This Day in History (Mar 5, 1936) - Never has ... So Much been Owed by so Many to so Few

quote:

---

On 5 March 1936,[13][nb 1] the prototype (K5054), fitted with a fine-pitch propeller to give more power for takeoff, took off on its first flight from Eastleigh Aerodrome (later Southampton Airport). At the controls was Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers, who is quoted as saying, "don't touch anything" on landing.[14][nb 2] This eight-minute flight[12] came four months after the maiden flight of the contemporary Hurricane.[16]

---