I will add two stories of my own - from my dad who was Chief Tech of a Lightning simulator at RAF Coltishall back in the day. 1. A missile was fired from a Lightning on the ground. It passed by the married personnel housing, and... vanished... without a trace. After several hours of manic searching, it was located in a ditch, and recovered - more-or-less intact. 2. An overspeed on the peri track combined with burnt-out brakes led to one Lightning going through the wall of an Admin office, where the engines ingested many bricks, a desk, typewriter, chair, and filing cabinet before expiring. No people were in the office, but my dad described the undercarriage leg bending with the strain and the giant cloud of brick dust after the impact! As for me? As a youth, i remember Lightnings performing formation aerobatics - and those airshows were LOUD!
2; The ultimate office shredder............ Our respects to Chief Tech Dad. I remember seeing an EEL's magnificent performance flexing at Manby Lincolnshire in the late 60's, also the Vulcans in white livery taking off leaving 12 brown lines of exhaust as the howled their way into the clouds. A reassuring sight as Ivan,s Bears played silly buggers trying to press our buttons. It seems what goes around comes around but I am not so reassured we are equipped
As a kid growing up in the 70's and going to a lot of airshows, we saw loads of Lightnings. Watching it do its vertical climb while it made a noise like it was tearing the air around it apart is something you never forget- even fifty years later. Along with the Vulcan, the Harrier, and the Buccaneer, we had some pretty exciting aircraft in our skies. And the weather was nicer back then.... 🍄
My favorite aircraft of all time. Was lucky to see them at airshows in the 70s and during my time in the RAF in the 80s. Awesome aeroplane. Wing Commander Taffy Holden was the engineer who got his 14.5 mins in his log book by accident. He was a pilot and had solo'd on a T6 or Harvard years before. Landed on the 3rd attempt. Happened at RAF Lyneham in i think 1966
it was a JOY RIDE! I would too! Dude stuck the Landing! with ZERO training! just Observations? His Officer/Pilot was a RICHARD with not much skills, always blaming the Ground Crews, for Any FAILURE, and Arrogant, so he Proved it And HAD FUN!
Hahaha, that and new undies I would imagine! It's probably good to mention that the thrust levers when pushing into reheat, flop to the side and lock in position and continue to move forward until max position, and to unlock you have to pull them backl then flop them back the other way. Obviously whilst going through variations of said word and decimation of undies his brain wasn't quite quick enough to realise this minor detail and with the performance of the aircraft it got airborne real quick. Even seasoned pilots struggled with it taking off. An american exchange chap got in one and said he was in control rite up the point where he let the brakes off.
I've watched a number of Sky's videos and he puts gags in many of them. He has a very sharp sense of humor but you have to pay close attention to catch them.
I remember as a young boy anytime mid - end 1970s I saw a Lightning Jet flying in very low altitude over the village here in Germany where I am living…a couple of days later I bought a plastic model kit (Revell?) It was the only time I saw this jet, I will never forget this, since this day the Lightning is one of my favorite….
I remember as a child watching these aircraft take off and land at RAF Binbrook. They shook the very ground you stood on, and when in the 1980's car alarms started to become a thing, every alarm would be triggered by the outrageous cacophony of sound produced by these incredible aircraft. It was like sensory overload and I bloody loved it 😊 Thank you for the great video 👍
I used to LOVE watching the Lightnings flying out of Coltishall and coming back in over the tiny little Chapel. As a teenager I was spellbound when they would come over the crowd at Biggin Hill, then fire up BOTH afterburners and go STRAIGHT UP in the air and disappear through the clouds, with the whole ground shaking underneath us as they roared heavenwards. AMAZING beautiful aircraft !
Was there, did that. When they went vertical it was just as you describe. Even the long grass we were standing in got flattened! It was bloody marvellous.
I was taught to be an instructor by an ex Lightning (and Red Arrows leader) the late Ted Girdler. Of an evening, in the pub, he'd occasionally tell a "WIWOL" story - aka "When I was on Lightnings". What a spectacular aircraft - truly loved by pilots!
The only interceptor that could catch a concorde In April 1985, British Airways were trialling a Concorde up and down the North Sea. When they offered it as a target to NATO fighters, Mike Hale and his team spent the night before in the hangar polishing XR749 which he borrowed from the LTF for the occasion, and the next day overhauled Concorde at 57,000 ft and travelling at Mach 2.2 by flying a stern conversion intercept. "Everyone had a bash - F-15s, F-16s, F-14s, Mirages, F-104s - but only the Lightning managed to overhaul Concorde from behind". Even then it could do nothing about it as catching it and staying with it is a different matter, although it's amazing to think the lightning was the first jet fighter to supercruise all conceived in the late 40's early 50's. Its still an abiding memory watching the Lightning as a wide eyed pre-teen at an airshow open up the two reheated Avons and after a short take off and flying low down the remaining runway, then pulls violently straight up like a saturn 5 rocket. Awesome sight and sound from an iconic aircraft🔥
So many times I've heard this story. It always smells like barnyard waste. The F-15 is quite a bit faster (M2.5 vs M2.27) than the Lightning and will out climb the Lightning by about >200% (67,000 fpm vs 20,000). The only way the F-15 didn't catch something the Lightning could catch is if they didn't try. The F-14 will also outrun and outclimb the lightning. Even the Starfighter, while not faster than the Lightning, will out climb the Lightning easily.
