tweeky

5 Years on 5F Sqn some things stick in the mind.

Great build, But The Lightning F3 & F6 had different Ailerons/wing tips the F3 Ailerons included the wing tips they also had a control horn further inboard. Also had different Nav Lights Too.

could it be a baggage pod ?

before they get display authority it will be green with standard white helmets once they get the authority it will be red.

The Guy in the back is ground crew and will be in a blue overall with the standard white with Red Arrow on the helmet.

The Lightning`s initial war role was to intercept the incoming Russian bombers, at distance to try to protect the V-Force airfields allowing them to get airborne.

We have to decide on what a fighter is for starters. The Hawker Hunter was ground attack. The EE Lightning was never designed to be a fighter (although it didn't do to bad at it) it was designed purely as an interceptor

i think the intake came off too. any good ?

I`ve been in touch with the LPG historian The F3A were known as F6`s in Sqn service. I didn't think I'd heard F3A whilst I was at Binbrook.

The Lightings were used as trials aircraft for the A/S grey schemes that`s why they are so many variations.

Way back in 84 we had a Lighting have a flash fire between the centre ventral and the skin to fix this we had to drop the no1 engine and pull both the No 1 reheat and inter pipe. On the Ground runs post refit we set fire to a good 70mtrs of scrub !!!

The Tornado was a dream to work on compared to the Lightning the only job on Tornado that I can remember being in the Lightning terms of difficulty was Pyro clean on the L/H Donk (Engine). As for leak checks on Ground runs give me the Tornado engine doors any day.

Errr pardon !!! I never had to used the Tie down it had been binned well before my time on the Beasts. Ear defenders helped. The worst thing was sitting on the tail plane with a torch (flashlight for those over the pond) tied to your wrist, waiting to leak check the the reheat fuel supply when reheat was selected, this was a flexy type hose that went solid when the fuel flowed. All this within three feet of the back of the jet. When reheat was selected and running full reheat there was a small vacuum created this is why tools were tied to your wrists. the best bucking bronco ever.

Its actually the trestling point for the rear of the aircraft used when the No 1 engine is removed also when the radar bullet is removed. The reason it extends up rear fuselage is, when Ground running the engine on the Reheat pan there was a tie-down point that used a metal band that was to be placed within the lines this band was attached to the ground the main reason to stop the jet kicking and jumping the spiked chocks. There was some concern that with the power of the reheat it could bend/stress the rear of the aircraft so the practice was stopped but the marking never changed. We were only allowed to to run one engine in reheat at a time so if it was a double reheat run the aircraft would be subjected to twice the stresses if the tie-down was used.

bleeding speed off mainly during a fight.

Most combat aircraft bases in the UK and abroad would have been equipped RHAG and barrier.

Not mine first job on arrival tool stores for a fortnight then brake chute fitting.

A some of those "Intakes" were designed to suck fluid form the Engine, inter pipe and Reheat bays dumping the fluid overboard. The two Naca ducts on each side just ahead of the tail planes is reheat cooling. The one at the base of the fin is for cooling the ATGB (Air Turbine Gear Box). The one on the Port side (many people mistake as the APU exhaust) is the exhaust for the ATGB. The on on the underside front of the Mk F2a and the F6 ventral tank is No1 engine bay drain.

The missile must be anchored to the launcher otherwise it on take off and landing (because they do land with these Regularly) the missile would move. @Selwynas an ex plumber yourself, how is a Winder secured to the launcher? As for pulling I was thinking more on the winders rocket motor pushing (yaw). are you familiar with Newtons laws ? "To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction; or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts."

I think it is, its not dropped like a Skyflash the rocket motor fires then the Missile move down the launcher.

i would imagine firing a single winder might make the jet spin

The twin tail codes didn't come in to being at Binbrook until late 1980 there was rumor's that the station commander was due to fly with one of the sqns and jumped into the wrong aircraft and took it flying, the confusion came when the two jets marked "A" were parked next to each other. The third Binbrook biased lightning Sqn was going to ne 74 Sqn but that died a death not long after I got to Binbrook Late 1980. Serial no XR754 for example was on 5 sqn during the 84 as AE and stayed with us till the Sqn folded, She then it became BC and the mount of Ian Black

KC135 and the Awacs must be close.

Two white lights came one when the power was applied one for AC and one for DC.

They had an angle offset built in to so on ejection they didn't occupy the same part of sky.