Lightning Fighter / Vulcan Bomber

[wank0r]

This country has created some fantastic planes in the past century, harrier, lightning, vulcan.. the list goes on and on. Where has the industry gone? why are we buying into this Eurotrash fighter?

[Flamorgan]

@wank0r We must do what our Euro German masters tell us since we are no longer a military power of any significance.

[thombs1]

God I remember seeing a vulcan bomber at a airshow in the early 90's taking off was one of the most incredible sights. went straight vertical and the noise was amazing..Just hope they can resurrect the only airworthy one left..

[HellHound60248]

Also known as the Hephaestus bomber!

[DakotaPilot]

You can thank our beloved Civil Aviation Authority for the death of aviation in the UK... it won't be long before they dream up some ridiculous excuse to stop the Vulcan from flying... the "Lightning's avionics are too advanced" excuse holds absolutely no weight as a modern Garmin GPS is more advanced. The Victor and Valiant are also banned, as is the Buccaneer.... The de Havilland DH-110 Sea Vixen is thanfully allowed to fly despite it being supersonic!

[edj66]

So the Vulcan Bomber became obsolete - yet the Americans still fly the cumbersome B52...

[drjamespotter]

My 2 favourite aircraft!

[ARepublicanVictory]

This is the Great Britain that I liked. They did not support filthy Communists as they do today. Now the once great nation known as Great Britain is filled with anti British, anti Christian evil secularists. In addition to that, that nation is filled with socialists, anarchsists, and other things which even America is having a hard time dealing with.

[keirfree]

@ARepublicanVictory How many times a week do you need,, a Dominatrix ? you are one Fucked up !

( not sure what you are )

[waverly24]

Sad to hear the Lightning can no longer fly in the U.K., saw it perform at the 1986 Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. Very impressive aircraft.

[multirecon123]

it flew for 30 years or more and it didnt have any major problems so whats wrong with flying it now!

[hornby123me]

Oh GOD I LOVE THOSE PLANES!!!! My dream is to get some lightnings back to flying order again - and I'm only 17 so I've got the time to do it ;)

[stubbostubbs]

@hornby123me There are still a couple flying in South Africa. Google "Thunder City"

[hornby123me]

@stubbostubbs I did. And it was epic :D

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

@stubbostubbs Not anymore they aren't. One of their number crashed at a display in 2009, pilot Dave Stock was killed sadly. As a consequence, Thunder City have gone out of business. There are no Lightnings flying today, which is extremely sad :(

[38dragoon38]

Please can somebody answer the following: Why were the Mk1 Vulcans white in colour? And why were so many Lightnings kept in their bare metal state? (the Dassault Mirage III also comes to mind). I can only think that both colour schemes reflect the ambient light, to a certain extent, and so would help prevent them being spotted. If that is the case, why is this tactic not used today - especially with tactical batllefield aircraft that are less likely to be spotted by long-distant radar?

[irvan36mm]

@38dragoon38 the white Vulcans were used to deliver nukes,mainly to Russia. The white color was to help reflect the heat from nuclear explosions. When nuke-tipped ICBM missiles were perfected and was the preferred nuke delivery device,the Vulcans would now be used for low-to-med level conventional bombing,hence the camo schemes. Not sure about the bare metal schemes,except for the prototypes & maybe the first few planes.

[38dragoon38]

@irvan36mm Many thanks Irvan.

[ChMoMe]

@38dragoon38

The lightning was bare metal due to weight considerations - it had a notoriously short range to begin with, and leaving the paint off helped with that. You saw the same with the F-104 starfighter. The Typhoon is also bare, but the composites used in it's construction give it a matte grey look.

There's a video of an old Sea Vixen kicking around somewhere in a two-tone grey camo. It flew an airshow on a cloudy day and could barely be seen against the clouds.

