I always look at it and think that they were building a rocket and then as an after thought put wings on it. Its all about those engines. Inspired to put one on top of the other, unique solution?
I never get tired of watching the Lightning. It's climb rate was legendary and is often highly regarded as probably the best interceptor ever. Just to see one climb was an awesome sight. The only other aircraft that impressed me as much was the Sea Fury... incredibe for a prop plane.
If this aircraft had been American produced, it would have been the designated NATO fighter back in the 60s instead of that rubbish flying coffin the Starfighter.
The English Electric Lightning is by far and away the finest and most effective interceptor ever built. I would still be of the same opinion had it been an American or Soviet design.
Why does almost every video on youtube dedicated to none American aircraft end up with a comment thread full of childish and usually totally ignorant bullshit from trolls?
Must be compensating for some very under-developed wedding tackle.
FYI the Lightning usually DID climb at 20,000 fpm - but that was NOT nearly it's maximum, it was the most efficient climb rate for fastest interception at altitude.
A case of a troll reading wikipedia & finding it too hard for him to understand, I think ;-)
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Some of you guys have no Idea what your talking about the BAE Lightning had a climb rate of 20,000 fpm , the F-15 Eagle has a climb rate of 50,000 fpm , Hell we(USA) have Bombers that can out Climb the BAE Lightning..FYI :)
@texasfathead Wrong- as usual. Americans are woefully ignorant. The initial rate of climb for the Lightning IS 50,000ft per minute. I guess you obtain your 'data' from the back of a 'Coco Pops' cereal packet. Go & do some proper research on the Lightning, then get back to me & try arguing it only has an initial climb rate of 20,000ft per minute. Everything is bigger & better in the US hey? ROFL A Lightning at Thunder city in SA holds the climb to altitude record.
@texasfathead The Lightning had an initial ROC of in excess of 50,000 fpm. It's service ceiling was 60,000ft, however this was only because it's escape/safety systems were only guaranteed to that height. In actual fact, the Lightning was the ONLY ac to intercept Concorde from a stern conversion. It also routinely intercepted U2s. It could, and did go to 80,000ft. The record is something in the region of 88,000ft.
So please get your facts right before you spout off.
In the early 1970's I was serving in the Royal Navy and my ship conducted an air defence exercise against RAF Lightnings in the North Sea. At the end of such exercises pilots would put on a brief flying display for the ships company. One pilot approached the ship from the beam at low level, pulled up into a vertical climb and opened the throttles wide. We eventually lost sight of him in a cloudless blue sky, still going vertical. We could hear him though, the noise was tremendous, fantastic.
Yes, back in the days when we could build our own equipment, as good as, or better than, anyone else's and schools taught people how to spell and punctuate God's own language. Perhaps the two things are connected....
Lets only look back for a second or two - better to look at what can be done next. :-) try searching, for example, for "reaction engines". That's a great British project of today and you can do something about it.
a friend of mine who had more hours in lightnings than any body else even to date the late Brian Carroll once told me a wonderfull saying about lightnings, when he was instructing a young pilot in a T55, he belted down the runway in full reheat and pulled her vertical, having seen the blood draining from his young trainee,he turned to him and said "young man you may have noticed the only reason the lightning has wings is to keep the nav lights apart" i still love that quote,
One of the reasons that the Lightning had it's fuel tanks overwing was that when they were jettisoned it avoided them hitting the tailplane which was mounted low. The tanks had powered ejection to help them clear the wing.
Awesome aircraft.I always loved the over/under engine layout and who was the genius that put "under wing" stores on the top of the wings? I always had to chuckle about that.Its strange but it worked. Its sad that kids today will never know the "gee whiz" sensation of seeing a jet like that and being awestruck. They are too busy with thier video games and cell phones.
@timmytyphoon I beg to differ! If you've ever seen a harrier take off verticaly before screeming away a couple of hundred feet over your head, or seen a couple of Typhoons storming through the air, or a formation of Tornados flying low, then you'll still get that sensation.
Had a Lightning come through my airspace back in the '80's at 3,000 feet. When we told him that he was likely ticking off the Germans living in the area, the pilot simply said "We won the bloody war, didn't we?"