Dream on sunshine. An F-15 E at RAF Lakenheath requested a max performance takeoff. A Lightning F Mk6 was #2 on the runway. The Lightning overtook the F-15 in the climb. American pilots who flew both said the F-15 was better on range and electronics, but for sheer exhilaration, they preferred the Lightning. What is more, a fully air refuelled Lightning at altitude attained Mach 2.65 on a full throttle return to base. He did land on fumes though. And also don't forget, it first flew in 1954. Lightnings don't smell of bull excrement, they smell of kerosene and freedom. @@fantabuloussnuffaluffagus
@@fantabuloussnuffaluffagusyou know you could research it instead of just assuming everyone else is lying. Obviously you'll have to ask your mom if you can stay up late
Thank you for this outstanding documentation. Memories woke up, because I grew up in West Germany and as a child I saw them flying in the skies. I was afraid of them, because they looked different than anything else in the sky at that time, and they where freightening fast. The fear for aircraft disappeared, and I became very interested in them, until I made it into the cockpit in the German air force as a helicopter flight engineer and co-pilot for about 20 years. I ended my carrier in part of the Airbus A400M (Atlas) project as a speaker for the German Air Force concerning the certification related maintenance of the new developed engines. Now you may imagine, that I like good documentations about technological and military history in flying.
15:39 "The Lightning's main task was to prevent Great Britain from being bombed. . . well no one bombed it, mission accomplished." Not only did the Lightning succeed in its main task, but it also succeeded in its secondary task. *The Lightning succeeded in preventing Godzilla from invading Great Britain.* I'm not sure if this secondary task has been declassified yet but I'm willing to violate the State Secrets Act and tell you anyway.
Gorgeous aircraft. Certainly one of the most innovative and successful interceptor fighters ever. A true icon and a tribute to British aircraft design ingenuity.
Remember the time for a nuclear attack for Britain was three minutes and for north America 7 minutes and you might have some understanding for an aircraft with outstanding power and a short range.
4:22 The Rolls Royce Avon was very good! 4:25 There was only one drawback... it didn't exist yet. LMAO, i don't know why but that just cracks me up, comedic timing is on point on this one!
This is one of my favourite aircraft. I saw one beat up the runway at Tollerton in Nottingham when I was a boy. It came in low fast and disappeared vertically with a deafening roar never heard in Nottingham before. From that moment, I've been an aviation fan, and now at 68, I still get a buzz out of seeing this aircraft fly. Great video, thankyou for sharing. I've now subscribed 😊
Known by some pilots as the "Frightening", I remember see one display at an air show in the 70s at the end of the display it screamed down the runway at approx 20 feet and then climbed vertically straight as an arrow and just kept climbing untill no longer visible in a clear blue sky. The Lightning was a beast.
That was always its show-closing party piece. Often cloudy skies in British airshows, it would exit by screaming away from ground level into the one patch of blue sky and just disappearing straight line out of sight, acelerating all the way.
As a British Gen X kid, the lightning was my Spitfire, the aircraft you imagined flying. Plus in our card games, you could use it to win on performance stats.
The aircraft that introduced the world to supercruise, the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds without afterburner. This aircraft was designed in the late 1940s. When they were in service a common joke was that they only had wings to keep the nav lights apart. The other joke was that on take off the pilot was with it all the way until he released the brakes.
Interesting? Maybe. Lovely. Definitely, because it proves being good looking can be compatible with doing what it was made for. And a bonus of a lot left over for extras.
Saw Lightnings perform at UK airshows in the 70's before present rules were used. It would fly so fast over the crowds and make a fantastic noise but the take-off was the best, becoming airborne by retracting the undercarriage then straight up vertically for such a long time.
This thing (but a "hot" example rather than an ordinary one - meaning one airframe that happened to be perfect in every way) actually caught and overtook Concorde - which was cruising along at Mach 2.2 and serving champagne cocktails to the punters at the time. Little did they know. Lightning was a performance monster. A mini rocket ship with sharp teeth. The perfect Soviet bomber interceptor.
I remember reading about a NATO exercise using the Concord to simulate a supersonic bomber interception from astern. The Lightning was the only aircraft in NATO inventory to succeed. If I recall, even the mighty F-15 failed.
Britain needed an exceedingly fast interceptor with a phenomenal climb rate to show any potential aggressor (or spyplane) to get off our patch. What is too often overlooked is that it did a key job on behalf of all Atlantic-facing states which were 'visited' by the Soviets and caused the USSR to stop work on projected jet bombers, relying instead on the TU 'Bear' in the northern quadrant. This gave time for France and the UK to work with others on the formidable Tornado and France's independent Mirage Series for use in it colonies as well as over the ocean. Britain operated a much revised F-4 Phantom for just a few years while the Tornado MRCA was perfected and, of course, had the specialized, unique Harrier family as well as Hunters, Gnats and Lightning air refueled planes on the Greenland airspace dash. The mentioned Starfighter was not in the same league and had a tendency to kill pilots.
I remember going to an air display at RAF Horsham St. Faith (now Norwich airport) in, I guess, the early 1960s, and watching them take off, pitch into a vertical climb, and disappear. The commentator said that was not the fastest way to gain altitude - a 60 degree climb was better - but it certainly was impressive. The same airshow had a Spitfire and a Hurricane performing mock dogfights; the Lightning outshone even them.
As a seven year old it impressed the hell out of me, dad was an aircraft electrical technician with 92 Squadron. We were in Germany at two front line RAF stations, 1965-68.
Anyone making a video about the lightning should never leave out its parting shot. Clips were short but ok .Fast run in 100 ft along the runway centre line full, after burner and stand her on her tail and go vertical. The noise is hypnotic . I miss that at air shows now but the typhoon does a good show and goes vertical from 10--12 seconds from brake release, Assum. 😳😳
I went to the Woodford airshow in the late 80's. A EE Lightning took off and the pilot immediately put her into almost vertical climb, she shot up into the sky, leaving every car and house alarm going off in the surrounding area🤩
I met a Lightning pilot the other day at a museum where he cares for a Lightning F53. He gave me and my son a private Lightning flight sim demonstration. Absolutely top bloke and batshit crazy! He said the aircraft easily exceeded the Mach 1.7 limit imposed by the RAF. It could smash through Mach 2 and nudge Mach 2.4. Altitude was limited by the RAF to 55000 feet, but was more than capable reaching 68000 feet.
