Iconic Aircraft Aviation Forum

by **320psi** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:41 pm

Hi all,

Assume you want to see a few old lightning piccies from dusty albums ?

Its where all this 'lark' started for me and my fellow LPGers

Binbrook, Crash Gate 3 circa 86/87

Most of the lightnings below bar 452, 928 and 770 were all scrapped

770, Andy Willaims personal mount in happier days, shes just been cut again and moved from a field in Gainthorpe to Waddo for outside the 5sdq ops room, so she still lives

Loads more if your interested ?
Ive posted these on the 558 forum, so some will have seen them before

by **Saracenman** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:46 pm

yeah, I've seen 'em before 320 - but who cares! =))

they really are fab - i can easily see just how the rest of your life was mapped out by those days peering through the Binbrook fence - and frankly, thank god you did!

where else in the entire World can you see two operational EE Lightnings in their original QRA building??? :ymapplause:

more piccies please 320

sm

by **RLN** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:57 am

Thanks 320. More please. $\:D/$

by **Wedgy** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 8:46 am

More more more! :ymapplause:

by **Xplumberlives** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:50 pm

Andy, please spend time posting MORE, they bring back such wonderful memories!

by **320psi** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:11 pm

Heres some ore for you

Again most if not all below ended up as tin cans

Enjoy

Loads more to come

by **Dan4th** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:17 pm

I've wondered for a long time but keep
forgetting to ask......

Andy!

What's your SECOND favo(u)rite aircraft???????

If you HAVE one, that is.....

Dan4th

by **320psi** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:51 pm

Dan4th wrote:I've wondered for a long time but keep
forgetting to ask......

Andy!

What's your SECOND favo(u)rite aircraft???????

If you HAVE one, that is.....

Dan4th

Do you know, prior to me getting invloved with buying and keeping Lightnings alive I only had a passing interest, saw them many times at airshows and Binbrook etc, but it was 'just' another fast jet to me, my photos were just snaps, I hardly ever took a camera with me, just loved to watch em, and still do.

My second fav, ummmmmm, difficult one due to the fact Ive always being interested in aircraft, modeling started me off, airfix etc and then building flying models from scratch etc, the models are what got us into Bruntingthopre in the first place to be honest, I have a wide interest base so its difficult

Its not a jet though :-o

I have a keen interest in all things 'piston' to be honest

I would say, its gotta be the A26 Invader, or maybe the F7F Tiger cat, or a Constalation, or the Mossie, I have a also leaning toward the Gannet, the Sea Fury and the Shackleton, theres so many

even some WW1 stuff, I love all that dope, leather and castor oil stuff, I really cant decide, sorry

The thing about the Lightning for me, is the engineering challenge, it was and still is a massive under taking to keep them live, thats where I get my 'kicks' from

Cheers

by **Dan4th** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:35 am

HA! HA!

Your secret is OUT!!!!

(...me too -- love those piston a/c of all kinds!)

Jets just don't go: NEEEEEOWWWWWW!!!!!! do they?

Danf.

by **Dan4th** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:43 am

Andy:

For a long time, in my daft Murkin way,
I've thought that this would make a great
musical background if you and the other
Lightning Loonatics ever get around to
producing a vid of your reheat runs!

Lyrics are self-explainatory.....

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5xjgj ... fire_music

Whaddya think?

by **Mackrick** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:32 am

Andy great photos keep them coming please

by **320psi** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:18 pm

Dan4th wrote:HA! HA!

Your secret is OUT!!!!

(...me too -- love those piston a/c of all kinds!)

Jets just don't go: NEEEEEOWWWWWW!!!!!! do they?

Danf.

I love watching old piston aircraft starting up, all that smoke and noise, and the gentle movement you can see running though the airframe, rocking it, all them moving bits, working in harmony, superb.

The Bristol Centruius sleive valve engine is a marvel to behold, oh lovely

Stood behind the A26 last July at Duxford, while the crew strapped in and started up, we just stood there in the exhaust blast, dreaming of when we win the lottery

Dan4th, oh yeh thats a top Hendix tune, Ive got loads of his stuff, 'wow man' 'far out dude'

My fav Hendrix track has to cross town traffic, full volume

We do have videos for sale of our runs, we have an offical camera man, whos been filming our fast and static runs since 1995 ,he does use music, but alot of the time its the raw noise of the 302's that gets everyone going

Yeh it the perfect backing track to an engine run

Cheers

by **Dan4th** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:54 pm

Mister Wedgewood::::::::

And what does

.....

mean?

