Up and coming Warbirds pilot and Warbirds Over Wanaka Flying Scholarship winner, Bevan Dewes, has achieved a life-long ambition to fly the legendary WWII Spitfire fighter aircraft.

Bevan has this week been type rated in Doug Brooker’s two-seater Spitfire at Ardmore Airfield in Auckland.  “It was absolutely marvellous and everything I thought it would be,” said a beaming Bevan after stepping out of the cockpit.

A total of eight $5,000 Warbirds Over Wanaka Flying scholarships have been awarded over the past four years by the WOW Community Trust. The aim of the scholarships is to provide the next generation of pilots for future Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshows.

Airshow visitors this Easter will get a chance to watch Bevan in action displaying his de Havilland Chipmunk and possibly in a flypast featuring other Scholarship winners.

Applications for the 2020 Flying Scholarships will open later this year.