As a schoolboy, parked my bike at the end of RAF Waddington runway circa 1975 to watch the planes - and a Lightning took off right in front off me, just like this. Truly epic!
My cousin had a photograph of him flying his Lightning under the wing of a Soviet/Russian 'Bear' somewhere north of Scotland in the sixties, You could see the 'russki' pilot giving the thumbs up! Years later at a cocktail party aboard my ship in Toronto a RCAF F104 pilot asked me what the hell did we call that f****** RAF jet that 'shot' him down in a NATO exercise, 'Jesus, man, he came at me up vertical out of nowhere! Jeez I'm gonna get a transfer to the RAF and get me one of them!' Such enthusiasm. I miss her too! No more flying over my house, just Typhoons - ah well. At least we can live our memories on youtube.
Necro-comment, but relevant; Lightning pilots back in the day used to say that ‘she climbs like a homesick angel’ They also used to say that the only reason she had wings was to keep the navigation lights apart, lol Thanks for sharing your story, I love reading stuff like that 👌 🤝 🍻
One of the best looking jet aircraft ever and that's coming from an American across the pond. Would love to see one of these race an F14, two of the best interceptors ever made.
I remember as a youth the sight and sound of Lightnings taking off near vertical and was also witness to impressed US airmen applauding the demonstration. Several leading fighters underwent a speed/intercept test against the then newly in service Concorde. A Concorde would fly over at maximum speed and the fighters (from the US, England, and many other nations) would take off cold and attempt to intercept. Not only was the Lightning the only one that could catch the airliner, it overtook it!
That must be awesome. I know that one Avon without afterburner can rock the world. Two of them, at full power, spitting fire in afterburner... Oh, I wish I could see that!
The sight of a Lighting lifting its nose in the air vertically and then just blasting straight up - full power was a vision to behold.. When it first demonstrated this at an American airshow the U.S. officers all stopped what they were doing and applauded. Talking about speed/acceleration. There was once a test with all the major NATO fighters present including Lightnings. The target was a Concorde flying over at maximum speed. The fighters had to take off cold and try to catch up with it. Not only was the Lightning the ONLY fighter to catch it. It actually over took it and passed it!
Nah, not true. A Tornado F3 was the only jet to intercept Concorde, and then only did for a couple of minutes. The Tornado was in full reheat rapidly losing fuel, Concorde was cruising. No way a lightning would intercept Concorde at full whack from cold, it would run out of fuel first.
I saw this in, maybe 1990. The weather was appalling and two Lightings did a start side by side. You could imagine a QRA at maybe Lossiemouth in zero visability before they raced off after a Bear. Later XH558 did the same thing and as she cooled we sheltered under the triangle and wondered if they'd really get her to fly again. The best airshow I've ever seen.
I worked in tanker pool RAF Binbrook in the early 80s refuelling Lightnings of 5 and 11sqd and LTF on operational turnaround we would pump fuel around 40 psi the pilot would be making signs to pump the pressure up which we did heart beating as engines were still live, what a beautiful machine.
Served at RAF Binbrook 1983-1985 as an RAF Fireman. The Lightning remains my personal favourite. Watched it on exercise kiss off the Harrier (Just dropped out of nowhere, camera run then disappeared BACK into nowhere!) Poor bloody F16 found one on it tail so went vertical over the airfield. The Lightning went vertical and was waiting for it at the top. A REAL fighter a/c. RIP old girl.
that's cool wish I could of seen that, did it honestly out climb the F16 :O A yank job 20 years it's younger? Really shows we use to rule the skies when these bad boys were thought up
Laurie St Lyon - I recall that the Lightning set the record from take off to XX thousand feet. Cannot recall what it was but going to be 50 or 60k (I think!). Now, this was a normal Lightning. Fully armed too. The Yanks (Bless 'em!) just managed to beat that record which had been held by the Lightning for decades. But with a completely stripped out F15. Begs the question. What's the point of being at 50 or 60k feet, if you cannot do anything once you get there? The Lightning could! :-))
@@thezanzibarbarian5729 Typical American brag.They only care about being first,doesn't matter how crooked or unrealistic their method.Usually when British technology sets records it's because of the work of some of the most brilliant designers in the world.They don't have to strip it to the bare bones like the streak eagle you mentioned-they even stripped the paint off it,how desperate was that!!.
