Will a Lightning Ever Fly In This Country?

Hmmm,, it would seem that maybe CAA forgets who they work for,,, in the USA if the FAA throws its weight around too much, “special interests” go after them. Things seem more lenient over here with regard to warbirds/military, good example being the A4’s that are flying once again.

My answer would be yes. 3wheels off the ground and its flying no matter how far.

Let me run a scenario by you, which I am sure will open some debate. This is all of course Hyperthetically speaking.
Say Bruntingthorpe identified a lightning that could possibly be put back to airworthy status. They did the required work on said aeroplane and was subject to strict inspection and testing. Once in airworthy condition a restriction is placed on the aeroplane that it is only to be displayed at that airfield and must not under any circumstances, transit across Britain to other airshows. Bruntingthorpe then would have an airworthy lightning, Bucaneer or whatever to display at their airshow 2 or 3 times per year. Would the CAA still have the same restrictions and limitations for something such as this.

Nothing against you personally Baz just using the quote from your post to highlight a point mate.

Just did the very same search as I did before, now get 11 pages!:confused:

Reckon it must get confused crossing the Tamar coming into Cornwall, I believe the Cornish call it ‘dreckly’ (although Pagen will have a different spelling to it:diablo:)

Baz

Good to hear the search function is working ok..

I just put a Lightning search on ‘thread ‘ mode and it was cr@p, only 2 hits.

Just to test out the whole search function I tried it and put “lightning” in the search box and selected the all text function. It returned 500 hits. I did the same again in the title only search function and it came back with 3 pages of hits. So the search function does work. I didnt even log in either which sometimes on other forums seems to be the source of the problem for many as they usually require you to log in.

One thing that I dont like while not logged in is the captcha image verification. Its never very easy to make out at the best of times. Very difficult to see the letters sometimes. God only knows what it must be like for someone who is colour blind.

Nothing against you personally Baz just using the quote from your post to highlight a point mate.

Perhaps some more thought before posting smart alec replies
will entice more people onto this forum! Not everyone knows their way around the tintanet!

This certainly seems to be the case on this forum, more so than any of the
other numerous forums I belong to. Not every aircraft enthusiast is a
“geek” or “swivel” 😉

Getting back to the subject matter. Many of us can feel privileged to have
attended airshows where the Lightning was the star attraction.
I remember being at Wethersfield, and a US airman telling us to wait until
we saw the F-100 display, something not to be missed he said.

Then asking him if he’d ever seen a Lightning display. 🙂

Yes, the search function was completely bust up until a few weeks ago, but is much better now (I hope!)

Doesn’t the Red Bull aircraft make UK deliveries?

Of course, It was the highlight, for me, of last year’s Legends. I have a short memory.

I can also vouch for the fact that the search function does not always work on this forum, I have had numerous instances of that.

Pete

I just did a search on Lightning in thread mode – I got 11 pages of hits – the search function is working for me!

As far as operating such a beast is concerned, the comments made by JT442 are absolutely correct, but we can go further:

There are no suitable airframes in the UK capable of return to flight

There is no individual with deep enough pockets who is interested in such a project anyway.

I would go so far as to say that the aircraft in RSA which have not flown for, what, 3 or 4 years now, are no longer airworthy, and would require very thorough inspection before any attempt was made to fly – wherever in the world they were!

The Stennis project remains the most realistic chance of seeing a Lightning fly again, but you will have to get on a plane to see it!

Bruce

It is a shame about the lightning, in fact more so that any real post mid 60’s military aircraft are flying in private hands. You just have to look at the long list withdrawn from RAF/RN service in that time ….. Not many types are still going.

The groups making these aircraft live all be it ground taxis are the only way may see our recent history in the future ….. Even then most are kept out in the open.

In UK or course …. Now the US a different story!