[drdormin]

I have to agree with daleksec245, if we Americans can keep the B-52 operational, then the Vulcan must still have a place in modern warfare. If England is to have any power projection at all, it's either by long range bomber or by aircraft carrier and since the British government doesn't want to spend money on a fully functional carrier, long bombers seem the best bet. The Vulcan is an awesome aircraft!

[daleksec245]

Outdated? It not outdated! Stick some modern upgrade on it and its as good as eurofighter!

[navnig]

i still think there was room for the vulcan in today's RAF....if the american's can stll be using B-52's (and they still expect to be using them for another 20 years or so)

then i can't think of any reason other than budgetary cuts why the vulcan couldn't be doing the same.

a fantastic old aircraft =)

[paulusGOD]

beautiful aircraft

[xfire7]

The reason for GB`s downfall is imigration....they are like fleas.Sucking the finacial health of our country

[dolippa]

@xfire7 You might be right, I myself, are Greek and live in Greece, and I´ve seen my country collapse due to unimaginable (for the rest of Europe) amounts of immigrants, as the first country between the middle east and Europe, aswell as between Africa and Europe, Greece has been literally swarmed with imigrants...

And I dont have to mention the current shape of our economy for people to get the point, now do I?

Anyway, I´d like to see a delta wing tactical bomber today... And love to fly one.

[phillipclarke29]

legend sound

[YortonJunction00]

excellent, well put together and super reminiscences, well done, YJ

[tooby98765]

One of the ugliest aircraft ever and one of the most beautiful (if not *the* most beautiful)!

Got to admire an old geezer who fills up his jet fighter with a watering can and has starlings nesting in it.

[nomadnametab]

i saw one of these vulcans flying at medium altitude over the usa once years ago. you could recognize what it was at once. what a great sight.

[billy994]

its due to avionics.....and alot of funding, the vulcan gets alot of sponsers because of what it did and what it bombed

[djwilko7]

notice the guy gettin blasted at 0:30

[JadeyBaybeXx]

yes sth africa has a 2 seater you can fly in.. and reason alone for non uk flying of lightning is actually noise !!

[schpongled]

I would give my left bollock to see a Vulcan flown like that and doing a barrel roll!

I remember back in the 80's when they used to be able to open the engines up, but this looked insane, I bet it was epically loud!

[orichalcum1]

when Britannia ruled the air..... great movie - thank you.

[spiritcrusher923]

Cold war had the coolest aircraft bar none

[bmgm3]

Two fantastic British built aircraft. At least we can get to see one fly in the UK. Thanks for the upload

[squadman33]

Cool video. Nice pilot stories.

[jonesy97]

If South Africa still flys them, do they have that 2 seater variant? THAT is an amazing looking jet! What a treat to ride in one.

[LordGB45]

Catch the Air Museum on a good day like I did and you might get access to the Vulcan cockpit............AWESOME....­.....

[LordGB45]

Check out the Midland Air Museum in Coventry, UK. Bagington airport They have 2 E E Lightnings and an Avro Vulcan bomber. Plus Vampires and Meteor. Even the second rate Dassault Mystere gets a space.

[LordGB45]

Fucking great

[bmgm3]

John Peel did a few off these type of shows " two engines strapped to a seat " brilliant !

[ccc771]

why not ship the BAC to South Africa so they can fly it dosnt make any sense to me.

[arbitar222]

i like thatthanks for posteing m8

[SAHBfan]

I wanted to see the Vulcan at Cosford - but the organisation there has been a joke for years. 2008 we were stuck on the airfield until 9pm (the airshow finished at 6) due to traffic. The staff closed all the facilities including the toilets ^_^

I vowed I'd never go again. Good job, this year the crowd pulled by the Vulcan was so huge the whole area was gridlocked with people picnicking on traffic islands.

We went to a National trust site instead - and the Vulcan flew right overhead! :-)

[highrisetim]

Saw her today at East Fortune, fab

[kinghelfer]

XH558 is flying at the Windermere airshow this saturday 25th of July if any of you want to see it

[yellowtommytanker]

Saw the Vulcan flay at RIAT fairford 09 last weekend (first time in what 15 or more years!... Would dearly love to see a Lightning fly again... remember being nearly deafened as a kid watching 2 of them take off from RNAS Yeovilton sometime between 1983-1986 I guess .(I was only 100 yards away... oh how health and safety rules woud stop that now!)