Lightnings were fantastic aircraft. We were in the RAF and one broke the sound barrier directly above my head in limassol in cyprus-I looked up and it was climbiing vertically into the sky, god knows what speed it was doing-just awesome.
my all time fave aircraft..i remember sitting in the fields during the summer watching these beautys taking off...early 80s when i was at school..memories
To me one of the most impressive aircraft of all time, along with the AVRO Vulcan. Not just based on looks but performance. Read the Lightning had a rate of climb matching that of an F-15 Eagle.
My dad use to work on the ee lightning when he was in the RAF... They use to bet the yanks that the lightning could be wheels up and vertical by a certain distance. Mostly betting booze.. after a wee word with the pilot .....they were drunk a lot...
Back in '86 Coltishall hosted a visit from the Alabama Air Guard and their F4s. For their entertainment, the RAF flew several aircraft over to 'show off' what we could still do. The Americans were slightly non-plussed at the Lightning until the jockey put it on its tail and went ballistic. They were gobsmacked. Especially when they were finally convinced that it was designed in the '50s and in service since the '60s.
@Tony Haynes I did my 3 year snitch as a structural engineer in the IAF fixing F4-E "Kurnass". They are massive. loud, highly capable bomb trucks. I never got tired of working on them or experiencing them rumble down the runway. From what I've seen, EE's are like dragsters in comparison.
@bexnomad Some 50 years ago low level flying was not restricted to the same speeds as now. I was in the Air Cadets and I seen a Lightning flying at low level at some 700 MPH. The shock waves were building up on the wings, this was at some 200 feet of so above ground. Then it shot up vertical, what a sight that was, I will never forget the power it had
I remember being really young around this time and going to RAF Waddington to see the Lighting and spending most of it in the car weeping my eyes out when the Lighting was around. Such an honour to of experienced it :D
@Wonkabar007 there is a privately owned Lightning anlong with a hunter and a bucaneer in South Africa! Its a two seat version and for a large amount of money (and if your fit) you can be taken to the edge of Earths atmosphere.. i know its costly but boy what an experience!!!!
My Wife (She who I utterly adore :D), and I were bicycling along the Moselle Valley, 'bout 7 years ago, - I heard jets. I crash-stopped, checked my two O'clock high, and saw something that NO Australian MIGHT never see in Australia. Two A-10's. They cut, from two to ten, RIGID!, NOT A WAVER OF WINGS. NOT A BOUNCE. NOT A WOBBLE. They 'Scissored', levelled out, did a wing 'waggle', one broke left, one broke right,- GONE!.
That's the back of my head towards the end . Just posted my version of the same on Twitter this evening. Back there again for 2019 in a few days. Great video
The English Electric Lightning, My own personal favourite aeroplane Ever,from being a young lad of 11-12yrs. I was awestruck at its performance, it's side-body mounted missiles, albeit on short pylons. It had a certified ceiling close to 88,000ft, higher than my 2nd favourite the SR71, Blackbird. Of Course our American cousins will say otherwise. It would be a proverbial 'sin afore god' should the Brit's have built an aircraft that could beat the SR71s operating ceiling height.
@Corvidae51 f14s are mean as hell :) ba offered concorde up as a target with mirage f14 f15 f16 and a lightning the only thing that caught the concorde on a stern intercept was the frightning all the others failed. the same lighting intercepted a u2 by diving on it from 88,000 feet!!! it had and still has absolutely blistering performance!
@T5058932 That would have made an epic RUclips video. Makes me wonder how many great video clips from years gone by, are sitting in boxes gathering dust in cellars and lofts never to be seen on the internet.
When Canada still had the Boeing 707-720Cs in military service, on cold days when the took off out over Lake Ontario, they would set off the sensitive car alarms. Some of them were so sensitive a bird would set them off.
I was told by a non reliable source that the Lightning had gone tech but thats not the case. I have been to the Open Days at Bruntingthorpe on a regular basis being just down the road from me and I can tell those that have not experienced it, the Lightning is ear splittingly loud!! It has always been the highlight of the days for me.......apart from the weekend the Victor decided it wanted a little more than a taxi run and departed from the runway and got airbourne for a bit. Classic balls up!!
I probably used to watch that very aircraft take off and land at Binbrook. I could park my car just outside the base fence, watch them take off, and by the time I'd had a brief snooze, a sandwich and a cup of coffee..they were back again. Then I had to skedaddle to get to my afternoon meetings on time in the 1.3L Escort without afterburners This would be 1983/84 ish
Back in the good old days when you were allowed to park your car on the airfield and leave all your food and drink in a picnic box in the boot of the car
The Lightning remains one of the fastest ever interceptors. Others may have mentioned this but during an interception test involving a Concorde travelling at full speed. Not only was the Lightning the only NATO (including all the US fighters) aircraft able to catch Concorde from a standing start. It actually over took it! At one of its earliest displays for an American airforce audience it drew rapid applause for its fast, near vertical take off demonstration.
