impressed with the performance of the installation easily covering their normal area of operation. Neil is also the corporate pilot for a very high-profile VIP, and he commented that he called back to Goodwood from above Paris and it was ''crystal clear.''

Eddie holds a PPL(H) licence and in another good piece of news for Eddie, he was given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take a trip in one of these magnificent historic machines. Neil took him up for a 30-minute flight around the south coast.

Eddie said, ''The Spitfire that I flew in was a Mk IX SM520 G-ILDA which saw active service in WW2 and was later transferred to the South African Air Force where it came to grief in an incident.

He added, “The flight was fantastic and exceeded my wildest expectations. We took off and joined in formation with a GA-8 Airvan chase plane where my son could film us four metres off their starboard wing. We flew out to the Solent, and Neil demonstrated the primary controls to me. He then completed a 360° roll to the left followed by another one to the right. I was then invited to do the same manoeuvre by raising the nose of the aircraft until my feet were on the horizon and then moving the control column hard over and we went around in about 4 or 5 seconds (I can’t quite remember it was so exciting). Neil then demonstrated a loop by putting the aircraft into a shallow dive. Once the speed built up to 280 MPH he pulled up the nose and around we went generating about 3G. It was then time to head home for tea and medals.”

‘The whole thing was filmed on a 360° Go Pro, and I’m just waiting for a link to that footage.’

To find out how CAMCOM RADIO can help your business with its two-way radio needs, call them on 01223 277274 or email enquire@camcomradio.co.uk. Alternatively, visit the CAMCOM RADIO website.

Icom UK Marketing - marketing@icomuk.co.uk