It was Bunty, Bucc, Hunter and Victor all played parts

For the eagle eyed out there was a fleeting glance of side panel with a ram air duct for cooling to the reheat pump on 728, where’s our royalites 😉

Why :confused:

I watched it for a while and got fed up

There are really very little options left in the UK for a flying Lightning simply becouse all (now four!) of the best are in SA, the obviouse to some are 728 or 904 as they are as close to airworthy as visable becouse they have been untouched since flying into Brunty all that time ago.

This is not really a suitable option becouse fatigue as you say is up on both but I have been watching with keen interest Gatwick Aviations ex Saudi Lightning 53-671/G-27-41/ZF 579.

They have done a fantastic job of bringing a dismantled basket case back to life, they have fitted zero timed engines, new nose gear, many new spares have been fitted, most systems have been re-condtioned and brought back to life……the list goes on, if you did not know any better by looking at their web site you would be forgiven for thinking that they are actually going to fly this bird.

What is most impressive is that the FI for this airframe is just 81.12 out of 105 max, this gives enough FI for a long career on the display circuit.

This s all speculative day dreaming mind and I am sure that there may be one or two others out there that could be possible candidates, what about the two seater at Cranfield?, if the CAA set a limit on the Lightning of subsonic speeds and a max height of 10,000ft then why should it be any different thatn a Hunter/Bucc/558?.

IIRC the Lightning’s display was subsonic and low level so this shouldn’t be a problem, and for sure it was the showstopping event to beat all, Finningly, Binbrook, fresh cut grass, avtur, getting lost in the crowd and then there it is…………low in the distance, a speck…….the crowd grows calm and an uneasy silence falls upon the airfield with just the sound of birds in the background.

There is a whisper amongst the people as the speck grows larger…..larger…….larger, the wings appear and the tail pearces the sky in that unmistakable silhouette that is defined as the peerless English Electric Lightning.

The heart skips, still no sound just the birds and the gentle sound of people jostling for a better view, you don’t notice now that you are rooted to the spot, all feeling and sensation bellow the waist has gone, you just concentrait on getting that beutifull sight picture as it looms closer.

It is not long as the Lightning has turned into the circuit to beat up the airfield and there is that distinct little trail of smoke as the coals are poured on and the burners are lit………it’s comming.

The noise is increasing now…..louder….louder untill all other noise is cancelled out and the ground is resonates to the sound of Avons, banking the Lightning passes at full chat with less than 100ft on the Rad Alt and clouds of condensation spilling off the upper wing surfaces, as it nears the end of the crowd line she pulls up into a vertical climb that sees her dissappear into the cloud with only that unmistakable rumble as your internal organs begin to move back to where they came from.

It’s been 18 long years since that spectacle was last bestowed upon me and I dream of the day it will happen again, all the F14’s-15’s-16’s-18’s will never make up for what should be and that is a flying Lightning in the UK, Lightndattic take note 😉 .

Regards,

John.

Here, here John couldnt have said it better myself,
As you may be aware Ive been very close to Lightnings for over 20 years and know them inside and out, and they still send a tingle down my spine.
I would agree that the T5 458 would be the best canditate for flight on many levels but like I said it would need a massive effort from all parties.
I know the guys at Gatwick, MJR being a close Lightningite, they have done a wonderfull job on their’s, but its one thing to go for ground running but flight is a big leap.
We are commited to keeping our two running for as long as is safely possible and then retiring them to the Q shed

Your description of a Lightning display was perfect, like so many out there I saw my first display when just a young lad in about 73 at a local air show, there I was stood in the crowd with my family, the commentator told us the Lightning was 2 minutes inbound, but from where ?
Then from behind the crowd yes thats right behind the crowd, an F3 from Binbrook swooped in low over our heads, the nose came up and pulled into the vertical just infront of the crowd line both burners blazing, I can still see those burners now, she just kept going rolling off in a patch of blue at god knows what altitude, then out of sight and back down for a low fast pass left to right, and then gone.

After that I witnessed many Lightning displays and spent most of my college time bunking off on my motor bike up to Binbrook just to stand and watch.

I was hooked, the rest is history as they say

Cheers
Andy B (LPG)

Too fast, too expensive, too complicated, not enough spares, too dangerous, too noisey……..and thats just the CAA!!!!.

When they were retired in the late eighties people tried and had a few registered on the civil register but every time the guidelines where met the CAA moved the goalposts untill they eventually they just said no.

The South African CAA are just as stringent with the rules but they did work with Mr Beechyhead to make sure everything was above board and pro-activly helped get them flying, something which our CAA is distinctly lacking in but who knows? since the advent of 558 and the Buccaneer, maybe just maybe………one day…….

Regards,

John.

Which airframe would you choose though John ?

Most of the UK airframes that could be considered are up on FI, including our two.
You would want a T5 really, what am I saying just forget it, it aint gonna happen, a simular set up to the 558 thing would be needed.

Just had word from a freind who was invited over there to witness the occasion, he tells me the pilots were Mike Beachyhead and Ian Black in the T5’s, Keith Hartley (693) and Dave Stocks in the F6’s

Cheers 🙂

Thought these would amuse you all, I suppose a few of you were there that day in the rain.
Practice day 24hrs earlier was perfect, show day was fowl but what a day, ended up wearing bags on feet 😀

728 awaitng JS

XS919 now at Wonderland play ground and dosent stand close inspection

773 now flying again

Old 693

And belive it or not some other aircraft were in attendance 🙂

Didnt get carried away with other stuff, all Lightnings sorry.

Not all of it but an easy one, taken in 1988

Hi all, here’s a few Binbrook shots taken in 87 while we were getting closer to buying 728.
Much happier moments in Binbrooks history
Thanks for your pitures Damien, a sad sight

There’s many more were these came from if your interested ?

Tower

Q shed

Cheers

How very sad, he was a big favorite of my late grandfather who was out of the same mold, straight talking, pipe smoking.
I can still see my granfather in tears of laughter at listening to his records, all dating from the early 60’s when they were recorded live at rotary club dinners, the recordswere all under the counter stuff and very ‘blue’ for the time, all very tame now though.

I have the records in my collection given to me prior to my grandad passing away, they include TNT for two, Watch out for the bits and Laughter with a bang.

Some of the stories still have me rolling, titles like ‘the flying sh***’ all about his 1937 Ford 8 van and Island in the river Dane, Knicker brook, Pork pies at the crem, none of them very PC, but so funny.

I was lucky enough to see him live at Newark Palace Threatre back in 2001 on his last live tour, he was still telling the same stories and making them funny to a packed house, I didnt realise just how many people out there were aware of him, a great night.

So sad, but from listnering to the near misses he had in his stories he was lucky to make it this far.
RIP Blaster