Actually no. The aircraft noises were recorded at Little Rissington where the Reds were based in 1964. The most useful sound was actually that from a stationary engine stater and I suspect that that might be the sound of Thunderbird 2.
@twinstu50 One last bit. I was doing my R.A.A.F. rookies at Edinburgh, South Australia in 1971, and a bunch of Pommies and their aeroplanes visited, a couple of Lightnings, one Vulcan, and some other bits and pieces. The Vulcan was AWESOME!. BUT. Mate, when the Lightnings did their bit, they were Bloody Awesome. And LOUD!!. Until the the Harrier, I have never heard a louder jet fighter during take-off. The all three abovementioned aeroplanes are still Very Nice Pieces of Kit.
Wow its an amazing thing to imagine happening, nuclear air to air missiles fired at bomber formations, it makes sense and might have helped, if the cold war had turned hot, certainly makes the Lightning a fearsome weapons system.
I have been plane mad since I was about 7 years old and we moved to near an airport. I am ex Air Force and have seen a lot of aircraft but the mighty Lightning is near the top of my list still to see!
Bit late to the party, but we germans invented the reheating and the german word is "Nachbrenner" which translates into "afterburner" so ... ;-) reheat on the other hand is "aufwärmen" in german and that means to reheat a meal from yesterday. Ok, just joking, of course.
"Reheat" may be the correct, antiquated, British term but it needs to go away of other Limey anachronisms. 'Afterburner' is more descriptive and international.
Luckily for me, my grandparents live by a few airbases. Meaning they get too see aircraft like the Vulcan fly over a few times each month. They also live by the red arrows base, so they see them weekly!
I watched one of the last EE Lightnings fly from Warton aerodrome in Lancashire in the early 80's being videoed by a film crew, cool moves OMG and loud as f................
Just after watching this I over heard some lightning ground crew who were in the crowd speaking about the pilot for that day, didn't catch his name but they were saying he wanted to do this fast taxi as it would possibly be the last one he would be able to do due to a long term illness
Joe B Think you'll find English Electric, vickers, hunting and Bristol merged to become the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1960, when they were still making the lightning. So yes English Electric is correct, so is BAC ....
Worked at Warton when they were being test flown. One decided to do a vertical climb with full reheat above the toilets I was in. Three of us came out dragging our pants up in a big hurry thinking something had crashed on the building. Sadly they could not outturn or go faster than a missile. But the first British plane to exceed 1000 mph.
I may be wrong and I normally am, but I think there are 3 or 4 still flying in South Africa. They are deemed unsafe to fly in the UK because of the extensive requirements to keep them air-worthy. Nothing to do with the safety record of the EE Lightning, purely on the maintenance. I am luck enough to have seen them fly....WOW!!!
They're more like delta wings with triangles cut out, rather than normal swept wings. Plus, the wing angle is the same: 60 deg. And look at the circullar-triangle nose. Look at the general shape of both planes.
As far as I know it's not legal to fly them in the UK anymore, hence why they only do speed runs. My dad said that South Africa allows them to fly and you can even get a back seat for the right price
@skibdattles Directly from the front there are some similarities admittedly as long as you remember to put the MIG 21 into a photocopier and set enlarge to 120% first. Wing planform is entirely different, the MIG 21 having a delta wing whereas the Lightning had a steeply swept back wing. As for performance and combat capabilities, the Lightning would eat the MIG for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. The Lightning could go from brake release to 36,000 feet in less than 3 mins btw :)
When I was a school boy back in 1984, one flew over me and the blast from the afterburner blew me off my feet and I landed in Africa. I’ve only just managed to walk home back
I'd heard about that. Sad stuff. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the ejector seat was disabled. A lot of guys here in the US take the pyros out of their little L-29s and 39s to save a lot of money during inspections. Although, a little digging shows that a group in Mississippi called the Anglo-American Lightning Organization is returning one to an airworthy status. If the Collings Foundation can do the same with a monster the size of an F-4 I'm sure they can succeed with a little Lightning.
