Polar aviator Steve Brooks lands himself a bargain (From Daily Echo)

Polar aviator Steve Brooks lands himself a bargain

8:10am Tuesday 21st April 2009 in

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AN ICONIC Spitfire aeroplane made airworthy again thanks to a five-year restoration by a Hampshire firm, has sold at auction for more than £1.7m.

A British polar adventurer bought the historic plane, pictured, the first ready-to-fly Spitfire to go under the hammer for 20 years.

The buyer, Steve Brooks, became the first person to fly from pole to pole by helicopter, landing in Antarctica in January 2005.

The Supermarine-designed aircraft was originally built by the British Vickers-Armstrong company in 1944.