I have a memory of a Lightning jet tearing up and down Blackpool sea front at low level in the sixties over several days. The local newspaper hinted that these were trials and some sort of measuring equipment was set up on Blackpool tower at 500 feet. Can anyone recall this trial and explain what was going on? Its possible the Lightning had a black tail.
By: scotavia - 6th February 2015 at 12:58
Thanks for the replies, I will find my logbooks soon for the exact dates. I recall that it was a very noisy series of flypasts .Growing up in Blackpool I was aslo lucky to see flight tests from Warton in the area including just one sighting of the TSR 2 and later an MRCA with chase plane.
By: Graham Boak - 5th February 2015 at 22:17
Pressure error calibration for the speed is one possibility that comes to mind, but I’m not sure that would need many runs. For the faster runs, 500 ft might be preferable to doing it low over Warton, perhaps. I dare say it was cheaper than borrowing Boscombe Down’s calibration Javelin – or whatever it was they had in those days. That would still be needed for higher altitude work.
By: Stratosphere - 5th February 2015 at 21:24
Black Tail could possibly indicate 74 (Tiger) Squadron. Good luck with your research.
By: trumper - 5th February 2015 at 13:49
🙂 If you are on facebook you could ask here https://www.facebook.com/groups/eelightning/
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February 4, 2015 at 6:18 pm