Lightning XS548 lives

Tbirds v F models

absolute cracking photo’s Darren the best looking lightning in my opinion,
I must admit to being a lightning nut, my personal opinion is that the T birds look so much more elegant than the f model’s, the T4 and in particular the T5 are just poetry in motion, 458 really show’s this off so very well with the colour scheme’s wares, in fact all the colour schemes she has had over the years shows her off so well even the grey, made her look so graceful, much better than the 2 tone camo colours of so many other lightning’s, they may be a practical colour scheme for hiding aircraft on the ground, but dos’e little to enhance the lines of the aircraft, indeed even 458 in camo looks pretty drab,still my preference is for T5’s
and im sure many would agree and disagree with my opinion, but facts also speak volumes, apart from being better looking they are also bigger,more seats,lighter,faster,but just as agile as the single seater’s even the thunder city guys seem to put the T5’s forefront in most of the photo shoots, so I cant be all wrong,

Great shots. Whetted my appetite for Saturday at LPG Brunty.:)

Fantastic photography.

I was wondering about that scheme. Looks like 2 different planes.

I like the dual colour scheme…. did’nt any one notice…?

Lightning XS458 at Cranfield does not share the limelight in the way many other fast taxi jets in the UK do, but it is possibly one of the best-kept examples I have seen. Not only does she look fantastic, a quiet, yet very dedicated team, who will really push the boat out to make invited visitors welcome, support the T5. I say this, because XS458’s owner Russell Carpenter invited me along to a live run the other weekend, so that I could take some photographs and I was bowled over by the operation that keeps XS458 alive. Russell is so passionate about his Lightning, but he knows that what he has is special, and therefore likes the opportunity to show it to invited guests when he is performing a high speed run. I will happily pass on your details to Russell if you are interested in experiencing a live Lightning in a private yet informal environment, then drop me a mail, and I will send the details to Russell.

Here she is – quite stunning!

‘Pilot’ for the day was Dennis Brooks

WOW…. she looks brand new:eek::eek:
Not to mention f**ckin sexy:diablo::diablo:

Lovely Darren, really superb photos, glad to see 458 in full health and ‘our’ very own Dennis doing the honours 😉

If you ever want to visit us at Brunty to photograh our two and the Q shed just drop me a line 🙂

Also, big rich 110, if you ever fancy a visit just get intouch with me, or come to our twlight reheat run on the 15th Nov and see some real flames;) http://www.lightnings.org.uk/

Here’s a shot of 458 at a Binbrook photo call in 87

Loads more like that if your interested

Cheers

Here are some other shots for those that may be interested.

those are some fantastic photos of the lightning i have 2 say i am ver enveyous of u ive been trying 2 get close that plane since i was about 13 now beiong 20 u can see how long ive been after it lol living in wetherby west yorks dont make things any easyer either but ny nan live is cranfield and i love 2 go and try and have a look when i can i was wondering if u could pass my details on to who eva owns the lightning if u have them to see if i could get a lil closer hope to hear back rich

Send me a PM with your contact details, and I will forward them to Russell.

Darren

those are some fantastic photos of the lightning i have 2 say i am ver enveyous of u ive been trying 2 get close that plane since i was about 13 now beiong 20 u can see how long ive been after it lol living in wetherby west yorks dont make things any easyer either but ny nan live is cranfield and i love 2 go and try and have a look when i can i was wondering if u could pass my details on to who eva owns the lightning if u have them to see if i could get a lil closer hope to hear back rich

Superb, Darren. She looks great! Hats off to the dedicated team.

Cheers

TJ