[italoscozzese]

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the footage from farnborough (5,20) of Jimmy Harrison rolling the Vulcan is utterley amazing?Wish i'd been there..

[StarTux]

Not sure I completely agree with the commentator at the end saying they became obsolete as the US kept and upgraded the B-52 fleet. If the money and willpower was still there perhaps the Vulcan could have been equipped with Tomahawks for example.

[lordofbore]

john peel what a legend!!

[bobbynogs17]

The world needs Britain , but the euro deal is killing it off . Britain .......sort yourself out before it is to late !

[arbitar222]

it not us m8 its our gover ment tobh there dragging us done to the slumps but then again we do need to sort our selfs owt

[jimmac56]

yes you do need to sort your spelling out

[Andyhinds]

@jimmac56 Yes, I'm with you on that one.

[deeka24]

it really needs to be flown, i am a member of the team keeping this T5 lightning alive,and we do strech her legs in full re-heat, it is an wasome sight and sound belive me

[darkskies109]

Interesting fact, there is a Vulcan bomber currently located at the 8th AF museum at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana

[proctohomo]

It sucks he can't fly, at least in the UK.

[dave0992]

my two fave aircraft of all time and its narrated by my fave ever dj mr john peel! great video, well done that man

[Niche79]

God gotta hate the dumb euro rules. thank God we dont have those issues in America! You can keep em, this kinda plane should be allowed to fly freely in the sky like it was meant to do. If I were him, Id export it overseas and just register it there for use to put a stick in the Euro eye:) They need a grandfather in rule for such older aircraft!

[lordofbore]

your right mate we should tell brussels to get stuffed!!!

[fairclought7]

the lightning was the worlds first jet to super-cruise, it also intercepted a U-2 at 63,000 feet, which the US thought was safe from intercept, it then went on to 88,000 feet.

[ksigbetamu]

Fantastic video! The EE Lightning pilots even got the best of our F-15 in the early 80s in excercises over western Europe! Great airplane, a bit ugly though!

[ovatsug1]

@ksigbetamu .....thats stupid and so are you, nothing has ever beat an F-15

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

@ovatsug1 Nothing has ever beaten the the F-15? Go & research the NATO interceptor competition in 1986. They put every NATO fighter/interceptor up against Concorde in a tail chase interception. ONE aircraft succeeded in catching her, THE LIGHTNING. The allegedly faster F-15 Eagle got wasted by Concorde. The Lightning will beat an F-15 in a climb to altitude race-FACT.

[stubbostubbs]

@LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH Thats true mateys. Lightning still holds some time to altitude records over the F15. Plus, even in Red Flag, the yanks got the fright of their lives when the Blackburn Buccaneer achieved full penetration by flying lower and faster than the yanks reckoned possible. But hey, since when have facts ever bothered the yanks? According to them, it was they that captured the enigma machine!!!!!!!!

Rant over.. (They do get right on my nipple ends though)

[rogthedodger]

Brilliant!

[longbow1415]

I once spoke with an old pilot...he said this was 2 30mm cannons strapped to a jet engine with somewhere for the pilot to sit!

Superb, Britain of the great old days

[MikeECGreen]

It's amazing to think that the Lightning is a 50+ year old design that can go faster and has a greater rate of climb than most fighters in service today...And the Vulcan is another favourite of mine, there's one nearby at East Fortune airfield/museum(and it's wonderful just to walk around gaping at its beauty..Oh and I loved watching Classic Aircraft as a kid, it was my favourite show...when I played around with aeroplanes I'd always impersonate John Peel's narration, he was my hero!

[voxadvt30]

How come the electronics stop it from flying in the UK??