A trip down memory lane, having served two tours of my military service at RAF Binbrook as an aircraft engineer. Binbrook was the final home of the Lightning in service, where I and my colleagues got to see them daily. They were certainly an engineering challenge, but the job satisfaction was high as a result. Who can ever forget the stinging eyes from the avpin exhaust fumes during engine starts. The noise and vibration during engine runs at the engine detuner, whilst watching to check control lever or nozzle movements as reheat engages, or watching the vertical climb on take off. During one exercise I was on the line as the air raid siren sounded, and a number of starfighters simulated a base attack at low level. There were two Lightnings approaching the runway and rolled straight in to a take off. The first up went straight into a loop, half roll and descent to drop in behind one of the attackers. Spectacular to see. Better than any air display, where safety matters gain importance. They were a hard taskmaster and would elicit many a curse. but looking back were a gift to an engineer in the challenge they presented. Of course for anyone else who worked or flew these wonders. They'd know just what I mean by "Chute trick"...saw a few of those pulled in my time. Now in fact I'm so long retired from the service that all of the aircraft types on which I worked have been replaced. Good hard times well remembered. Well presented documentary, so keep up the good work, and many thanks for the trip down memory lane. But mostly I hope you and yours are and remain very well indeed.
Remember the first time I saw this aircraft take off & stand on its tail in full reheat, it was awesome! I then worked at Binbrook from 1975 to 1977 as a firefighter, yes we was kept busy with incidents especially when they did night time tanking operations. Standing at the crash gate on my days off to take pictures & enjoy this purely British built icon! Was also back there in 1988 for the final air show as the aircraft bowed out, in the rain & fog that the weather gave us that day! Was so popular they had to close the base & I ended up taking a spot on the threshold to the landing runway. Was so glad to see that Mike beachyhead kept a few airframes active for a while even if it was in South Africa, as the CAA wouldn’t allow it to fly in the UK airspace! Also supported the lighting preservation group on their thunder days , just enjoying the roar of those two Avon engines lit up as it took off down the runway on their fast taxi runs! I’m also a member of the lightning association who keep F6 XR724 in an active state at Binbrook. These memories will never fade , regards Stephen Alberta Canada.
I saw a Lightning perform a reheat taxi at Bruntingthorpe. Laughed like a schoolgirl, the noise was so extreme I checked I hadn't ruptured my body. Do they still do the twilight reheat taxi demonstrations? Roland Beamont EE's chief test pilot always tried to get the fuel load increased. Beamont as TSR-2's (The greatest thing that never was) test pilot lit one Olympus into reheat and left the following Lightning for dead.
Sadly not. Bruntingthorpe runway is full of stored cars. They do engine runs though, as do Gatwick museum, they have a runner. There is now a TMk5 flying in the States, and the Thunder City Cape Town fleet have been sold, but no further news.
First time I saw a Lightning, it accelerated down the runway, took off, immediately went vertical and quickly vanished ! I live not far from Cranfield. There was one preserved there for a while which was capable of ground runs. Everyone within a five mile radius knew when they started it up and gave it a run ! Legendary aircraft. Thank you for your video that brought back many memories.
Just a shame none are flying in the UK today, although I doubt the RAF would like working example in civilian hands. I don't think the current aircraft could catch it. Remember the wings are only there to keep the nav lights apart.
Always a fabulous aeroplane. If it weren't for the complexity, and hefty fuel burn, it might have been better travelled. But one thing; anyone who went to those 1960s airshows, and watched 16 lightnings take off as one big diamond, all on afterburners, will remember the air in your chest vibrating your ribs and gut! Same with the Vulcan. But 16 lightnings = 32 motors doing their stuff, such things are memories made of (-;)~
We lived about 10 km away from 11 Squadron, and saw Lightnings almost daily. We often heard sonic booms from them too, because it was very easy for them to exceed Mach 1, even with the engines running 'dry', if the pilot didn't exercise care to control the speed at altitude. They're still a beautiful aircraft, and missed by those who knew, flew and maintained them.
After seeing the Lightnings display at their base RAF Leconfield when I was 10 years old it still remains for me the most awe inspiring aircraft that I ever saw, and I am in my sixties now, I can still remember very clearly a beautiful summer day and the Lightning’s tearing the sky apart.
As a child in the late 50's and to mid 1960's this was my favourite aircraft I drew it many many times. I just loved the look of it and now I'm in my seventies I still love it, and I now know about its stellar performance. Having listened to interviews with former Lightning pilot Air Marshal Sir Cliff Spink he tells of the interception of the Dragon Lady and of other pilots " reputedly" going a lot higher than the service ceiling of I think it was 56,000 feet. And of its " Rocket ship" performance. British engineering with a capital E!
An incredible piece of design. I fell in love when I first saw one take off in 1962 and it is my all time favourite, although I do have others I really like. My regret is I never had the finances to take a ride in one at Thunder City.
I think it's one of the best early interceptors ever built, it looks great going vertical right off of the strip and the wing they used is unmistakable
Another interesting fact of the Lightning: it is the first aircraft that can hold its own weight using the engines alone, ie no lift is needed from the wings to go up.
@@gort8203 That seems right with the published weight and thrust figures. And yet I've seen numerous claims it could exceed Mach 1.0 in a vertical climb. Wonder where those came from?
@@markallison4794 Those claims come from people who don't understand what they are talking about. There is a huge difference between zooming an aircraft and rotating it into a vertical climb just after takeoff. The airplane is not going to accelerate to supersonic speed from the latter, and in fact will not climb for very long. But if you have supersonic speed on the jet and pull it straight up it will be climbing at supersonic speed . . . for a while. Even if the airplane is nearly out of fuel and has a 1:1 T/W ratio, that is only true at sea level. In a vertical climb the thrust has to overcome both the weight of the airplane and the aerodynamic drag, and the thrust decreases with every foot of altitude. You can do the math.
@@gort8203 The F6 Lightnings fitted with Avon 302r engines produced over 40,000 lbs of thrust in a 26,000 lb airframe. The Lightning was introduced into service as an Operational Development aircraft and many of it capabilities were Top Secret. No one knows the tops speed of the Lightning, as it would still be accelerating before running out of fuel, Dutch air traffic control would often clock them at mach 3 over the North Sea. Brian Carrol flew his to 87,000 ft. and tested it against the F15, where he found it was just as good if not better apart from the avionics and range.