Danf.

by **320psi** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:53 pm

DaN4th I asked Wedgy to post as I cant post back to back

Binbrook tower 1987

The Q shed on the same day

904 prior to leaving for Warton

728

BE 923, Cut at Cranfield in 98

BR 773 flying again now in SAfrica

My Fav

773 again coming out for an engine

773 again

Hope your enjoying

by **Xplumberlives** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:59 pm

We are enjoying, keep 'em coming Andy! :ymapplause:

That shot of the girls on the piano keys is wonderful! :ymapplause:

by **Saracenman** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:13 pm

by **Mackrick** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:05 pm

Af=gree with you Sm that one is fantastic

by **Jigsaw** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:31 pm

Saracenman wrote:

Beat me too it mate, great one innit

Another

by **Mackrick** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:59 pm

by **320psi** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:20 pm

A few sad ones for you, out of the 60 lightnings on station in 86/87 most ended their days here, the spares recovery/scrap line, all were gone by late 88, not all were cut on site, some had their wings and fins hacked off and were 'roaded' to the breakers yards, to be cut and smelted

Heres some that went out for chopping, these were at Rossington in 89

Sorry, but this is why we worked and still work so hard to keep the memories alive

by **Xplumberlives** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:24 pm

Andy, please don't apologise, we understand your PASSION for anything LIGHTNING :ymapplause:

by **RLN** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:10 am

Thanks for the photos Andy, they're fantastic. The enduring image from RAF Chuch Fenton displays, when I was a kid, is the slow pass and vertical afterburner climb. The noise, the liquidised insides and the sight is the happy and sad thing for me. Happy, because I saw it -the sad, because I nor my children will ever see the like of it (unless I win the lottery and go to Thunder city). After the purposeful "I'm gonna bite your balls off" of the Lightning, the fighters since and even the modern ones are a bit girly. That's why what you do is important - it gives people a chance to see and hear the best interceptor ever made. Long may you continue. :ymapplause:

by **320psi** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:59 am

RLN wrote:Thanks for the photos Andy, they're fantastic. The enduring image from RAF Chuch Fenton displays, when I was a kid, is the slow pass and vertical afterburner climb. The noise, the liquidised insides and the sight is the happy and sad thing for me. Happy, because I saw it -the sad, because I nor my children will ever see the like of it (unless I win the lottery and go to Thunder city). After the purposeful "I'm gonna bite your balls off" of the Lightning, the fighters since and even the modern ones are a bit girly. That's why what you do is important - it gives people a chance to see and hear the best interceptor ever made. Long may you continue.

Thankyou, we will keep them alive as long as is safely possible, we are nearing our 21st birthday, the RAF lads gave us 6 months back in 1988 before we couldnt run any more, so we aint doing bad

Its only a hobby, theres no pressure (apart from open days) its just fun for us all, always has been.

My first Ligtning experience was at the Leicester airshow ('flyin' days as the started) in about 1973, I was 5 stood with all my family, the commentator said the Lightning (the star of the show) was 2 minutes inbound, but where from ?

Shush all around, sky larks twittering..............................

I was a glorious August bank holiday Sunday, then all I remember was this almighty whoooooossssssh above me from behind, yes behind the crowd, an F3 sweept in low and fast and pulled up into the vertical just infront of the crowd line, burners blazing, it just kept going, rolling off the top way up above in the clear blue sky, the earth still shaking, then disapeared, and then the crowning glory, came back though left to right about 0.89M and was gone.

From that monent on my life was 'aircraft' mostly fast ones

Thats where my hobby's began.

by **Spitfire** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:42 pm

RLN wrote:Thanks for the photos Andy, they're fantastic. The enduring image from RAF Chuch Fenton displays, when I was a kid, is the slow pass and vertical afterburner climb. The noise, the liquidised insides and the sight is the happy and sad thing for me. Happy, because I saw it -the sad, because I nor my children will ever see the like of it (unless I win the lottery and go to Thunder city). After the purposeful "I'm gonna bite your balls off" of the Lightning, the fighters since and even the modern ones are a bit girly. That's why what you do is important - it gives people a chance to see and hear the best interceptor ever made. Long may you continue.

Yep heartily concur with that - as RLN says ...I too have abiding memories as a child of air displays with a Lightning slow fly by and then a thunderous runway end vertical climb :-o