Dying... Spitfire engineer, 95, gets last wish granted to be reunited with iconic plane....

Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 15th July 2016 | Nick Enoch

[naturalman1975]

Full headline Dying World War Two Spitfire engineer, 95, gets last wish granted to be reunited with iconic plane after bosses see him staring forlornly through fence from his wheelchair

[pepsi_junkie]

Pretty cool story. The airmen who gave hours of their time to give this man a few rare smiles in his hours of need are good people.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Reminds me of the story about Jack Nothrop when he was brought to the company in a wheelchair during his last days, to be told about the still secret B-2 bomber. With a small model of the plane shaking in his trembling hands, he expressed his joy that his life-long dream of an operational flying wing design had been realized. He said something like “Now I know why God has let me live this long.”

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Nice things do happen once in a great while.

[2banana]

An airplane mechanic is not an engineer.

He did become an engineer the war. But why exaggerate?

[nascarnation]

He did become an engineer the war.

I don't understand this sentence, can you explain?

[dragnet2]

[dragnet2]

[2banana]

Sorry.

He did become an engineer AFTER the war in a non related business.

[wrench]

In Britain an aircraft mechanic is called an “engineer”. In the US the term is “mechanic, or A&P mechanic. Other parts of the world call them “technicians” .

Same job, different countries.

[Mamzelle]

It might be a British-ism

[Thud]

Thank you.

[2banana]

Ok. So what do the British call an degreed engineer designing things?

And don’t say unemployed.

[Candor7]

Lovely article and I got to hear one of my favorite sounds in the whole world, a supercharged Merlin Rolls Royce V-12 engine spooling up.

[SES1066]

Ok. So what do the British call an degreed engineer designing things?

In WW2 a lot of them were called "Boffins", on't know about now.

[Candor7]

He did become an engineer the war.>>>>>>>>>>>>

Its a British manner of speech.

eg. She did become a Saint the cross.

[Gay State Conservative]

THE GREATEST GENERATION

[wrench]

Not sure, as I never worked with British designers/developers/engineers, but have run into wrench turners and rivet drivers from across the pond.

As they say, we are 2 countries separated by a common language.

[Gay State Conservative]

Note to naturalman:”The Greatest Generation” is a term/phrase/label made famous by one of our well known news anchors,Tom Browkaw, (”news readers” in other parts of the world) when referring to the WWII Generation.Most Freepers will appreciate just what it means.

[yarddog]

Maybe the most beautiful airplane ever crafted.

Of course there were lots of WWII planes which were almost as nice.