Apparently its very complicated to maintain, so privateers wouldn't have the resources to do it safely, in South Africa privateers ran some flying paying passengers, then they had a fatal crash, the investigators found lots of problems with the plane, ie a big one the ejector seat didn't work :(
@RubenCraninx Sony HDR SR10e but I had it filming to the memory card not the hard drive, because when there is alot of noise the hard drive malfunctions and stops recording, so on those occations use the memory card instead.
@demolition09 The Lightning is louder. on the 29th of May 2011 the Bruntingthorpe aircraft museum is doing another day fast taxi runs, Its a great day out.
Originally the Skyflash interceptor missiles had nuclear air burst warheads to destroy Russian nuclear bomber formations . Very low yield but enough to a) destroy the aircraft in in the blast radius and then b) the secondary shock wave would destabilise or tear apart the remaining formations . Similar weapons were used in F103 Daggers . Know as Stand off Interceptor Missiles .
Need to you tube the TSR 2 it could out run a Lighting with 2 AB'2 and TSR using 1 ABa true story of USA telling UK what to do and how they want it done.
@Wonkabar007 do you know if this will stay for Waddington air show? The vulcan last year only did a fly over, so if it does come then it should do a runway start!
I heard they'd been grounded due to a incident in Germany at a airshow ( not with a lightning ) but cause of that certain rules/laws were put in place for Airshows and the Lightning is too loud to fly ... how true that is I do not know, but would explain why there is so many good examples in museums and still owned by the RAF but aren't flying ... just one in south Africa but that's outside the EU
Used to live at RAF Binbrook home of 5 and 11 sqd we have had dishes windows and doors rattled and broken Lightnings and the Vulcans from Waddington nothing quite like it, All this namby pamby health and safety making weapons of war quieter so as not to wake the neighbours. You haven't lived till you've heard Alert 5 fighters going of in the middle of the night or day
As a schoolboy, parked my bike at the end of RAF Waddington runway circa 1975 to watch the planes - and a Lightning took off right in front off me, just like this. Truly epic!
My cousin had a photograph of him flying his Lightning under the wing of a Soviet/Russian 'Bear' somewhere north of Scotland in the sixties, You could see the 'russki' pilot giving the thumbs up! Years later at a cocktail party aboard my ship in Toronto a RCAF F104 pilot asked me what the hell did we call that f****** RAF jet that 'shot' him down in a NATO exercise, 'Jesus, man, he came at me up vertical out of nowhere! Jeez I'm gonna get a transfer to the RAF and get me one of them!' Such enthusiasm. I miss her too! No more flying over my house, just Typhoons - ah well. At least we can live our memories on youtube.
Necro-comment, but relevant; Lightning pilots back in the day used to say that ‘she climbs like a homesick angel’
They also used to say that the only reason she had wings was to keep the navigation lights apart, lol
Thanks for sharing your story, I love reading stuff like that 👌
🤝 🍻
@@KumaBean It was a cockpit strapped to a couple of engines :-)
One of the best looking jet aircraft ever and that's coming from an American across the pond. Would love to see one of these race an F14, two of the best interceptors ever made.
I remember as a youth the sight and sound of Lightnings taking off near vertical and was also witness to impressed US airmen applauding the demonstration. Several leading fighters underwent a speed/intercept test against the then newly in service Concorde. A Concorde would fly over at maximum speed and the fighters (from the US, England, and many other nations) would take off cold and attempt to intercept. Not only was the Lightning the only one that could catch the airliner, it overtook it!
That must be awesome.
I know that one Avon without afterburner can rock the world.
Two of them, at full power, spitting fire in afterburner... Oh, I wish I could see that!
The sight of a Lighting lifting its nose in the air vertically and then just blasting straight up - full power was a vision to behold.. When it first demonstrated this at an American airshow the U.S. officers all stopped what they were doing and applauded. Talking about speed/acceleration. There was once a test with all the major NATO fighters present including Lightnings. The target was a Concorde flying over at maximum speed. The fighters had to take off cold and try to catch up with it. Not only was the Lightning the ONLY fighter to catch it. It actually over took it and passed it!
paul austin actually its a true story, the lightning can out pace any modern fighter today, showing just how advanced it truly was
You forgot to add that the people on the Anglo French Concorde were sitting comfortably drinking Fine Wines with there Luncheon. 😎
Nah, not true. A Tornado F3 was the only jet to intercept Concorde, and then only did for a couple of minutes. The Tornado was in full reheat rapidly losing fuel, Concorde was cruising. No way a lightning would intercept Concorde at full whack from cold, it would run out of fuel first.
