English Electric Lightning - Cape Town - South Africa

[@PaulNurse1]

There is just 7 years between the end of Spitfire production and the start of Lightning production - Amazing machine

[@jacktattis]

And the US were way behind until they coerced Britain to give them the results of the Miles 52 project

[@jacktattis]

Oh and stopped Britain from going ahead with it Great Allies my arse they are

[@markmcculloch2570]

Now now boys

[@jacktattis]

@@markmcculloch2570 Why? it is about time that the American viewers realise that in 1945- 1950 the UK was ahead of the US in jet and trans-sonic technology

[@BrotherPaul877]

That's a serious leap

[@coolhand1964]

The Lighting is such an awesome looking aircraft. Painting it in gloss black just makes it evil and awesome. Well done to the restoration team.

[@altaylor3988]

The Lightening.... The Beauty and the Beast... Beautiful Beautiful Aircraft

[@thenativemartian5169]

The lightning is still one of the most beautiful pieces of engineering in my opinion

[@nelsonwhaley6348]

Agree completely

[@johndavid5618]

Jip.Mate you are spot on. 👋

[@arthurbaldwin1804]

I used to dream of flying one of these when I was a schoolboy. They look just as good now as they did in 1962. British engineering at its best.

[@yousausage]

It would look so much better without it's saggy fuel belly. Once seen it cannot be unseen.

[@raywhitehead730]

While, I loved watching hem fly, the Lightning was a maintenance nightmare. Many long hours of hard work to.keep it flying.

[@pdt7991]

I was fortunate to witness 2 of these wonderful aircraft putting on a display a few years ago, at an Airshow at Ysterplaat. This was when Thundercity was still in operation before Dave Stock's fatal accident at Bredasdorp. There were a number of British tourists, that flew all the way to Cape Town, just to see the Lightning perform. The smiles on their faces when the 2 went supersonic over Cape Town is something I'll never forget.

[@RB28v]

I remember that. There were so many complaints about the Sonic boom. I also remember him taking off, getting to 400 knots where the old cooling towers were and then going vertical with afterburner, to break the climb record. What a sight

[@robinhaines4960]

I remember watching 16 of them flying in formation at RAF Coltishall in, I think, 1968.

[@damiannewell458]

@@RB28v It was 600kts!

[@davidfrancis7515]

One of the most superbly engineered aircraft and very underrated for its advanced design

[@griffith500tvr]

I know nearly all jets that ever existed, this is my favourite

[@fje1948]

Retired Airline Pilot B737 Airbus 340 - British engineering, ahead of its time and an absolute beauty. Thank you for this video!

[@Wonkabar007]

Well done to the team, for getting the Lightning back in the air again.

[@southernpilot]

It's amazing what you can do with money.

[@Wonkabar007]

Vince Smith That's what I would spend my money on if i won the Lotto, a Veyron just can't compete with a English Electric Lightning ;)

[@helendale4698]

Wonkabar007 mind you it does make the Veyron appear thrifty :-)

[@Scoobydcs]

Wonkabar007 veyron does 0-200 mph in 20 seconds lightning does 0-200 mph in 12!!!

[@helendale4698]

It would be my choice out of those 2 options as well; but have to admit that a veyron might be a better option for popping to Sainsburys :-)

[@pdbritton6651]

I have to say that, as an ex 56 Squadron techie, the aircraft looks in better condition now then when we used to work on it. An amazing result for all concerned well done!

[@andrewbarrett2685]

The greatest jet fighter ever made simples.🇬🇧

[@tectorama]

So sad to hear that Mike Beachy Head passed away on Sunday (21st May). He brought so much pleasure to so many people. I wonder if we will ever see a Lightning in the air again ?

[@michaeltaylor8835]

Damm thats sad

[@michaeltaylor8835]

Wow what a shock

[@bobXV]

I was in the Cardinal at 3.11, saw, heard and felt the Lightning go by on the take off roll. Now everyone rushes out of the office when we hear it to watch it fly past. Incredible machine.

[@me1234-d7d]

I saw one doing a display in the 1960s doing a display over RAF Stafford, when it did its fly past over the crowd and the pilot stood it on its tail the heat on our faces in the crowd was incredible, i will never forget that day, well done GB.

[@Purrytat49]

Somethings to be proud off, 7 years after the last Spitfire! What an awesome accomplishment

[@fredtedstedman]

English Electric Frightning ! I can remember as a young kid . seeing the 9 ship formation team "the Firebirds " at Farnborough .

[@24934637]

Thank You for uploading the vid, and a massive Thank You to the team for keeping this beautiful piece of functional flying artwork in the air where it belongs! She looks absolutely stunning in that colour scheme! Long may she continue keeping everyone who sees her happy!

[@tectorama]

The video was from 2014

[@bobsurgranny]

Please send it over to the UK for the airshow season. Fly below the radar, so that the CAA don't see you ;) I wouldn't mind that.

[@stanleyhipkiss4690]

LeFookoffs are you sure i saw one at elvington air show maybe 6 or 7 years ago and its funny you mention the plane hurting your ears my dad said exacyly the same thing when he saw it parked up bought some ear defenders for when it did its fly by

[@inekemateman273]

Hell....., NO!

[@miscellaneous.7127]

Get all the taxiing Victors, Vulcans, Shackletons and Nimrods to bomb the CAA so they don't bother us anymore.

[@piensoyexisto]

Shure fall whithout fuel 30 minutes after TO.

[@robhowarth77]

I first saw the Lightning in the 1959 Observers Book of Aircraft and it utterly fascinated me , even up to today. It completely outperformed the expectations of the designer and manufacturer . Legendary aircraft !