@ArmandAllegro They were used to enhance the endurance of the Lightnings patrols but were mainly carried for ferry flights between bases. The Lightnings only weakness was its poor endurance, so a good idea. The sharp sweep of the wings and the long undercat legs meant there was little room under the wings for pylons, so on the top they went.
Saudi and Kuwaiti Lightnings had a pylon under each wing to carry a bomb or rocket pod, but RAF birds were pure air-air missile and cannon interceptors.
@ste309w Thanks for your reply. I get the impression the Lightning was a truly under appreciated airplane. I can not recall ever seeing models of it at the hobby shop or it being featured in movies. Personally I think it's A-One!
@ArmandAllegro Happy to help. There have been a few, most of which are out. Airfix, Revell and Hasegawa do them at 1:72 but they're old toolings. With work they can look good. Airfix used to do a VERY good kit at 1:48 but that hasn't been around since the mid-90's. Trumpeter has a new range of Lightnings in 1:72 and I believe 1:32, but they can sometimes be extortionately priced. Ive seen the 1:72 sold for as much as £25, WAY too much than I would pay for one.
@ArmandAllegro Stand still on the runway to 36,000ft in a minute and a half. Initial climb rate of 50,000ft/minute. I'm not sure what can do that today.
@gamesbok I am not a true afficiando of modern jet aircraft, but I am sure you are correct, the performance of the Lightning was outstanding and it would be hard for even the newest aircraft to top it. I just like the look of pure power and the sleekness of the design. It looks fast even standing still.
@gibbon92 Agree. It can still blow & F-15 away in a climb to altitude race. Fifty years old & STILL able to embarass modern jets in terms of sheer speed & climb rate. An awesome piece of British engineering. The RAF was the only air force in the world to jump from subsonic fighters ie Hunter, to Mach 2+ fighters in the form of the Lightning. Definitely up there with the Vulcan & TSR 2 as our finest post war aviation engineering achievements.
@gibbon92 Quality post sir! :) The Lightning was also fast enough to catch Concorde on full throttle in a tail chase interception. In 1985, NATO interceptors were pitched against the Concorde in a competition- she blew them all away, including the F-15 Eagle,(which is allegedly faster than the Lightning) the Lightning was the only ac to close her down & catch her. The Lightning STILL holds climb to altitude records, beating even the F-15 Eagle-amazing for a jet that entered service in 1959/60.
@LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH Both Concorde and Lightning were commercial disasters. There is a reason no other aircraft were faster - the speed was at the expense of basic capabilities like range payload and reliability. A classic british egotrip pursuit of records at the expense of practicality. It was a tragedy that these turkeys kept marketable products like Hawker's P.1121 and the Fairey Delta 2 off the market.
@Sdblahm67 Yes, the Lightning was a 'disaster,' that's why Saudi & Kuwait purchased them.......At the time, it represented the largest export deal to date and subsequently led to the Saudis making further purchases of British equipment- a legacy that continues to this very day. Some disaster. Fairy Delta 2 was an experimental ac & not intended to be developed into a fighting ac. Nor was the FD an easy ac to fly. I can see you have a tenous grasp of the subject. American per chance?? ROFL
this is about as good as it gets in fast jets never mind all this crap about its the sweeds or was it the french or the ruskies or the yanks,,,,,,,, it was made by god to catch the devil ,,,, lol thers a new one for you to chew over!! after all we all now that god is english realy :-)
Well yes I am still haven't completely finished my research on the origin of the BAC Lightening jet. There are so many countires involved in this project it seems. Recently I came across an top secret document that a Mongolian guy was responsible for the design of the unique gyro of this jet. So far I have no evidence or proof that this is a British concept or a design. But probably the Brits made the English muffins that was served while the team was designing the jet ha ha ha
great plane. but only 2 missiles :(
captainumbnuts3 1 month ago
I always look at it and think that they were building a rocket and then as an after thought put wings on it. Its all about those engines. Inspired to put one on top of the other, unique solution?
