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Burkina faso F.6b Lightning

Gekko_1

By Gekko_1
in What If Group Build

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Gekko_1 Very Obsessed Member

Gekko_1

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OK guys, here's the story to go along with the build and the final profile that I'm going to use.

BurkinaFasolowvisstory2.jpg

Amber and the Pumpkin.

Flight Lieutenant Evan Thomson hated being in Burkina Faso and didn’t particularly like flying for their Air Force. However the harsh reality of his situation was that if he was ever to be able to pay for a house for he and his fiancée Amber, then this opportunity was one he could hardly pass on. The ‘deal’ that the British Government, British Petroleum (B.P.) and the Burkina Faso Government had made meant that a twelve month deployment to Burkina flying the F.6 Lightning for the BFAF would see him come home with enough money for not only a down payment but a sizable amount of the house paid for too.

Flying he liked, who didn’t. The Lightning was exciting to fly. Demanding, but also very enjoyable, plus the new developments going on in Burkina meant that things were constantly evolving as the Air War progressed. It was the heat that he couldn’t handle. The constant, unrelenting, heat. When he climbed out of his Lightning on any given day, or night for that matter, his flight suit was always drenched in sweat. Shower facilities at FOB Djibo were basic to say the least, but, at least they had shower facilities!

Evan grew up in Redcastle near Inverness in Scotland and was much more at home in colder climates. Everything about Africa was alien to him. There was one thing about Africa that he did like though and that was the view when flying over it. Today’s flight would see him take BF8742 for a test flight with a newly fitted engine. Being in a war zone however meant that he would have to go armed, so had the standard fit of 2 Redtop air to air missiles and 30mm cannons, plus 2 overwing fuel tanks, just in case. His navigational destination for the flight was Mount Hombori, part of Mali’s Mopti Region and a very scenic part of Central Africa. The flight would be a 160 mile round trip and ‘should’ be pretty uneventful however the Soviets were known to be trying out new tactics where they would transport MiG-17s by truck to specially prepared makeshift runways and send them up for surprise harassment flights. So, he had to be careful.

Start up and take off were fine and unremarkable. The flight to Mount Hombori uneventful and somewhat peaceful. At times like this his mind always drifted back to Amber. She could appreciate why he was doing what he was, but missed him terribly. Evan could never quite be himself around all the bullshit and bravado that went on in the RAF and BFAF. He didn’t much care for it, preferring to just get on with things in his usual quiet professional manner. With Amber however he could just be himself. That was one of the first things he realised about her. She provided a place of tranquility for him; she was just so easy to get along with. The exact opposite of his flying career. Amber’s eyes were the first thing he noticed about her. She would just lock on to him with her eyes and he couldn’t look away. Evan could, at times, be quite shy around women he didn’t know very well, but with Amber that never happened. He could look into those eyes and instantly find peace. They had met in a supermarket one afternoon three and a half years ago and had been inseparable ever since. It was just one of those moments. Amber dropped a loaf of bread in the checkout queue, Evan picked the loaf up, Amber said ‘thank you’, their eyes locked onto one another and that was it!

“Grover, this is Catweasel, we are picking up unusual radio chatter over Southern Mali, could be a rogue MiG, heads up!” came the message from the Royal Navy Gannet AEW aircraft flying just South of the Burkina Faso boarder. This brought Evan back to reality with a jolt! He immediately headed for the deck. The camouflage scheme applied to his Lightning was extremely effective and on more than one occasion had proved its worth giving the coalition aircraft the one to two second advantage needed to get the upper hand in an aerial war zone.

“Roger Catweasel.”

Nothing was showing up on his radar, but that was nothing unusual either. The Soviet pilots understood well the limitations of their aging aircraft and knew that flying as close to the deck as possible could, in most cases; hide them from long range identification.

Evan could now see the huge mountain range looming up before him. This was his marker, time to head home. Turning sharp to starboard he rounded the mountain and that was when he saw it! A lone MiG-17 camouflaged in an intricate scheme similar to his own jet. He was so close that he could quite clearly see the pilot of the other jet as it streaked past.

This was something Evan was quite unprepared for. He was very low and was going too slow to engage the MiG, he needed speed so he threw the Lightning into reheat and climbed to 300 feet all the while looking back trying to spot the MiG. He’d lost sight of it!

“Catweasel, Grover engaging a lone MiG-17 need assistance!”

“Roger Grover, help is on way.” Said the calm female voice from the Gannet.

2 RAAF Mirage IIIOs and 2 Danish Drakens were supersonic and headed his way, but would they get there in time? Where had that MiG gone! Throwing his Lightning into a 7G port turn Evan headed back towards where he last saw the MiG. To his surprise his radar almost immediately picked up the MiG and his Redtop missile was emitting that telltale sound of a lock-on! Evan pressed the button on the control stick and away the Redtop shot, streaking towards the still unseen MiG. It was then that he saw it, it was in a sharp starboard turn towards him, but it never completed the turn. A bright flash told Evan that he had just killed the MiG. Almost simultaneously there was a second flash, that of an ejection seat, then a parachute. The pilot was out. Evan was happy. To kill the MiG was something worth celebrating; killing the pilot didn’t interest him though.

As Evan shot past the descending Soviet pilot, he could see that he was OK. Evan rocked his wings, banked to the right to watch the crash of the MiG and then headed south, back to base. Thirty seconds later he passed the Mirages and Drakens coming to his aid, they continued north hoping for some glory of their own. Evan knew that things back at the base would have been a hive of activity. It was the first kill of the air war for the Black Cats of Number One Squadron.

Sure enough the whole base was out to watch him land. He couldn’t help but grin. It was a good outcome, he was humble but pleased. Touchdown was textbook. He taxied to his spot, opened the canopy and shut down the engines. Dave, his Crew Chief was up the ladder quick smart.

“Alright Boss?” he asked as he applied a stencil next to the ejection warning triangle and sprayed a red star on ‘his’ jet!

“Yes, fine thanks Dave. That was bloody quick!”

“Yes Boss, I’ve been waiting for weeks to be able to apply one!” said the cheeky Yorkshireman, beaming from ear to ear.

Once Evan had climbed out of the Lightning and got his feet back on the ground it was handshakes all round. Evan didn’t much like attention, but he tolerated this. It was after all a pretty big deal for the Squadron. The Squadron commander was the last to shake Evan’s hand.

“Knowing you Evan I’d expect you’d be wanting to have a wee chat to one Amber Daniels before any pi**-up, am I right!”

“Yes Sir, I most certainly would!”

“Right then lad, let's get that sorted for you” and off the two pilots went. Evan stopped briefly, turned, looked at his Lightning, looked at the smiling pumpkin face and whispered ‘thank you’ then walked on to the hanger, to the phone, that would allow him to once again hear Amber’s voice. Though he’d never tell anyone there, that was more important to him that any air to air kill. Amber, was quite simply, his world.

Cheers

Richard.

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