@@CupsofCopus Nah, there's plenty quicker. The F15 easily outpaces a Lightning
@Colin Gregson I would check again sir
I remember these from Biggin Hill in the 80’s. I thought the Tornadoes were loud until I heard a lightning! Awesome bit of kit
was in Germany raf bruggen my squadron was 56th lighting my job was refuelling them and retrieve parachute from landing 74-76 best years of my life
I saw this in, maybe 1990.
The weather was appalling and two Lightings did a start side by side. You could imagine a QRA at maybe Lossiemouth in zero visability before they raced off after a Bear.
Later XH558 did the same thing and as she cooled we sheltered under the triangle and wondered if they'd really get her to fly again.
The best airshow I've ever seen.
The best English interceptor ever !!!! Period. Nothing compares to the Lightning 😁
I worked in tanker pool RAF Binbrook in the early 80s refuelling Lightnings of 5 and 11sqd and LTF on operational turnaround we would pump fuel around 40 psi the pilot would be making signs to pump the pressure up which we did heart beating as engines were still live, what a beautiful machine.
Served at RAF Binbrook 1983-1985 as an RAF Fireman. The Lightning remains my personal favourite. Watched it on exercise kiss off the Harrier (Just dropped out of nowhere, camera run then disappeared BACK into nowhere!) Poor bloody F16 found one on it tail so went vertical over the airfield. The Lightning went vertical and was waiting for it at the top. A REAL fighter a/c. RIP old girl.
that's cool wish I could of seen that, did it honestly out climb the F16 :O A yank job 20 years it's younger? Really shows we use to rule the skies when these bad boys were thought up
Laurie St Lyon - I recall that the Lightning set the record from take off to XX thousand feet. Cannot recall what it was but going to be 50 or 60k (I think!).
Now, this was a normal Lightning. Fully armed too.
The Yanks (Bless 'em!) just managed to beat that record which had been held by the Lightning for decades. But with a completely stripped out F15.
Begs the question. What's the point of being at 50 or 60k feet, if you cannot do anything once you get there? The Lightning could! :-))
@@thezanzibarbarian5729 Typical American brag.They only care about being first,doesn't matter how crooked or unrealistic their method.Usually when British technology sets records it's because of the work of some of the most brilliant designers in the world.They don't have to strip it to the bare bones like the streak eagle you mentioned-they even stripped the paint off it,how desperate was that!!.
Used to watch these out of Binbrook as a kid & they were just incredible. I wish I could take my boy to see them.
Lightnings were fantastic aircraft. We were in the RAF and one broke the sound barrier directly above my head in limassol in cyprus-I looked up and it was climbiing vertically into the sky, god knows what speed it was doing-just awesome.
Love it.
Used to work at Heathrow and everytime Concorde took off around 10.15 it was the same!
my all time fave aircraft..i remember sitting in the fields during the summer watching these beautys taking off...early 80s when i was at school..memories
To me one of the most impressive aircraft of all time, along with the AVRO Vulcan. Not just based on looks but performance. Read the Lightning had a rate of climb matching that of an F-15 Eagle.
My dad use to work on the ee lightning when he was in the RAF... They use to bet the yanks that the lightning could be wheels up and vertical by a certain distance. Mostly betting booze.. after a wee word with the pilot .....they were drunk a lot...
I remember these doing that at Air Shows. The noise, the noise. Great stuff.
Back in '86 Coltishall hosted a visit from the Alabama Air Guard and their F4s. For their entertainment, the RAF flew several aircraft over to 'show off' what we could still do. The Americans were slightly non-plussed at the Lightning until the jockey put it on its tail and went ballistic. They were gobsmacked. Especially when they were finally convinced that it was designed in the '50s and in service since the '60s.
@Tony Haynes I did my 3 year snitch as a structural engineer in the IAF fixing F4-E "Kurnass". They are massive. loud, highly capable bomb trucks. I never got tired of working on them or experiencing them rumble down the runway. From what I've seen, EE's are like dragsters in comparison.
@bexnomad Some 50 years ago low level flying was not restricted to the same speeds as now. I was in the Air Cadets and I seen a Lightning flying at low level at some 700 MPH. The shock waves were building up on the wings, this was at some 200 feet of so above ground. Then it shot up vertical, what a sight that was, I will never forget the power it had
I remember being really young around this time and going to RAF Waddington to see the Lighting and spending most of it in the car weeping my eyes out when the Lighting was around.
