Over a period of 7 years and 3 months, John Norman of Burlington, Washington crafted to-date the most authentic Spirit reproduction ever built. With the intention of creating a copy of the aircraft "as it sits now," with all the patches, updates or modifications recreated in pain-staking detail and the added bonus of being airworthy Norman completed the project in 2019.[36] The maiden flight was performed July 28th, 2019 and the public debut flight was September 8th, piloted by John's friend and seasoned pilot, Ron Fowler.[37][38][39]