Today's extract is from Spitfire by Geoffrey Quill, the legendary Spitfire test pilot.

Chapter 6 K5-054

Two days later, Bobhandicide and I set off in my old 3-litre Bentley with parachutes,

overalls, helmets and other gear stowed in the back to drive from Brooklyn to Martlesham

to start the full load trials on the G4-31 prototype, soon to become the Wellesley, and

to complete the contractors' trials in accordance with official requirements.

The official test requirements were stringent and very detailed, and I'd studied them long

and earnestly. I was acutely conscious of the responsibility for doing these trials at

Martlesham, whilst Mutt was standing by for K5-054 for his next flight down at Southampton.

It was necessary before each flight to transpose carefully a lot of the requirements onto paper

on a knee pad to serve as an aid memoir in the air, and on which to record the results.

So on the 10th of March, I took off in K7556 for Martlesham with Bobhandicide in the back,

and with the full load of fuel and ballast to represent the payload. We started the specified

slow-flying and stalling tests, behaviour near the stall, and these had to be carried

out with both wheels up and wheels down. I completed the wheels up sequence, and then

selected undercarriage down, but one leg hung up and I was left with one green light and

one red. God dammit, I thought not again. Just my luck.

With a huge span of the G4-31, I began to consider the likely damage of a landing on one

leg and a wingtip, as against a straight belly landing with both legs retracted, and decided

the latter would probably be the better course. In any event, the aircraft will be quite

badly damaged, so it would be sensible to fly back to Brooklyn's and do the deed there,

right outside the works, rather than miles away at Martlesham. As I had plenty of fuel

...