Amazing aircraft.
smilo996 1 month ago
I always said before The lightning belongs in the air NOT ROTTING IN SOME MUSEUM
excarman 4 months ago
what is that music ?
waguinhunorris 4 months ago
I never get tired of watching the Lightning. It's climb rate was legendary and is often highly regarded as probably the best interceptor ever. Just to see one climb was an awesome sight. The only other aircraft that impressed me as much was the Sea Fury... incredibe for a prop plane.
FrancoHitlini 6 months ago
Outstanding aircraft that even at the end of her service life could still outclimb most aircraft.
She was a powerful beast.
ToonandBBfan 9 months ago 2
@ToonandBBfan
loddon82 7 months ago
If this aircraft had been American produced, it would have been the designated NATO fighter back in the 60s instead of that rubbish flying coffin the Starfighter.
gilnod 10 months ago 2
The English Electric Lightning is by far and away the finest and most effective interceptor ever built. I would still be of the same opinion had it been an American or Soviet design.
bravobravo74 11 months ago
How to make an EE Lightning:
Strap 2x MASSIVE Rolls Royce engines together to look like an oversized shotgun,
Add some token control surfaces to help point it in the right direction,
Garnish with two missiles that would most likely be slower than the jet itself, just to look legit,
Strap in 1x Pilot who has the biggest balls of steel imaginagble (suggest Flt Lt Mike Hale),
Light her up at 20,000 ft/min,
Serve at Mach 2.
triathlete77 11 months ago 4
Why does almost every video on youtube dedicated to none American aircraft end up with a comment thread full of childish and usually totally ignorant bullshit from trolls?
Must be compensating for some very under-developed wedding tackle.
FYI the Lightning usually DID climb at 20,000 fpm - but that was NOT nearly it's maximum, it was the most efficient climb rate for fastest interception at altitude.
A case of a troll reading wikipedia & finding it too hard for him to understand, I think ;-)
NoCheeseAndNoSocks 11 months ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Some of you guys have no Idea what your talking about the BAE Lightning had a climb rate of 20,000 fpm , the F-15 Eagle has a climb rate of 50,000 fpm , Hell we(USA) have Bombers that can out Climb the BAE Lightning..FYI :)
texasfathead 11 months ago
@texasfathead like what exactly...
j4cko56 11 months ago
@texasfathead BAE Lightning 1959, F-15 Eagle July 1972.
novadose1975 11 months ago
@texasfathead Wrong- as usual. Americans are woefully ignorant. The initial rate of climb for the Lightning IS 50,000ft per minute. I guess you obtain your 'data' from the back of a 'Coco Pops' cereal packet. Go & do some proper research on the Lightning, then get back to me & try arguing it only has an initial climb rate of 20,000ft per minute. Everything is bigger & better in the US hey? ROFL A Lightning at Thunder city in SA holds the climb to altitude record.
LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH 11 months ago 2
@texasfathead The Lightning had an initial ROC of in excess of 50,000 fpm. It's service ceiling was 60,000ft, however this was only because it's escape/safety systems were only guaranteed to that height. In actual fact, the Lightning was the ONLY ac to intercept Concorde from a stern conversion. It also routinely intercepted U2s. It could, and did go to 80,000ft. The record is something in the region of 88,000ft.
So please get your facts right before you spout off.
TonyF2a 10 months ago 6
In the early 1970's I was serving in the Royal Navy and my ship conducted an air defence exercise against RAF Lightnings in the North Sea. At the end of such exercises pilots would put on a brief flying display for the ships company. One pilot approached the ship from the beam at low level, pulled up into a vertical climb and opened the throttles wide. We eventually lost sight of him in a cloudless blue sky, still going vertical. We could hear him though, the noise was tremendous, fantastic.
loddon82 7 months ago
@TonyF2a I was just about to say something similar.
I find it hard to understand why Americans always slate our tech. We're allies for god's sake!
Besides, we took the Apache and made it better than their 'D' version.
navnig 3 months ago
such as what *Fat head*?
7607987600 9 months ago
Yes, back in the days when we could build our own equipment, as good as, or better than, anyone else's and schools taught people how to spell and punctuate God's own language. Perhaps the two things are connected....
mjeshaw 1 year ago
What a great fighter - Britain at her very best. What a pity the politicians of the last 30 years have sent us down the toilet.
globaleye8 1 year ago
Fake as a three dollar bill.
jonnibiscuit 1 year ago
One has to admire a plane that flies inverted. I'm a yank and never heard of or saw this one before. Excellent tribute.