One thing you forgot to mention is that a Lightening could stand on its tail at the end of the runway and disappear as if it were a rocket! I have not seen any other aircraft do this since.
Years ago I regularly travelled by train from London to Leeds by train. Somewhere around Doncaster there used to be a scrapyard by the side of the track. And in it was a 'blowtorch'.
Spent a week at r.a.f binbrook, watching these awesome machines take off, well you can’t forget the noise or feeling Polishing the aluminium intake to the engines was actually fun, Thank god for the lack of health and stupidity nanny state back then, Sitting just off the runway in an mp Land Rover waiting to pass on the peri track… the low grumble on full afterburner was just wow..
I spent my childhood in the 60s and 70s on various RAF stations around the world, alongside these magnificent jets. It takes a lot to impress MORE than a squadron take off ALL going vertical at 100 feet both burners firing ,and thundering scream of full power making the ground shake.
Thank you for the video, when i lived in Vladivostok (1991-95) I was so fortunate to have a ride in the Mig 21 trainer and it just triggered my love for this plane (I was there with a Learjet). Can you make a video about this aircraft and why it was built? Maybe you have doene it - will check....
Thanks! I’ve seen many stills of the EE Lightning, but I don’t recall much video. The first time I saw an image of the Lightning, I was a kid in the early ‘60s, on the back of a box of Cheerios cereal (I remembered the taste as I started watching the video). To my young American eyes, it looked weird, especially the squared-off wings and elevators.
I imagine the engineer that found the afterburner were not the only ones to say "fuck " after a encounter with this aircraft.... I'm quite positive that anyone who had to overhaul those e engines are probably still going through those variables of the word " fuck " just thinking about having to do so...
I used to see with awe in late 1970s with afterburners on taking off at night at Dhahran airport Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and also used to see mountain of used tires as apparently it almost chewed the tires per flight
Max 4 landings per set of tyres. It was so powerful it was possible to use it's entire fatigue index in one flight. One pilot did just that on it's first and only flight on squadron strength.
Thunder City - Im sure you are aware or became so during your research for this video. I was so enamored with the Lightning since it was so unique that when the videos on Thunder City flying them started hitting RUclips a decade or so ago I was hooked. It's really a shame how that all played out. Cannot say they were not told that exact series of events were likely by the guys who used to fly and maintain them. Wild that something so complex...probably beyond a lot of what is flying today in terms of shear man-hours required to inspect/service...was flying in private hands
I guess the British were free to use the name 'Lightning' because it was they who first bestowed this name upon the P-38 "Atlanta" when they were briefly in RAF service. Also, one reason many fighters are so big is to provide ample internal volume for fuel. Increasing the diameter of a fuselage 20% can increase fuel capacity 40+%, without significantly increasing drag. I built a model of this plane back in the 70's, and always found it's appearance odd, same with the B-36.
I will add two stories of my own - from my dad who was Chief Tech of a Lightning simulator at RAF Coltishall back in the day.
1. A missile was fired from a Lightning on the ground. It passed by the married personnel housing, and... vanished... without a trace. After several hours of manic searching, it was located in a ditch, and recovered - more-or-less intact.
2. An overspeed on the peri track combined with burnt-out brakes led to one Lightning going through the wall of an Admin office, where the engines ingested many bricks, a desk, typewriter, chair, and filing cabinet before expiring. No people were in the office, but my dad described the undercarriage leg bending with the strain and the giant cloud of brick dust after the impact!
As for me? As a youth, i remember Lightnings performing formation aerobatics - and those airshows were LOUD!
2; The ultimate office shredder............ Our respects to Chief Tech Dad.
I remember seeing an EEL's magnificent performance flexing at Manby Lincolnshire in the late 60's, also the Vulcans in white livery taking off leaving 12 brown lines of exhaust as the howled their way into the clouds. A reassuring sight as Ivan,s Bears played silly buggers trying to press our buttons. It seems what goes around comes around but I am not so reassured we are equipped
As a kid growing up in the 70's and going to a lot of airshows, we saw loads of Lightnings. Watching it do its vertical climb while it made a noise like it was tearing the air around it apart is something you never forget- even fifty years later. Along with the Vulcan, the Harrier, and the Buccaneer, we had some pretty exciting aircraft in our skies.
And the weather was nicer back then....
🍄
Not forgetting the beautiful Hawker Hunter.
My favorite aircraft of all time. Was lucky to see them at airshows in the 70s and during my time in the RAF in the 80s. Awesome aeroplane. Wing Commander Taffy Holden was the engineer who got his 14.5 mins in his log book by accident. He was a pilot and had solo'd on a T6 or Harvard years before. Landed on the 3rd attempt. Happened at RAF Lyneham in i think 1966
I still recall reading about the incident at the time.
Whatever you say about the Lightning, it was (and remains) incredibly cool.
the British, either they make very nice beautiful planes like the Hunter, Harrier, or the most ugly ones like the lightning
Ugly?
@@jimmeryellis yes ugly!
@@Ezekiel903The Lightning is not ugly but a brutal fighting machine. The F-35 Lightning II followed its 'fat' design.
one of my favourites.
13:13 "going through all the variations of the word "fuck"" Did not expect such a top notch joke from this channel.
it was a JOY RIDE! I would too! Dude stuck the Landing! with ZERO training! just Observations? His Officer/Pilot was a RICHARD with not much skills, always blaming the Ground Crews, for Any FAILURE, and Arrogant, so he Proved it And HAD FUN!
Hahaha, that and new undies I would imagine! It's probably good to mention that the thrust levers when pushing into reheat, flop to the side and lock in position and continue to move forward until max position, and to unlock you have to pull them backl then flop them back the other way. Obviously whilst going through variations of said word and decimation of undies his brain wasn't quite quick enough to realise this minor detail and with the performance of the aircraft it got airborne real quick. Even seasoned pilots struggled with it taking off. An american exchange chap got in one and said he was in control rite up the point where he let the brakes off.
