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A pair of aviation enthusiasts will set off today on their quest to circumnavigate the globe in an original Silver Spitfire in a world first.

Steve Boultbee Brooks and Matt Jones will stop off at 100 locations in 30 countries during their five-month journey.

They took off today on their 27,000-mile trip in the Second World War plane, which has been completely restored.

The adventurers set off from Goodwood Aerodrome and are expected to take four months to complete The Longest Flight, visiting 30 countries.

They took off from the West Sussex runway shortly after 1.30pm, with their departure preceded by an RAF display.

Celebrities including actors Taron Egerton and Rosamund Pike, presenter Dermot O’Leary and former Formula One driver David Coulthard attended the launch.

The pair, who run Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood, took to the skies in their Supermarine Spitfire, which flew 51 times in the war and has been restored over the past two years.

Mr Brooks, 58, from Oxfordshire, said the plane is a “piece of art,” and he is excited to show the world the “symbol of freedom.”

He told the Standard: “We want to share this plane with the world and we’ve got that opportunity. It’s an iconic design.

“It’s taken two-and-a-half years of preparation for this journey.

“I’ve always loved Spitfires, there’s nothing as beautiful, but I never imagined doing this.”

The pair have been working on the project with luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen, who are the main partner and official timekeeper.

The pair will first head to Scotland, then westbound to places including the US, Canada, Japan, Russia and India and back to Britain with a single-seated Mk IX Spitfire originally built in 1943, followed by a chase plane for safety.

The pair said they will be taking regular breaks and switch at different stops.

They will be followed by a chase plane which will have a full-time captain, an engineer, as well as a film and camera crew to video the journey for a documentary, will follow the Spitfire.

Either Mr Jones or Mr Brooks, a property developer, will also be in the plane whenever they are not flying the Spitfire.

As part of the journey, the aviation enthusiasts will travel to Scotland, then spend a couple of nights in Iceland, head through Greenland into Canada, before heading across the US into Russia and then Asia.