Such an honour to of experienced it :D
@Wonkabar007 there is a privately owned Lightning anlong with a hunter and a bucaneer in South Africa!
Its a two seat version and for a large amount of money (and if your fit) you can be taken to the edge of Earths atmosphere.. i know its costly but boy what an experience!!!!
To set off all those car alarms shows that at one time our country rocked in it's technology and prowess.
My Wife (She who I utterly adore :D), and I were bicycling along the Moselle Valley, 'bout 7 years ago, - I heard jets.
I crash-stopped, checked my two O'clock high, and saw something that NO Australian MIGHT never see in Australia.
Two A-10's.
They cut, from two to ten, RIGID!, NOT A WAVER OF WINGS.
NOT A BOUNCE.
NOT A WOBBLE.
They 'Scissored', levelled out, did a wing 'waggle', one broke left, one broke right,- GONE!.
I love the sound of avons in the morning
That's the back of my head towards the end . Just posted my version of the same on Twitter this evening. Back there again for 2019 in a few days. Great video
Those guys are our best hope of ever seeing a lightning fly again.
The English Electric Lightning, My own personal favourite aeroplane Ever,from being a young lad of 11-12yrs. I was awestruck at its performance, it's side-body mounted missiles, albeit on short pylons. It had a certified ceiling close to 88,000ft, higher than my 2nd favourite the SR71, Blackbird. Of Course our American cousins will say otherwise. It would be a proverbial 'sin afore god' should the Brit's have built an aircraft that could beat the SR71s operating ceiling height.
The most under rated jet fighter ever
saw one of these break the sound barrier going vertical at Biggin Hill Aerodrome in the 60"s
This was well worth the long drive, just to see the look on my mother's face as it blasted down the runway!
as kid in Cyprus, you could here the sonic boom nearly every day, and watch them
@Corvidae51
f14s are mean as hell :)
ba offered concorde up as a target with mirage f14 f15 f16 and a lightning the only thing that caught the concorde on a stern intercept was the frightning all the others failed. the same lighting intercepted a u2 by diving on it from 88,000 feet!!! it had and still has absolutely blistering performance!
I lived near the runway at RAF Coltishall in the 60's...I learned to sleep through a full burn take off
@T5058932 That would have made an epic RUclips video. Makes me wonder how many great video clips from years gone by, are sitting in boxes gathering dust in cellars and lofts never to be seen on the internet.
When Canada still had the Boeing 707-720Cs in military service, on cold days when the took off out over Lake Ontario, they would set off the sensitive car alarms. Some of them were so sensitive a bird would set them off.
I was told by a non reliable source that the Lightning had gone tech but thats not the case. I have been to the Open Days at Bruntingthorpe on a regular basis being just down the road from me and I can tell those that have not experienced it, the Lightning is ear splittingly loud!! It has always been the highlight of the days for me.......apart from the weekend the Victor decided it wanted a little more than a taxi run and departed from the runway and got airbourne for a bit. Classic balls up!!
I probably used to watch that very aircraft take off and land at Binbrook. I could park my car just outside the base fence, watch them take off, and by the time I'd had a brief snooze, a sandwich and a cup of coffee..they were back again. Then I had to skedaddle to get to my afternoon meetings on time in the 1.3L Escort without afterburners This would be 1983/84 ish
The Bruntingthorpe fast taxy days were brilliant. Unfortunately no longer a thing, I was told because people in the village complained.
Back in the good old days when you were allowed to park your car on the airfield and leave all your food and drink in a picnic box in the boot of the car
I saw Concorde do the same thing at East Midlands Airport in 1991. After my ears recovered, all I could hear was car alarms and babys crying LOL
Superb !
The Lightning remains one of the fastest ever interceptors. Others may have mentioned this but during an interception test involving a Concorde travelling at full speed. Not only was the Lightning the only NATO (including all the US fighters) aircraft able to catch Concorde from a standing start. It actually over took it! At one of its earliest displays for an American airforce audience it drew rapid applause for its fast, near vertical take off demonstration.
The noise was like something out of Thunderbirds
Actually no.
The aircraft noises were recorded at Little Rissington where the Reds were based in 1964.
The most useful sound was actually that from a stationary engine stater and I suspect that that might be the sound of Thunderbird 2.
@twinstu50
One last bit.
I was doing my R.A.A.F. rookies at Edinburgh, South Australia in 1971, and a bunch of Pommies and their aeroplanes visited, a couple of Lightnings, one Vulcan, and some other bits and pieces.
