Interesting lightning vid
Discussion
https://youtu.be/8DdUwIhI-ZA
I never realised they could go so high 88k ft!!!
Love the YouTube comment.... They only fitted wings to keep the nav lights apart.
I never realised they could go so high 88k ft!!!
Love the YouTube comment.... They only fitted wings to keep the nav lights apart.
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
Hmmnnnnn.......there is still much conjecture about that 88k level claim in UK skies even among WIWOL's. Its not in dispute that the U2 was intercepted.
Brain Carroll while with the RSAF and Dave Roome when with 74 in Singapore claimed 85k ish zoom climes out in the tropics. But it was very iffy to be at that level without a pressure suit, which is why there is some conjecture about these levels...especially in UK skies.
The guy making the video got his facts wrong with the 1960's U2 intercept claim by using a F.53, which is wrong as the F.53 was the export version of the Lightning for Kuwait and Saudi. New operated by the RAF and not even existed at the time.
aeropilot said:
Hmmnnnnn.......there is still much conjecture about that 88k level claim in UK skies even among WIWOL's.
Its not in dispute that the U2 was intercepted.
Brain Carroll while with the RSAF and Dave Roome when with 74 in Singapore claimed 85k ish zoom climes out in the tropics. But it was very iffy to be at that level without a pressure suit, which is why there is some conjecture about these levels...especially in UK skies.
The guy making the video got his facts wrong with the 1960's U2 intercept claim by using a F.53, which is wrong as the F.53 was the export version of the Lightning for Kuwait and Saudi. New operated by the RAF and not even existed at the time.
Shame it might pilots spinning dits exaggerating the height... Above 80 is still impressive though. Its not in dispute that the U2 was intercepted.
Brain Carroll while with the RSAF and Dave Roome when with 74 in Singapore claimed 85k ish zoom climes out in the tropics. But it was very iffy to be at that level without a pressure suit, which is why there is some conjecture about these levels...especially in UK skies.
The guy making the video got his facts wrong with the 1960's U2 intercept claim by using a F.53, which is wrong as the F.53 was the export version of the Lightning for Kuwait and Saudi. New operated by the RAF and not even existed at the time.
My MILS cousin was a test pilot in the 70s 80s. Only see him at funerals and weddings so I'll see if he knows what the true story is. No more weddings due so hopefully won't see him too soon.
They do seem to be the stuff of legend... Much more so than any other RAF aircraft. I used to work with an ex- RAF engineer who worked on them... He used to tell us that they ran out of fuel before they stopped accelerating... Which we used to take with a very large pinch of salt.
ETA... had to look up WHAT WIWOL meant..
It sums up my old work mate nicely... Brilliant. The RAF equivalent of being on Conqueror when it sank the belgrano I guess.
Edited by take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey on Thursday 6th February 15:05
Edited by take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey on Thursday 6th February 15:06
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
I used to work with an ex- RAF engineer who worked on them... He used to tell us that they ran out of fuel before they stopped accelerating...
The old story of the question of when did a Lightning become fuel critical......The answer being just after the engines were started.......
They did burn through fuel, and often the fuel then caught light and burnt through the bloody aircraft....... but that was the nature of the design brief in the 1950's, as point defense interceptor.
An F.3 with the big engines and small ventral tank could be on fumes after a 10 minute flight if low level with lots of reheat used......there wasn't much left in a F.3 after a typical solo aero's display.
Watching some of those aircrew interviews one of them was a Lightning guy for a few years and he literally explains the process in his story of watching the fuel more than anything else, you had literally about 45 minutes or so before having to come back, even less sometimes. They also did a lot of low level stuff in Germany, but the Lightning was poorly equipped weapons wise for interception with fighters, the missiles were no match for the Yank stuff on the F4 and obviously that and the range limitation and a far poorer radar meant they were a bit of a show pony in reality.
Fabulous bits of kit, but not until later versions were they really any good for the job, if we had gone to war I expect they would have been largely bomber only and a lot would have been shot down.
Fabulous bits of kit, but not until later versions were they really any good for the job, if we had gone to war I expect they would have been largely bomber only and a lot would have been shot down.
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