Circumpunk 1 year ago 3
Lets only look back for a second or two - better to look at what can be done next. :-) try searching, for example, for "reaction engines". That's a great British project of today and you can do something about it.
t43562 1 year ago
stick back..pants filled! mach 2.2. is that right?
bennywantsome 1 year ago
@bennywantsome Mach 2.3 on a good day I believe :)
LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH 11 months ago
a friend of mine who had more hours in lightnings than any body else even to date the late Brian Carroll once told me a wonderfull saying about lightnings, when he was instructing a young pilot in a T55, he belted down the runway in full reheat and pulled her vertical, having seen the blood draining from his young trainee,he turned to him and said "young man you may have noticed the only reason the lightning has wings is to keep the nav lights apart" i still love that quote,
deeka24 1 year ago 4
@deeka24 I do too!
mjeshaw 1 year ago
Best plane ever built and 100% British
PaulSAUK 1 year ago 2
One of the reasons that the Lightning had it's fuel tanks overwing was that when they were jettisoned it avoided them hitting the tailplane which was mounted low. The tanks had powered ejection to help them clear the wing.
barbarybar 1 year ago
Awesome aircraft.I always loved the over/under engine layout and who was the genius that put "under wing" stores on the top of the wings? I always had to chuckle about that.Its strange but it worked. Its sad that kids today will never know the "gee whiz" sensation of seeing a jet like that and being awestruck. They are too busy with thier video games and cell phones.
timmytyphoon 1 year ago 2
@timmytyphoon I beg to differ! If you've ever seen a harrier take off verticaly before screeming away a couple of hundred feet over your head, or seen a couple of Typhoons storming through the air, or a formation of Tornados flying low, then you'll still get that sensation.
fatmikecj 1 year ago
Had a Lightning come through my airspace back in the '80's at 3,000 feet. When we told him that he was likely ticking off the Germans living in the area, the pilot simply said "We won the bloody war, didn't we?"
killingamps 1 year ago
Did the fuel tanks on top of the wing prove to be a good idea? It would certainly confuse opponents to look inverted.
ArmandAllegro 1 year ago
@ArmandAllegro They were used to enhance the endurance of the Lightnings patrols but were mainly carried for ferry flights between bases. The Lightnings only weakness was its poor endurance, so a good idea. The sharp sweep of the wings and the long undercat legs meant there was little room under the wings for pylons, so on the top they went.
Saudi and Kuwaiti Lightnings had a pylon under each wing to carry a bomb or rocket pod, but RAF birds were pure air-air missile and cannon interceptors.
ste309w 1 year ago
@ste309w Thanks for your reply. I get the impression the Lightning was a truly under appreciated airplane. I can not recall ever seeing models of it at the hobby shop or it being featured in movies. Personally I think it's A-One!
ArmandAllegro 1 year ago
@ArmandAllegro Happy to help. There have been a few, most of which are out. Airfix, Revell and Hasegawa do them at 1:72 but they're old toolings. With work they can look good. Airfix used to do a VERY good kit at 1:48 but that hasn't been around since the mid-90's. Trumpeter has a new range of Lightnings in 1:72 and I believe 1:32, but they can sometimes be extortionately priced. Ive seen the 1:72 sold for as much as £25, WAY too much than I would pay for one.
ste309w 1 year ago
@ArmandAllegro Stand still on the runway to 36,000ft in a minute and a half. Initial climb rate of 50,000ft/minute. I'm not sure what can do that today.
gamesbok 1 year ago
@gamesbok I am not a true afficiando of modern jet aircraft, but I am sure you are correct, the performance of the Lightning was outstanding and it would be hard for even the newest aircraft to top it. I just like the look of pure power and the sleekness of the design. It looks fast even standing still.
ArmandAllegro 1 year ago
nobody declared wa with us when it was in service cos they were scared.. the best jet fighter ever no argument
flonogorida 1 year ago
love the pirates of the caribean music!
blahblah642 1 year ago
Quite simply the EE Lightning is the greatest jet fighter ever. Glad I'm old enough to have seen it in service.