The Vulcan was AWESOME!.
BUT. Mate, when the Lightnings did their bit, they were Bloody Awesome.
And LOUD!!.
Until the the Harrier, I have never heard a louder jet fighter during take-off.
The all three abovementioned aeroplanes are still Very Nice Pieces of Kit.
Wow its an amazing thing to imagine happening, nuclear air to air missiles fired at bomber formations, it makes sense and might have helped, if the cold war had turned hot, certainly makes the Lightning a fearsome weapons system.
I have been plane mad since I was about 7 years old and we moved to near an airport. I am ex Air Force and have seen a lot of aircraft but the mighty Lightning is near the top of my list still to see!
hahaha brilliant. love the power of that beauty! very good camera work on all your videos!
I know I'm being a bit finicky but it's British so, 'reheat' is the correct terminology not 'afterburner'
+Edward Millard (Neovo90) True, but afterburner sounds more exciting than reheat.
Wonkabar007 good point but I like correct terminology.
Bit late to the party, but we germans invented the reheating and the german word is "Nachbrenner" which translates into "afterburner" so ... ;-) reheat on the other hand is "aufwärmen" in german and that means to reheat a meal from yesterday. Ok, just joking, of course.
"Reheat" may be the correct, antiquated, British term but it needs to go away of other Limey anachronisms. 'Afterburner' is more descriptive and international.
It's an entirely British aircraft, so the correct term is "reheat". Like it or lump it.
Luckily for me, my grandparents live by a few airbases. Meaning they get too see aircraft like the Vulcan fly over a few times each month. They also live by the red arrows base, so they see them weekly!
RollsRoyce Hucknall used to have a wind tunnel that ran off 6 Avons........excellent engine👍🏻
The first plane to be able to break the sound barrier from take off straight up into vertical flight.
I watched one of the last EE Lightnings fly from Warton aerodrome in Lancashire in the early 80's being videoed by a film crew, cool moves OMG and loud as f................
now THEY were fun to watch and listen too.... deaf for 3 days after. :-)
those were the days lol.....
Just after watching this I over heard some lightning ground crew who were in the crowd speaking about the pilot for that day, didn't catch his name but they were saying he wanted to do this fast taxi as it would possibly be the last one he would be able to do due to a long term illness
Where and when was that? LOL at all the car alarms. Also I think I spot a Rover 800 there - I had one and it was fantastic, getting a rare car now.
Back in the good old days when you could Park your car on the airfield
Not that good in safety means
I like how they put wings and missiles on a big engine
yeah i watched them a lot on Akrotiri . awesome machines.
i was there when a squadron of phantoms scrambled after a UFO at night.
Setting off car alarms with a big afterburner.
Aww the BAC Lightning. What a beast you were. I hope someone teaches you to fly again
I guess we should not try this at home...
Unless you want to saw the neighbor's head off.
Lee Butterworth English Electric
Joe B Think you'll find English Electric, vickers, hunting and Bristol merged to become the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1960, when they were still making the lightning. So yes English Electric is correct, so is BAC ....
Worked at Warton when they were being test flown. One decided to do a vertical climb with full reheat above the toilets I was in. Three of us came out dragging our pants up in a big hurry thinking something had crashed on the building. Sadly they could not outturn or go faster than a missile. But the first British plane to exceed 1000 mph.
I went to see this once, I in fact sat underneath those wings to eat my sandwiches! I wish I could have seen this fly!
I may be wrong and I normally am, but I think there are 3 or 4 still flying in South Africa. They are deemed unsafe to fly in the UK because of the extensive requirements to keep them air-worthy. Nothing to do with the safety record of the EE Lightning, purely on the maintenance. I am luck enough to have seen them fly....WOW!!!
I think the SA ones are grounded now after a crash and investigation.
@Corvidae51 The lightning would go into a early lead, but run out of fuel quickly.
Is that at Cranfield airport? I know they used to have an EEL there. They did the occasional ground run in it.
They are not allowed to fly in the UK, but I hear there is a team in USA, who are restoring one to fly.
They're more like delta wings with triangles cut out, rather than normal swept wings. Plus, the wing angle is the same: 60 deg. And look at the circullar-triangle nose. Look at the general shape of both planes.
I always did love the twin-engine configuration of the EE Lightning. Any word on whether it'll ever return to an airworthy status?
