In awe of the EE Lightning...

[loverocker]

Pilots hated them, so I was told (by RAF pilots).

Don't get the impression that it was hated, just that it was a handful. My neighbour said that, in comparison, the Hawker Hunter was a gentleman's jet.

In vertical-related news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-21118399

And if you mooch around Google maps: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Fen...ar=Fen+Ln&z=19

[RolandG]

Isn't it still the fastest climbing fighter to 20,000 ft? Not very manouverable when it gets there of course

[Skodster]

I read that the U2 spy plane pilots frequently found themselves in the company of a Lightning that although friendly, could easily climb to intercept.

[Akeldama]

And if you mooch around Google maps: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Fen...ar=Fen+Ln&z=19

Cool. Seems to be two Lightnings and what looks like a Saab Drakken.

I saw a Lightning do it's standing on tail party trick at Woodford in the eighties. Amazing to see it so low then go vertical with full reheat. The noise was spectacular. Though not quite as loud as the Vulcan.

[ICBM]

Cool. Seems to be two Lightnings and what looks like a Saab Drakken.

I wonder how they got there?! There isn't enough room between the buildings to have brought them in from the road. Unless at least one of the buildings are newer... or they arrived in pieces.

I saw a Lightning do it's standing on tail party trick at Woodford in the eighties. Amazing to see it so low then go vertical with full reheat. The noise was spectacular. Though not quite as loud as the Vulcan.

The Vulcan has twice the number of engines .

And is still flying, at least this year. It may be the last year though, so go and see it if you can!

[chillidoggy]

From Wiki:

Safety record

The safety record of the F-104 Starfighter became high-profile news, especially in Germany, in the mid-1960s. In West Germany it came to be nicknamed Witwenmacher ('The Widowmaker'). Some operators lost a large proportion of their aircraft through accidents, although the accident rate varied widely depending on the user and operating conditions; the German Air Force lost about 30% of aircraft in accidents over its operating career,[38] and Canada lost over 50% of its F-104s.[39] The Spanish Air Force, however, lost none.

[ChrisJordan]

Anyone remember this album?

[DiscoStu]

We used to have Lightnings and Vulcans fly over us when I was a kid. They'd be up at RAF Lossiemouth, and I still remember the deafening roar to this day.
A pilot went supersonic in a Lightning over my primary school and scared the crap out of most of the kids and teachers.
I just thought it was awesome.

[Brio]

I posted a thread on that album only a couple of months back

[Niallmo]

Wished I'd have seen a Lightening in the air...seen a couple of Vulcans as a kid and when walking in the Ogwen valley in North Wales I've frequently seen Tornadoes during training runs that were BELOW me in the valley. Also watched some Tornadoes on bomb run training out of Lossiemouth (i presume) down one of the firths. Absolutely awesome.