Love ashsue99's quote about being made by God to catch the Devil.
gibbon92 2 years ago 16
@gibbon92 Agree. It can still blow & F-15 away in a climb to altitude race. Fifty years old & STILL able to embarass modern jets in terms of sheer speed & climb rate. An awesome piece of British engineering. The RAF was the only air force in the world to jump from subsonic fighters ie Hunter, to Mach 2+ fighters in the form of the Lightning. Definitely up there with the Vulcan & TSR 2 as our finest post war aviation engineering achievements.
LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH 1 year ago 2
@gibbon92 Quality post sir! :) The Lightning was also fast enough to catch Concorde on full throttle in a tail chase interception. In 1985, NATO interceptors were pitched against the Concorde in a competition- she blew them all away, including the F-15 Eagle,(which is allegedly faster than the Lightning) the Lightning was the only ac to close her down & catch her. The Lightning STILL holds climb to altitude records, beating even the F-15 Eagle-amazing for a jet that entered service in 1959/60.
LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH 1 year ago
@LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH Both Concorde and Lightning were commercial disasters. There is a reason no other aircraft were faster - the speed was at the expense of basic capabilities like range payload and reliability. A classic british egotrip pursuit of records at the expense of practicality. It was a tragedy that these turkeys kept marketable products like Hawker's P.1121 and the Fairey Delta 2 off the market.
Sdblahm67 11 months ago
@Sdblahm67 Yes, the Lightning was a 'disaster,' that's why Saudi & Kuwait purchased them.......At the time, it represented the largest export deal to date and subsequently led to the Saudis making further purchases of British equipment- a legacy that continues to this very day. Some disaster. Fairy Delta 2 was an experimental ac & not intended to be developed into a fighting ac. Nor was the FD an easy ac to fly. I can see you have a tenous grasp of the subject. American per chance?? ROFL
LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH 11 months ago
this is about as good as it gets in fast jets never mind all this crap about its the sweeds or was it the french or the ruskies or the yanks,,,,,,,, it was made by god to catch the devil ,,,, lol thers a new one for you to chew over!! after all we all now that god is english realy :-)
ashsue99 2 years ago 9
Well said!
andyw92 2 years ago
What had the Swede's to do with English Electric? The concept was, famously, from the pen of the legendary WEW Petter, very much an Englishman.
mercuryg 2 years ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
Several top people involved with the designing of the BAC lightning have admitted that this is actually a Swedish concept.
So bad for the British Ego
vnck25 2 years ago
Evidence please? First you said it was Belgian, then it was Russian, and now it's Swedish. No doubt next week you'll be saying it's American!!
hammerfanandy 2 years ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
I was gonna say Colombian but then realized that if was too gross, Colombians are good for drugs but not for planes.
For evidence pleas bend over lol
vnck25 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Well yes I am still haven't completely finished my research on the origin of the BAC Lightening jet. There are so many countires involved in this project it seems. Recently I came across an top secret document that a Mongolian guy was responsible for the design of the unique gyro of this jet. So far I have no evidence or proof that this is a British concept or a design. But probably the Brits made the English muffins that was served while the team was designing the jet ha ha ha
vnck25 2 years ago
Stop posting drivel !
joop1977 2 years ago 3
This has been flagged as spam show
What does EE stands for?
English Ego ???
Ha Ha Ha
vnck25 2 years ago
@vnck25 thats a bit of a statement comming from a german ?
bomberhayley 1 year ago 2
@vnck25 English Excellence
SuperAncientmariner 1 year ago
@SuperAncientmariner
In what, looting? he he he
vnck25 1 year ago
@vnck25 Yes, one of the talents we learned from Attila and the Huns. :o)
SuperAncientmariner 1 year ago
Hear, hear! Nothing, I repeat nothing, will ever touch the Lightning - brutal, beautiful, graceful and staggeringly powerful!
Wanobi99 3 years ago 2
it's far to of an americanism but that was "awesome". should still be in service now,an equal to any interceptor in the world !!
kboy250 3 years ago
Fitting tribute for a wonderful aeroplane.
bengello 3 years ago 4