As far as I know it's not legal to fly them in the UK anymore, hence why they only do speed runs. My dad said that South Africa allows them to fly and you can even get a back seat for the right price
@skibdattles Directly from the front there are some similarities admittedly as long as you remember to put the MIG 21 into a photocopier and set enlarge to 120% first. Wing planform is entirely different, the MIG 21 having a delta wing whereas the Lightning had a steeply swept back wing. As for performance and combat capabilities, the Lightning would eat the MIG for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. The Lightning could go from brake release to 36,000 feet in less than 3 mins btw :)
When I was a school boy back in 1984, one flew over me and the blast from the afterburner blew me off my feet and I landed in Africa. I’ve only just managed to walk home back
I'd heard about that. Sad stuff. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the ejector seat was disabled. A lot of guys here in the US take the pyros out of their little L-29s and 39s to save a lot of money during inspections. Although, a little digging shows that a group in Mississippi called the Anglo-American Lightning Organization is returning one to an airworthy status. If the Collings Foundation can do the same with a monster the size of an F-4 I'm sure they can succeed with a little Lightning.
Apparently its very complicated to maintain, so privateers wouldn't have the resources to do it safely, in South Africa privateers ran some flying paying passengers, then they had a fatal crash, the investigators found lots of problems with the plane, ie a big one the ejector seat didn't work :(
Now that would have made a great RUclips video!
@bobsurgranny Yes, one of the high speed taxi run open days they do.
@RubenCraninx Sony HDR SR10e but I had it filming to the memory card not the hard drive, because when there is alot of noise the hard drive malfunctions and stops recording, so on those occations use the memory card instead.
An F22 did this at RIAT a few years ago when it flew over the car park
@demolition09 The Lightning is louder. on the 29th of May 2011 the Bruntingthorpe aircraft museum is doing another day fast taxi runs, Its a great day out.
the "one man, twin fan all, aluminium, manned missile"
Magnificent.......
Originally the Skyflash interceptor missiles had nuclear air burst warheads to destroy Russian nuclear bomber formations . Very low yield but enough to a) destroy the aircraft in in the blast radius and then b) the secondary shock wave would destabilise or tear apart the remaining formations . Similar weapons were used in F103 Daggers . Know as Stand off Interceptor Missiles .
60 gallons a minute or was it more at full re re heat?
@Wonkabar007 I think the lightning still holds the record for the fastest climb to 50,000ft
@Corvidae51 Lightnings used to practice intercepts on the Concorde - I doubt the F14 would even bother.
The UK air authorities, say the jet is too complicated to allow privateers to fly one, which is a real shame.
First you need two great big avon jet engines, then just add a touch of afterburner. Then let the brakes off !!!!!!!!
I love this plane!!!!!!
Need to you tube the TSR 2 it could out run a Lighting with 2 AB'2 and TSR using 1 ABa true story of USA telling UK what to do and how they want it done.
@bexnomad I think the flying in SA is finished now, I heard they were selling all the planes :(
@Wonkabar007 do you know if this will stay for Waddington air show? The vulcan last year only did a fly over, so if it does come then it should do a runway start!
@WolfsBlood66 The cold war had some fantastic sounds, I miss it.
Vulcan sadly gone; now can we make the Lightning airworthy please. I'll bet it will less expensive than Concorde.
the vulcan to the sky team have announced that they will restore to flight the original prototype mossie, i cant wait
I heard they'd been grounded due to a incident in Germany at a airshow ( not with a lightning ) but cause of that certain rules/laws were put in place for Airshows and the Lightning is too loud to fly ... how true that is I do not know, but would explain why there is so many good examples in museums and still owned by the RAF but aren't flying ... just one in south Africa but that's outside the EU
@Steve Terry I think it might be the same one if it is the one that was piloted by de Havilland himself
Used to live at RAF Binbrook home of 5 and 11 sqd we have had dishes windows and doors rattled and broken Lightnings and the Vulcans from Waddington nothing quite like it, All this namby pamby health and safety making weapons of war quieter so as not to wake the neighbours. You haven't lived till you've heard Alert 5 fighters going of in the middle of the night or day
No wonder the pilots called it, "The Frightening"!
Awesome
She's got presents, this is EEs big bird
The last beautiful British made and designed aircraft.
And the Buccaneer and Harrier and Hawk ?
Excellent news on Sunday 29th May the Lightning will be fast taxi running, and the Vulcan will know takeoff for the crowd to see at Bruntingthorpe.
Few years back one of these flung ma icecream a flipping metre or 2 and set of the cars alarms
god i love the old g.e aircrafts lol :P