I've watched a number of Sky's videos and he puts gags in many of them. He has a very sharp sense of humor but you have to pay close attention to catch them.
I remember as a young boy anytime mid - end 1970s I saw a Lightning Jet flying in very low altitude over the village here in Germany where I am living…a couple of days later I bought a plastic model kit (Revell?) It was the only time I saw this jet, I will never forget this, since this day the Lightning is one of my favorite….
I remember as a child watching these aircraft take off and land at RAF Binbrook. They shook the very ground you stood on, and when in the 1980's car alarms started to become a thing, every alarm would be triggered by the outrageous cacophony of sound produced by these incredible aircraft. It was like sensory overload and I bloody loved it 😊
Thank you for the great video 👍
I spent many days at the crash gate at binbrook watching these taxi and take off . Good memories
I used to LOVE watching the Lightnings flying out of Coltishall and coming back in over the tiny little Chapel. As a teenager I was spellbound when they would come over the crowd at Biggin Hill, then fire up BOTH afterburners and go STRAIGHT UP in the air and disappear through the clouds, with the whole ground shaking underneath us as they roared heavenwards. AMAZING beautiful aircraft !
Was there, did that. When they went vertical it was just as you describe. Even the long grass we were standing in got flattened!
It was bloody marvellous.
One, if not the most iconic interceptor for me, its shape and its performance were like no other contemporary plane.
I was taught to be an instructor by an ex Lightning (and Red Arrows leader) the late Ted Girdler. Of an evening, in the pub, he'd occasionally tell a "WIWOL" story - aka "When I was on Lightnings". What a spectacular aircraft - truly loved by pilots!
The only interceptor that could catch a concorde In April 1985, British Airways were trialling a Concorde up and down the North Sea. When they offered it as a target to NATO fighters, Mike Hale and his team spent the night before in the hangar polishing XR749 which he borrowed from the LTF for the occasion, and the next day overhauled Concorde at 57,000 ft and travelling at Mach 2.2 by flying a stern conversion intercept. "Everyone had a bash - F-15s, F-16s, F-14s, Mirages, F-104s - but only the Lightning managed to overhaul Concorde from behind". Even then it could do nothing about it as catching it and staying with it is a different matter, although it's amazing to think the lightning was the first jet fighter to supercruise all conceived in the late 40's early 50's. Its still an abiding memory watching the Lightning as a wide eyed pre-teen at an airshow open up the two reheated Avons and after a short take off and flying low down the remaining runway, then pulls violently straight up like a saturn 5 rocket. Awesome sight and sound from an iconic aircraft🔥
So many times I've heard this story. It always smells like barnyard waste. The F-15 is quite a bit faster (M2.5 vs M2.27) than the Lightning and will out climb the Lightning by about >200% (67,000 fpm vs 20,000). The only way the F-15 didn't catch something the Lightning could catch is if they didn't try. The F-14 will also outrun and outclimb the lightning. Even the Starfighter, while not faster than the Lightning, will out climb the Lightning easily.
Dream on sunshine. An F-15 E at RAF Lakenheath requested a max performance takeoff. A Lightning F Mk6 was #2 on the runway. The Lightning overtook the F-15 in the climb. American pilots who flew both said the F-15 was better on range and electronics, but for sheer exhilaration, they preferred the Lightning. What is more, a fully air refuelled Lightning at altitude attained Mach 2.65 on a full throttle return to base. He did land on fumes though. And also don't forget, it first flew in 1954. Lightnings don't smell of bull excrement, they smell of kerosene and freedom. @@fantabuloussnuffaluffagus
@@foxstrangler Making up stories doesn't make it true.
You should know, you are good at it. @@fantabuloussnuffaluffagus
@@fantabuloussnuffaluffagusyou know you could research it instead of just assuming everyone else is lying. Obviously you'll have to ask your mom if you can stay up late
I've been to many air shows and believe me, nothing stuns the crowd quite like a Lightening
Thank you for this outstanding documentation. Memories woke up, because I grew up in West Germany and as a child I saw them flying in the skies. I was afraid of them, because they looked different than anything else in the sky at that time, and they where freightening fast. The fear for aircraft disappeared, and I became very interested in them, until I made it into the cockpit in the German air force as a helicopter flight engineer and co-pilot for about 20 years. I ended my carrier in part of the Airbus A400M (Atlas) project as a speaker for the German Air Force concerning the certification related maintenance of the new developed engines. Now you may imagine, that I like good documentations about technological and military history in flying.
Back when the British really could make things. A wonderful bit of engineering, in Wolverhampton there is an excellent display of cold war jets.
Make things? Everything the Lightning did the SAAB 35 did better, with half the power!
@@LolTollhurstMake thing ≠ make the best thing.
I think you are referring to the RAF Cosford museum in Shropshire. Well worth a visit.
Instead of buying american garbage 💔. They had an amazing industry
@@copter2000 the US had so many shit planes, its laughable
15:39 "The Lightning's main task was to prevent Great Britain from being bombed. . . well no one bombed it, mission accomplished."
Not only did the Lightning succeed in its main task, but it also succeeded in its secondary task. *The Lightning succeeded in preventing Godzilla from invading Great Britain.* I'm not sure if this secondary task has been declassified yet but I'm willing to violate the State Secrets Act and tell you anyway.
* Official Secrets Act
@@g8ymw Thanks. I stand corrected. (Actually, I'm sitting corrected.)
It was main task of menkind over centuries to prevent the world from British Colonialism.
@@g8ymw Section One or Section Two, they are noticeably remember.
Gorgeous aircraft. Certainly one of the most innovative and successful interceptor fighters ever. A true icon and a tribute to British aircraft design ingenuity.
Maintenance heavy. Could be a headache
Headache? That's like calling WWII a police action
@@chrisfox3161 I was controlling my inner angst, when writing my writing last comment
For an interceptor designed in an era where slide rules and graph paper were the chief tools - not bad!
