The English Electric Lightning - Best aircraft ever!?

Over Clocker

Over Clocker

Over Clocker

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The English Electric Lightning, which first flew in 1954, is quite possibly on of the best aircraft ever, most definitely the best aircraft of it's time, but a large margin.

The English Electric Lightning was the first plane to be able to super-cruise and was the first British Mach 2 plane.

There are 2 items in the plane's history that set it apart from any other plane.

1: In 1984, Flt Lt Mike Hale intercepted an American U-2 spy plane at a height which they had previously considered safe from interception. Records show that Hale climbed to 88,000 ft in his Lightning F.3 XR749. Hale also participated in time-to-height and acceleration trials against F-104 Starfighters from Aalborg. He reports that the Lightnings won all races easily with the exception of the low level supersonic acceleration, which was a "dead heat".

2: In British Airways trials in April 1985, Concorde was offered as a target to NATO fighters including F-15s, F-16s, F-14s, Mirages, F-104s - but only the English Electric Lightning managed to overtake Concorde on a stern conversion intercept. That is truly amazing, and also shows how amazing Concorde was!

For a plane designed in the late 1940 and built in the early 1950s, it is truly amazing. It also holds a number of time to altitude records.

The English Electric Lightning, a 60 year old aircraft that could outperform many of today's military planes!
 
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Awesome aircraft.

First time I saw one was at an airshow as a kid. Two flew over the crowd and the noise came a second or so after we saw them. I think I must have jumped a couple of feet in the air :)
 
Yes.

In British Airways trials in April 1985, Concorde was offered as a target to NATO fighters including F-15s, F-16s, F-14s, Mirages, F-104s - but only Lightning XR749, flown by Mike Hale and described by him as "a very hot ship, even for a Lightning", managed to overtake Concorde on a stern conversion intercept.[26] The XR749 now resides at the entrance of Score Group plc's gas turbine testing and servicing facility in Peterhead, Scotland.
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I might drive up and get some pics of it.
 
There's one, or used to be one at a small aviation museum near me, quite impressive tbh - there's also a Vulcan there
 
JBuk said:
There's one, or used to be one at a small aviation museum near me, quite impressive tbh - there's also a Vulcan there
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That at Carlisle airport? I saw the Vulcan there when doing a lesson there, if they have an EE Lightning as well I might have to pop up there again.
 
Essentially 2 turbojet engines with wings bolted on.

I used to be taught by a lovely chap that was an engineer for them in the RAF, he had loads of great stories about them. :)

Also anyone down south, there is one that has been restored at the Gatwick Aviation Museum.
 
Unfortunately one of the compromises necessary to get that speed was weapons. Two missiles and one cannon IIRC? It also had a pretty small range unless loaded with drop tanks with borked the performance. But -ing noisy: I was at Gutersloh in about 1976 on the assault course (which is right by the runway) when they scrambled the Battle Flight - a pair of Lightnings on full reheat - and I thought the noise was going to kill some one.


M
 
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