A grandfather has spent years creating a perfect replica of a Spitfire from scratch - all in his tiny garden shed.<br /><br />Kenneth Mockford, 59, took on the challenge during the 2020 lockdown and spent more than two years constructing the front half of the fighter aircraft.<br /><br />The ex-airman from the South African air force spent an estimated £30,000 buying the parts for the fuselage using blueprints, making many parts individually from scratch.<br /><br />He then squeezed into his 3x5m shed to construct the thing.<br /><br />Keith, of Burwell in Cambs, who comes from a line of RAF veterans, said: "I am a nutty engineer, basically.<br /><br />"I have Asperger Syndrome and I always say that it is my gift. It is my superpower.<br /><br />In 2014, the dad-of-two quit his secure job as Head of Engineering at Baxter Healthcare UK and turned his shed into an air-hanger. <br /><br />This is only the latest project for the ex-mechanic, who has also built an entire F35 fighterjet by eye and rewired the front end of a Lynx helicopter and Boeing 737 aircraft into simulators.<br /><br />He uses his own hand-made laser cutter and a Computer Numerical Controller (CNC) to cut and shape all the parts of his simulators.<br /><br />He now runs a flight simulator business Sim2do, selling experiences in his simulators in Mildenhall, Suffolk, where people can buy a one-hour 'flight' from £60.<br /><br />The British Spitfire simulator is his latest project and is his only simulator which 'shoots' from the aircraft's gun, used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.<br /><br />The machine even vibrates when you pull the trigger and the pilot can fight up to 19 enemy aircraft during a 'flight'.<br /><br />No parts were available to build on for the single-seat aircraft so he made it from the blueprints up. <br /><br />It now accurately features all the internal instruments, throttle, landing gear and seat, adapted to be run in the simulator with three screens to give a realistic virtual experience.<br /><br />According to him, his family initially thought he had "lost it" when he set out to make his first project, the Boeing 737 in 2012. <br /><br />However now they get the hype. He said: "When I completed one they were like, 'wow'. <br /><br />"Then I completed another and they had the same reaction. Now the whole family are pretty much behind me and supports me."<br /><br />After the success of the 737, in which he spent most of his time giving the people in his village "flights", he thought he'd make a business out of it.<br /><br />His customers are now mostly people buying "gift experiences" for their partners and grandparents, as well as trainee pilots booking up four-hour slots to practice ahead of a job interview.
