Perhaps the closest thing you will ever hear to the sound of freedom is the howl of a Merlin V12 coming from a World War II era Spitfire.
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That plane celebrates its 80th birthday this Saturday. The first Spitfire prototype took to the skies it would dominate for more than a decade at 4.30pm on March 5, 1936.
While no single type of plane can claim credit for winning a war or, in this case, even the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire comes very close.
What is remarkable, given the role these machines have played in shaping the history of the world, is that there are two still flying from a country airfield just over two hours north-west of Canberra.
The Temora Aviation Museum has a Mk VIII, built by Supermarine in 1944, and a Mk XVI, built by Vickers Armstrong about the same time.
Both of these planes will be flown as part of this Saturday's Aviation Showcase, regular flying days that invariably draw large numbers of ACT aviation buffs across the border to indulge their passion.
Different Spitfire marks had different capabilities and were often in production at the same time.
Temora's Mk VIII, the last Spitfire to be acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force, never fired a shot in anger as it did not arrive here until April 1945.
The Mk XVI had a more exciting life however. Able to carry two 250 pound bombs and a long range fuel tank, it first saw action on March 24, 1945, when it was the lead plane in an armed reconnaissance flight over Europe. It was also operated by the RAAF and was flown by members of 453 Squadron.
It is a movie star, having made static appearances in Reach For The Sky, the biopic about Douglas Bader, and The Battle of Britain.
Grounded following a takeoff accident in 1953, the plane finally made it back into the air in 1989 as part of Sir Tim Wallis's collection in New Zealand.
It was bought by the Temora Aviation Museum in 2006 and has been flying from there ever since.
David Lowy, whose generosity made, and continues to make, the Temora Museum possible, bought the Mk VIII in 2000. It had been rebuilt to airworthy status by heritage aviation enthusiast Colin Pay, in 1985.
The Spitfire was a remarkable plane which, while it never matched the "kill record" of the bomber-busting Hawker Hurricanes, was the most successful front line fighter of the war.
During the Battle of Britain the strategy was for the Spitfires to tackle the hard targets, the German fighters, while the Hurricanes mixed it with the multi-engined bombers. There was no clear demarcation in the fog of battle however, with pilots going for targets of opportunity in what was often a fast moving melee.
During the final year of the war Spitfires destroyed more than 300 German V1 flying bombs. They were one of the few aircraft that could catch such speedy prey.
A Spitfire was also the first RAF plane to shoot down a German Me 262, the world's first jet fighter.
The last Spitfire was built in 1947, finally making way for the new generation of jets that were to redefine war in the air. More than 20,000 had been built in just over a decade.
Visit the Temora Aviation Museum's website to find out more about what planes are flying on Saturday.
