Peter Raffels learned to fly in Shropshire, England in 1972. Peter emigrated to Australia in 1994, initially to Gayndah in Queensland and now lives on a property near Childers, from where he operates the Australian branch of his company. Peter is an active member of the Gayndah S.E.S. and is a keen pilot who has operated his Cessna 150 for 14 years, together with several other aircraft. He has an airstrip on his property.
This Spitfire, VH-YPU, is a Mk26 80% replica built from a Supermarine kit. The kit was completed in 2011 by pilot Peter Raffles. The registration of the aircraft is VH-YPU. There is a story behind that. Peter’s father was a night fighter pilot on the RAF 23 Squadron at the time of the London Blitz in 1941. In one week his dad shot down 3 German bombers over their French airfields. This was known as the ‘Hat Trick’. 23 Squadron code letters were YP and the aircraft his dad was flying was coded U. The aircraft though was a Boston Havoc, not a Spitfire. The Spitfire was unsuitable for night flying due to the glare from their exhausts.
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