[ultimatelightening]

Also the Flight Control System stops it flying in the UK.

the statement in the video is misleading as the Lightning is not considered to have a good enough military safety record to allow them to be flown by civil operators.

[iloveplanetrock]

Don't South Africa still fly them.

[hawkboy451]

Indeed they do ! They have less stringent safety regulations ;-)

[eezy1972]

@hawkboy451 I think the reason they fly them in South Africa is due to the vast areas of unpopulated land where they can display. Sad that we can't see them here.

[eezy1972]

@hawkboy451 We still fly the ancient Vulcan, so why not the Lightning?

[hawkboy451]

@eezy1972

Hi, I can't give you the exact reason, but basically it is due to health and safety regulations in the UK. The Vulcan must still make the grade....

It also may be due to sound levels. The lightning was ferociously loud. I remember crying under my little red anorak at Finningly when they went over ! LOL The only thing as loud (or even louder ? ) is a top-fuel dragster in my experience. S

[merlinmalone]

@eezy1972 Unfortunately UK civil aviation rules prohibit the flying of aircraft with after-burner (an exception was made for Concorde). Most historic aircraft in the UK are operated by civilian enthusiasts and so are precluded from flying them. South Africa doesn't have such rules.

[merlinmalone]

@eezy1972 Unfortunately UK civil aviation rules prohibit the flying of aircraft with after-burner (an exception was made for Concorde). Most historic aircraft in the UK are operated by civilian enthusiasts and so are precluded from flying them. South Africa doesn't have such rules.

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

@eezy1972 During it's RAF service, over 30 (out of 339 built) Lightnings were lost in crashes, mainly due to technical problems. Few Vulcans were lost during their 30 yr service. The Lightning is very complex in terms of it's electrics, and on top of that, it has extremely high performance-faster than any contemporary RAF jet. Add the fallout post 9/11 into the mix, and perhaps you will see why the CAA are so anal about allowing the Lightning to fly! They are completely wrong in my opinion :)

[daleksec245]

@hawkboy451 Sadly Thunder City who flew the lightnings hunters and buccaneers in South Africa are banned from flying after the loss of T5 XS451/ZU-BEX last year. Apparently the south African caa said they couldn't fly but they still flew! Apparently ALL the thunder city aircraft are all up for sale. its the end of civil lightnings unless the yanks get one up and they have plans...

[Cavelson]

I really love Lightning

[tantive4]

And John Peel! I used the love the documentaries he did the v/o for.

[MrMoorkey]

>>5m:31s. He barrel-rolled a Vulcan!?!? Now THAT takes a huge pair of brass ones!

[hawkboy451]

Laughing out loud ! ;-) He wouldn't do that with a H-Bomb in it's belly !

[wildhobby]

Yes, same engines in Concorde kinda seen on drop its backside in a show here the Lightning would go for 'god's throat, the Vulcan would just look like a big old moth and just almost sit there! And top it all, narrated by legendary late John Peel. Thanks for posting, an absolute treat!

[88SPIKE]

The Lightning had 2 Rolls Royce Avon engines - the Concorde had 4 Bristol Olympus engines I believe

[tooby98765]

If you do it right a barrel roll is a 1g maneuver, you can put your cup of tea on the console while you do it.

Search youtube for "Bob Hoover Airplane Roll"...

[ahz123]

@MrMoorkey It's a 1G maneuver.  It's pretty safe.

[mutleey]

both awsome planes,thanks 4 uploading,

[cybercow222]

nice plane, why this man can fly it only to the end of the runway ? i would allow it to fly ...

[hawkboy451]

As far as i know the electronics system is no longer deemed safe to use in the UK for health and safety reasons. They are still flown in South Africa though,no problem...

[FM77]

wonderful...thank you.

[hawkboy451]

Cheers mate, glad you like it ! The Lightnings/Vulcans at the Finningley UK Air-show used to make me scream and cry as a child. I later learnt to love their noise, speed and stink of the jet fuel LOL ;-)