Remember the time for a nuclear attack for Britain was three minutes and for north America 7 minutes and you might have some understanding for an aircraft with outstanding power and a short range.
Also bear in mind that it was designed at a time when the world was only just changing from piston engines to jets.
4:22 The Rolls Royce Avon was very good!
4:25 There was only one drawback... it didn't exist yet.
LMAO, i don't know why but that just cracks me up, comedic timing is on point on this one!
This is one of my favourite aircraft. I saw one beat up the runway at Tollerton in Nottingham when I was a boy. It came in low fast and disappeared vertically with a deafening roar never heard in Nottingham before. From that moment, I've been an aviation fan, and now at 68, I still get a buzz out of seeing this aircraft fly. Great video, thankyou for sharing. I've now subscribed 😊
It was designed for a single role and it did that very well. Only 15 years after the first British jet aircraft flew.
I always thought the Lightning was one of the most awesome looking aircraft ever made. I heard that it was an absolute favorite at air-shows.
Known by some pilots as the "Frightening", I remember see one display at an air show in the 70s at the end of the display it screamed down the runway at approx 20 feet and then climbed vertically straight as an arrow and just kept climbing untill no longer visible in a clear blue sky. The Lightning was a beast.
That was always its show-closing party piece. Often cloudy skies in British airshows, it would exit by screaming away from ground level into the one patch of blue sky and just disappearing straight line out of sight, acelerating all the way.
As a British Gen X kid, the lightning was my Spitfire, the aircraft you imagined flying. Plus in our card games, you could use it to win on performance stats.
Fairey Gannet = To OLD for ya, right? 😛
The aircraft that introduced the world to supercruise, the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds without afterburner. This aircraft was designed in the late 1940s. When they were in service a common joke was that they only had wings to keep the nav lights apart. The other joke was that on take off the pilot was with it all the way until he released the brakes.
This was one of the most amazing aircraft for its era. What a wonderful aeroplane.
I love seeing how different minds come up with such different ways to solve problems, this jet is so unique and interesting.
Interesting? Maybe. Lovely. Definitely, because it proves being good looking can be compatible with doing what it was made for. And a bonus of a lot left over for extras.
Saw Lightnings perform at UK airshows in the 70's before present rules were used. It would fly so fast over the crowds and make a fantastic noise but the take-off was the best, becoming airborne by retracting the undercarriage then straight up vertically for such a long time.
There was a squadron of these based at Taif in Saudi Arabia back in the early 80s. We used to taxi past them in our Falcon 50 #goodolddays
This thing (but a "hot" example rather than an ordinary one - meaning one airframe that happened to be perfect in every way) actually caught and overtook Concorde - which was cruising along at Mach 2.2 and serving champagne cocktails to the punters at the time. Little did they know.
Lightning was a performance monster. A mini rocket ship with sharp teeth. The perfect Soviet bomber interceptor.
Thanks Sky! I wanted...needed...and appreciated this today!
Cheers mate!
I remember reading about a NATO exercise using the Concord to simulate a supersonic bomber interception from astern. The Lightning was the only aircraft in NATO inventory to succeed. If I recall, even the mighty F-15 failed.
Britain needed an exceedingly fast interceptor with a phenomenal climb rate to show any potential aggressor (or spyplane) to get off our patch.
What is too often overlooked is that it did a key job on behalf of all Atlantic-facing states which were 'visited' by the Soviets and caused the USSR to stop work on projected jet bombers, relying instead on the TU 'Bear' in the northern quadrant.
This gave time for France and the UK to work with others on the formidable Tornado and France's independent Mirage Series for use in it colonies as well as over the ocean.
Britain operated a much revised F-4 Phantom for just a few years while the Tornado MRCA was perfected and, of course, had the specialized, unique Harrier family as well as Hunters, Gnats and Lightning air refueled planes on the Greenland airspace dash.
The mentioned Starfighter was not in the same league and had a tendency to kill pilots.
I remember going to an air display at RAF Horsham St. Faith (now Norwich airport) in, I guess, the early 1960s, and watching them take off, pitch into a vertical climb, and disappear. The commentator said that was not the fastest way to gain altitude - a 60 degree climb was better - but it certainly was impressive. The same airshow had a Spitfire and a Hurricane performing mock dogfights; the Lightning outshone even them.
Thanks!
As a seven year old it impressed the hell out of me, dad was an aircraft electrical technician with 92 Squadron. We were in Germany at two front line RAF stations, 1965-68.
A popular posting, RAF Germany?
Anyone making a video about the lightning should never leave out its parting shot. Clips were short but ok .Fast run in 100 ft along the runway centre line full, after burner and stand her on her tail and go vertical. The noise is hypnotic . I miss that at air shows now but the typhoon does a good show and goes vertical from 10--12 seconds from brake release, Assum. 😳😳
During the Cold War I lived in the flight path of an airport with Lightnings 92 and 19 squadrons. It was a great machine⚡⚡👍
I went to the Woodford airshow in the late 80's. A EE Lightning took off and the pilot immediately put her into almost vertical climb, she shot up into the sky, leaving every car and house alarm going off in the surrounding area🤩
Great channel, really enjoying your videos
First plane I saw at an airshow. Just as it went vertical after take-off. My fave from that moment.
I met a Lightning pilot the other day at a museum where he cares for a Lightning F53. He gave me and my son a private Lightning flight sim demonstration. Absolutely top bloke and batshit crazy!
He said the aircraft easily exceeded the Mach 1.7 limit imposed by the RAF. It could smash through Mach 2 and nudge Mach 2.4. Altitude was limited by the RAF to 55000 feet, but was more than capable reaching 68000 feet.
A nice video. Jeremy Clarkson had an English Electric Lightning in his garden because it was so damn cool.
UNLIKE CLARKSON!
