For many middle-aged men, driving across the Cotswolds in an open-top sports car with the wind in their hair is the perfect way to spend a summer afternoon.
But one group of chums from Stroud are not content with the limitations of land and are taking to the skies in their hand-built replica First World War fighter planes.
And the team behind Grass Strip Aviation Limited is sharing its love of classic aircraft with fellow aviation enthusiasts across the world.
A replica Fokker Eindecker, a three-quarter scale version of the first specifically-designed single-seat fighter aircraft in aviation history, can be snapped up for around £15,000.
Director George Simoni, who launched the company with Shaun Davis and Robin Morton in 2007, said: "It is quite a niche market but we have sold eight Eindeckers and five of those are complete and flying and three others are in-build.
"It is usually people that are pilots already and mostly those who have either built a kit car or plane before.
"They're all pre-war or First World War planes but we can do anything within reason," added Mr Simoni, whose workshop at Ashton Down, near Minchinhampton, is large enough to build and rig the aircraft.
"The fastest we have had built was within six months, the longest in two-and-a-half years but the average is within 18 months as people tend to build them in their spare time. You don't need any special tools as they are riveted and bolted together with conventional fabric covering."
Besides the Eindecker, which was much feared by the pilots of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, Grass Strip Aviation has on offer various kits for a number of famous planes, including the Nieuport 11, another single-seater allegedly famous as being among those that ended the "Fokker Scourge" in 1916.
The Red Baron tri-plane and the Dream Classic – a wire braced aircraft – are also available.
Mr Simoni said after aviation regulations were relaxed earlier this year, the company – which started as a hobby – is now able to offer a wider variety of aircraft.
"Before the changes, the aircraft had to have an empty weight of 115kg, a maximum all-up weight, including pilot and fuel, of 300kg and a wing load of 10kg per square metre," he said.
"But they have removed the empty weight and wing load weight which means we can bring in heavier aircraft so that gives us more flexibility."
The company was formed in June 2007 with the intention of importing American aircrafts into the UK.
Directors of the company are all experienced microlight pilots and say they boast "many decades of experience in the automotive and aerospace industries, covering manufacture, servicing, certification and testing".
Factfile:
The Eindecker was a First World War monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker
The full-size craft could reach speeds of 140kmh and had a 9.5m wingspan
Developed in April 1915, the single-seater plane was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft
The Eindecker granted the German Air Service a degree of air superiority from July 1915 until early 1916 – this period was known as the "Fokker Scourge"
![Fancy owning your very own Fokker Eindecker fighter aircraft for £15,000?]( "Fancy owning your very own Fokker Eindecker fighter aircraft for £15,000?")