I generally won’t bother with a search function unless I know something is likely to show up. Such as a particular conversation that I remember but can’t find. Generally though, I’ll just ask the question and hope somebody can answer for me. I really don’t care if it was discussed twenty pages and two years ago. I’m probably be looking for current information anyhow and that could easily have changed from the last conversation.

Telling somebody to use the search function instead of just ignoring the question if you don’t know the answer always seems like the “I have a secret” way of telling somebody that you have the information but don’t want to tell them.

I do believe a Lightning will eventually fly here in the US but, sadly, thats probably about it. The example we had (ZF 597) was sold on to Canada a few years back but I enjoyed putting it back together for static when we got it. I guess it could have flown again and we did have those intentions. But, the farther I dug into the airplane the quicker we found out that was way beyond our means.

Hi Peter, can you imagine walking into a pub, where everyone refuses to engage you in conversation until you have read four manuals of FAQ’s on the shelf first?

Not everyone can be arsed to use, or even understands how to use the somewhat clunky search facilites of typical forums. They are not infallible and it can take a looooooong time to get to the jist of the point you are looking for.

Sometimes a little human contact is nice in life, even if just stating the obvious.

I would suggest a brief factual answer followed by a friendly suggestion to perform a search would be more encouraging if a response is made? If you don’t know, then don’t bother.

‘

Well said & good post Andy.

Peter, maybe it’s early-hours of the morning for me, but I DON’T see any snied remarks ?

I’m an “experienced” forum user on MANY different subjects (guitars, motorcycles, geneaology, a/c etc), yet I too often find the search here takes eons to trawl thru BEFORE (sometimes) finding what I want.

I do accept the ‘Lightning-Fly’ subject gets a bit tiresome (it’s bleedin’ obvious it ain’t happening), but can see Andy’s point & “pub” analogy.

.

No you werent being told off sorry if it came across that way .. as for the other snide remarks back I will let them go.. The search function was working for awhile but must have taken its leave again.. Just a note though if ANYONE has issues with the search function, can you let the webmaster know? Kind of hard to fix things if we don’t know about them.

Repcobrab, in future can you make use of the search function as this topic has been discussed at length in the past

The search function has not worked properly for at least 18 months, other moderators seem to be aware of this.

I just put a Lightning search on ‘thread ‘ mode and it was cr@p, only 2 hits.

Baz

You never know. One of Brunties Lightnings might do a ‘Victor’ one day.

I was under the impression that it’s grounding was also due to it being a supersonic aircraft.

Repcobrab, in future can you make use of the search function as this topic has been discussed at length in the past

Hi Peter, can you imagine walking into a pub, where everyone refuses to engage you in conversation until you have read four manuals of FAQ’s on the shelf first?

Not everyone can be arsed to use, or even understands how to use the somewhat clunky search facilites of typical forums. They are not infallible and it can take a looooooong time to get to the jist of the point you are looking for.

Sometimes a little human contact is nice in life, even if just stating the obvious.

I would suggest a brief factual answer followed by a friendly suggestion to perform a search would be more encouraging if a response is made? If you don’t know, then don’t bother.

As much as I most of us would love to see an English Electric Lightning in the skies in the UK it appears that the complex design of the Lightning and some past safety issues would prohibit the CAA ever alllowing one to be registered in the UK.
Whether the USA or maybe another non EU country could have a rich person or group with both the money and ability to both get one flying again and operate one safely. Really its doubtful sadly But I will never say never and even pray I will see one fly again as I never made it to Thunder City in South Africa.

Has anyone got an intelligent answer for an innocent request?

Perhaps some more thought before posting smart alec replies
will entice more people onto this forum! Not everyone knows their way around the tintanet!

To the original request, no I do not think that an EE Lightning will ever fly again in the UK, nor anywhere else. The USA may have a chance but I am not holding my breath.

Many of us have tried, but the CAA said NO!

Grumpy Bob

Silly me thinking this was all about the F35 and further government cuts. The US might bring a couple over and show us what we could have had if we are really lucky.