A trip down memory lane, having served two tours of my military service at RAF Binbrook as an aircraft engineer. Binbrook was the final home of the Lightning in service, where I and my colleagues got to see them daily. They were certainly an engineering challenge, but the job satisfaction was high as a result. Who can ever forget the stinging eyes from the avpin exhaust fumes during engine starts. The noise and vibration during engine runs at the engine detuner, whilst watching to check control lever or nozzle movements as reheat engages, or watching the vertical climb on take off. During one exercise I was on the line as the air raid siren sounded, and a number of starfighters simulated a base attack at low level. There were two Lightnings approaching the runway and rolled straight in to a take off. The first up went straight into a loop, half roll and descent to drop in behind one of the attackers. Spectacular to see. Better than any air display, where safety matters gain importance. They were a hard taskmaster and would elicit many a curse. but looking back were a gift to an engineer in the challenge they presented. Of course for anyone else who worked or flew these wonders. They'd know just what I mean by "Chute trick"...saw a few of those pulled in my time. Now in fact I'm so long retired from the service that all of the aircraft types on which I worked have been replaced. Good hard times well remembered. Well presented documentary, so keep up the good work, and many thanks for the trip down memory lane. But mostly I hope you and yours are and remain very well indeed.
Thunderbird 1 adopted the Lightning's wing design! 👍
FAB
Thunderbird 1
Remember the first time I saw this aircraft take off & stand on its tail in full reheat, it was awesome! I then worked at Binbrook from 1975 to 1977 as a firefighter, yes we was kept busy with incidents especially when they did night time tanking operations. Standing at the crash gate on my days off to take pictures & enjoy this purely British built icon!
Was also back there in 1988 for the final air show as the aircraft bowed out, in the rain & fog that the weather gave us that day! Was so popular they had to close the base & I ended up taking a spot on the threshold to the landing runway. Was so glad to see that Mike beachyhead kept a few airframes active for a while even if it was in South Africa, as the CAA wouldn’t allow it to fly in the UK airspace!
Also supported the lighting preservation group on their thunder days , just enjoying the roar of those two Avon engines lit up as it took off down the runway on their fast taxi runs!
I’m also a member of the lightning association who keep F6 XR724 in an active state at Binbrook. These memories will never fade , regards Stephen Alberta Canada.
I saw a Lightning perform a reheat taxi at Bruntingthorpe. Laughed like a schoolgirl, the noise was so extreme I checked I hadn't ruptured my body. Do they still do the twilight reheat taxi demonstrations?
Roland Beamont EE's chief test pilot always tried to get the fuel load increased.
Beamont as TSR-2's (The greatest thing that never was) test pilot lit one Olympus into reheat and left the following Lightning for dead.
Sadly not. Bruntingthorpe runway is full of stored cars. They do engine runs though, as do Gatwick museum, they have a runner. There is now a TMk5 flying in the States, and the Thunder City Cape Town fleet have been sold, but no further news.
First time I saw a Lightning, it accelerated down the runway, took off, immediately went vertical and quickly vanished !
I live not far from Cranfield. There was one preserved there for a while which was capable of ground runs. Everyone within a five mile radius knew when they started it up and gave it a run !
Legendary aircraft. Thank you for your video that brought back many memories.
It would go supersonic in a vertical climb!
Initial rate of climb, 60,000 fpm.
I've seen one of these in a museum, its really intimidating with its sheer bulk and general disposition, definitely a cold war heavy G!
Yes, we have one in our collection. Sadly minus the engines, as we have a suitable runway to exercise it.
Just a shame none are flying in the UK today, although I doubt the RAF would like working example in civilian hands. I don't think the current aircraft could catch it. Remember the wings are only there to keep the nav lights apart.
Always a fabulous aeroplane. If it weren't for the complexity, and hefty fuel burn, it might have been better travelled. But one thing; anyone who went to those 1960s airshows, and watched 16 lightnings take off as one big diamond, all on afterburners, will remember the air in your chest vibrating your ribs and gut! Same with the Vulcan. But 16 lightnings = 32 motors doing their stuff, such things are memories made of (-;)~
We lived about 10 km away from 11 Squadron, and saw Lightnings almost daily. We often heard sonic booms from them too, because it was very easy for them to exceed Mach 1, even with the engines running 'dry', if the pilot didn't exercise care to control the speed at altitude. They're still a beautiful aircraft, and missed by those who knew, flew and maintained them.
I really enjoyed this one!
I didn't know that much about the English Lightning.
After seeing the Lightnings display at their base RAF Leconfield when I was 10 years old it still remains for me the most awe inspiring aircraft that I ever saw, and I am in my sixties now, I can still remember very clearly a beautiful summer day and the Lightning’s tearing the sky apart.
As a child in the late 50's and to mid 1960's this was my favourite aircraft I drew it many many times. I just loved the look of it and now I'm in my seventies I still love it, and I now know about its stellar performance. Having listened to interviews with former Lightning pilot Air Marshal Sir Cliff Spink he tells of the interception of the Dragon Lady and of other pilots " reputedly" going a lot higher than the service ceiling of I think it was 56,000 feet. And of its " Rocket ship" performance. British engineering with a capital E!
LOVE your video's man!!! Thank you for producing them-
An incredible piece of design. I fell in love when I first saw one take off in 1962 and it is my all time favourite, although I do have others I really like. My regret is I never had the finances to take a ride in one at Thunder City.
An exceptional aircraft that fit the purpose as intended. A criminally under appreciated aircraft
Known in the RAF affectionately as "The Frightening"
It's one of my favourite aircraft of all time! Nice documentary!
Great video, I almost forgot about this old bird, what an impressive aircraft. Great script by the way.
The great English Electric Lightning! A rocket with a seat on it.
I think it's one of the best early interceptors ever built, it looks great going vertical right off of the strip and the wing they used is unmistakable
It's definitely one of my favorites, so bad ass looking.
Another interesting fact of the Lightning: it is the first aircraft that can hold its own weight using the engines alone, ie no lift is needed from the wings to go up.
Not with fuel and ammunition on board.
Specifications (Lightning F.6)
Thrust/weight: 0.78 (1.03 empty)
@@gort8203 That seems right with the published weight and thrust figures. And yet I've seen numerous claims it could exceed Mach 1.0 in a vertical climb. Wonder where those came from?
@@markallison4794 Those claims come from people who don't understand what they are talking about. There is a huge difference between zooming an aircraft and rotating it into a vertical climb just after takeoff. The airplane is not going to accelerate to supersonic speed from the latter, and in fact will not climb for very long. But if you have supersonic speed on the jet and pull it straight up it will be climbing at supersonic speed . . . for a while.
Even if the airplane is nearly out of fuel and has a 1:1 T/W ratio, that is only true at sea level. In a vertical climb the thrust has to overcome both the weight of the airplane and the aerodynamic drag, and the thrust decreases with every foot of altitude. You can do the math.
@@gort8203 👍
@@gort8203
The F6 Lightnings fitted with Avon 302r engines produced over 40,000 lbs of thrust in a 26,000 lb airframe.
The Lightning was introduced into service as an Operational Development aircraft and many of it capabilities were Top Secret. No one knows the tops speed of the Lightning, as it would still be accelerating before running out of fuel, Dutch air traffic control would often clock them at mach 3 over the North Sea.
Brian Carrol flew his to 87,000 ft. and tested it against the F15, where he found it was just as good if not better apart from the avionics and range.
Breaking sound barrier in a vertical climb ❤
Another brilliant episode👍
I LOVE THIS JET!! She was bad ass
Excellent video as usual
I was at last lightning show Binbrook 1987
One thing you forgot to mention is that a Lightening could stand on its tail at the end of the runway and disappear as if it were a rocket! I have not seen any other aircraft do this since.
Years ago I regularly travelled by train from London to Leeds by train. Somewhere around Doncaster there used to be a scrapyard by the side of the track. And in it was a 'blowtorch'.
The engineer who accidentally flew the lightning was a very lucky guy to live to tell the tale,as the aircraft did not have it's canopy.
The aerodynamics were so good, even minus the canopy, his notepad on the coaming stayed put for the whole flight.
Don't forget the seat pins were in and he would never have been able to bang out.
Spent a week at r.a.f binbrook, watching these awesome machines take off, well you can’t forget the noise or feeling
Polishing the aluminium intake to the engines was actually fun,
Thank god for the lack of health and stupidity nanny state back then,
Sitting just off the runway in an mp Land Rover waiting to pass on the peri track… the low grumble on full afterburner was just wow..
Really enjoyed this being a ex 111 Sqn armourer in the early 70`s , taken many weapon packs and ventral tanks on and off !!!!!!
I spent my childhood in the 60s and 70s on various RAF stations around the world, alongside these magnificent jets.
It takes a lot to impress MORE than a squadron take off ALL going vertical at 100 feet both burners firing ,and thundering scream of full power making the ground shake.
I was born in the 70s and this was an iconic aircraft in my childhood. It was one of my favorites all my childood, until I saw a SU-27.
Great video. Thanks.
Interesting video, great ❤
Thank you for the video, when i lived in Vladivostok (1991-95) I was so fortunate to have a ride in the Mig 21 trainer and it just triggered my love for this plane (I was there with a Learjet). Can you make a video about this aircraft and why it was built? Maybe you have doene it - will check....
Great work! Enjoyed it.
There is some aweseome charm to this aircraft I can't put my finger into.
Thanks! I’ve seen many stills of the EE Lightning, but I don’t recall much video.
The first time I saw an image of the Lightning, I was a kid in the early ‘60s, on the back of a box of Cheerios cereal (I remembered the taste as I started watching the video). To my young American eyes, it looked weird, especially the squared-off wings and elevators.
I imagine the engineer that found the afterburner were not the only ones to say "fuck " after a encounter with this aircraft.... I'm quite positive that anyone who had to overhaul those e engines are probably still going through those variables of the word " fuck " just thinking about having to do so...
Your comprehensive videos are some of the best on the internet and your channel is the only one I watch now.... Keep up the good work 👍🏻
Total beast of an aeroplane.
Thanks for covering the why's on design choices. That gets skipped on most videos.
Great stuff! Thank you as always!
Great story as usual! Thank you
I used to see with awe in late 1970s with afterburners on taking off at night at Dhahran airport Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and also used to see mountain of used tires as apparently it almost chewed the tires per flight
Max 4 landings per set of tyres. It was so powerful it was possible to use it's entire fatigue index in one flight. One pilot did just that on it's first and only flight on squadron strength.
I justed wanted to tell you that the Lighting on the thumbnail looks like a spaceship on a quick glance
Considering how high it could flight it came close to being a spaceship.
@@bigblue6917 true, haha
It’s showing off its nice big pregnant belly, mmmm
Very well made documentary
Thunder City - Im sure you are aware or became so during your research for this video. I was so enamored with the Lightning since it was so unique that when the videos on Thunder City flying them started hitting RUclips a decade or so ago I was hooked. It's really a shame how that all played out. Cannot say they were not told that exact series of events were likely by the guys who used to fly and maintain them. Wild that something so complex...probably beyond a lot of what is flying today in terms of shear man-hours required to inspect/service...was flying in private hands
The performance even by today’s standards was absolutely amazing
One word for the Lightning - GREAT.
To me, the most beautiful of the post war military aircraft, with awesome performance too!
most beautiful combat plane ever...
Designers where bold back then :)
A young Air Cadet camped not far from the runway at RAF Wattisham at the height of the Cold War .
111 Squadron scrambled at night . Awesome. ✈️✈️✈️
I guess the British were free to use the name 'Lightning' because it was they who first bestowed this name upon the P-38 "Atlanta" when they were briefly in RAF service. Also, one reason many fighters are so big is to provide ample internal volume for fuel. Increasing the diameter of a fuselage 20% can increase fuel capacity 40+%, without significantly increasing drag. I built a model of this plane back in the 70's, and always found it's appearance odd, same with the B-36.
the drop tanks above wings did they drop or permanently attached
A very weird & very cool plane.
Not my first choice as personal transport.
Cheers Sky.