[@StevenBaileyZurgena]

A fabulous, ear splitting machine which I was privileged to spend a bit of time with in the 60's (F3's). Standing on the flight line at R.A.F. Valley and watching one disappear vertically into oblivion is probably my best aviation memory.

[@Radio478]

As a recent song says you can't beat this

[@philliphall8792]

So ahead of it's time, another gem we British let the rest of the world have.

[@pof1991]

Well done in my opinion one of the worlds finest fighters of its time

[@jonathonohalloran935]

Absolutely fantastic that you've restored her, I was lucky to fly in her when she was our squadron T bird on 11 Squadron when I served with 11 Squadron air ops at Binbrook prior to the phasing out of the the Lightning. I was very lucky to get a couple of flights and nothing could ever get airborne the way the Lightning did. Thankyou

[@mickemms1085]

My dad is ex RAF, my dad used to take me to RAF Binbrook when i was a kid to watch these awesome aircraft take off, Memories.

[@noorislam9753]

Nice

[@bertvdlast]

@@mickemms1085 What a great memory that must be! I envy you.

[@johnboy14]

I can only imagine the conversation when someone suggested stacking the engines on top of eachouter.

[@chrismerkel9604]

She is beautiful. 3 cheers to the crew that got her back in the air.

[@salimnaji7517]

I went to South Africa for pilot training in PE Mike Beachyhead is one of my Heroes Only recently I learned of his passing RIP Thunderman

[@felixx321]

Overlaying and syncing the in cockpit to ground flyby views and sound is a really nice touch

[@rodsalvage7121]

Brings back memories. Used to work on these.

[@jeremybest9453]

My father was an aeronautical engineer specialising in the design, development and testing of landing gear and the Lightening was the first military aircraft he was involved with and it is still my all time favourite fighter plane.

[@Space-Affairs]

Well done that the Lightning is back in service! Congratulations!

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

Beautiful Thanks for saving her and getting her airborne once more 👍🏻

[@alangordon3283]

Raw performance and power. Awesome bird.

[@jecg8245938]

I was on 11 Sqn in the mid to late 80's. Amazing jets to work on and a great Squadron also. Miss those days.

[@davidfletcher2162]

My Dad was at Binbrook around the same time.

[@ukko2k]

Great to see ZU-BBD Lightning back in the air...... nice little vid - well done.

[@chrispritchard3775]

Our best jet fighter ever

[@TonyKitchen471]

Fantastic aircraft great to see one flying again Thankyou

[@Diwana71]

Very good looking plane. Unique design of twin jet engines put on top of each other.

[@andyirving2006]

Great to see and hear the Lightning flying again, living near BAe Warton I used to see these regularly in the 80s after they were retired from RAF service. Beautiful aircraft and a proper engine sound! It's a long way to travel to see it though, shame we will never see it in the UK again.

[@williamrance5086]

Hi Andy, I too live close to BAe Warton. In my lifetime I have seen the Canberra, TSR2, Lightning, Jaguar, Tornado and Typhoon flying low over my house - all of them great aircraft - but the Lightning stole my heart (and made me slightly deaf) Kindest regards.

[@jimtaylor2404]

William Rance must be noisy at yours ?

[@williamrance5086]

Jim Taylor Hi, Jim. Especially on Thursdays when BAe seem to do most of their flight tests. Although we get the civil flights going into Blackpool International as well. We get to see a few veteran aircraft flying air shows at Southport. Most of the noise comes from two local helicopters' - one, the Lancashire police helicopter, the other the air ambulance taking cardiac patients between the Royal Preston Hospital and Blackpool Victoria's Cardiac unit. We are on its flight path. For aircraft enthusiasts its a great place to live - not quite the exciting place it was a few years ago when the likes of the Nimrod and VC10 tankers came to 'town' for modifications - now its all history. On the bright side I guess we can look forwards to seeing the F35B and Taranis flying locally in the not too distant future, though we still get the Hawks, Tornado's and Typhoons - bye for now + Bill

[@MrLongbow1415]

Stunning aircraft. 2 x 30mm cannon to thirty thousand feet in seconds. Awesome.

[@woooster17]

Awesome! So good to see a Lightning back in the air...where it should be!

[@diggasworld]

We need to have one in the uk air shows!

[@overland-workshop]

The full story of this aircraft from its service in the RAF is in the documentary, Thunder and Lightnings. A small number of DVDs are available in the UK.

[@supremeleader5516]

Great

[@cosmickidd205]

Beautiful aircraft, love watching take off then go into a vertical climb.awesome.

[@johndavid5618]

""Man what a fine beauty. ♥️ 💪

[@AVMamfortas]

Marvellous. What a great job, guys. A BIG thank you.

[@overbank56]

It's great to see old jets like the EE lightning flying again

[@nigeldewallens1115]

I used to see the Lightening at English air shows! I just love this aircraft! I wish I could say to you all!! Well done for looking after it and for still keeping it flying! Fantastic!! Effort by you all!

[@Fordnan]

It looks so good painted black...

[@JacqueslemacFrance]

I used to live near RAF Coltishall. One day my dad and I cycled there to watch the planes take off. There were a couple of Tornadoes getting ready to take off. I stood behind them (a couple of hundred yards back, outside the fence, obviously!). Every time the Tornadoes increased their engine speed I thought my eardrums would explode. Eventually I thought I'd have to move as I couldn't cope with the noise. Then, a Lightning swooped down, almost touched the runway and then climbed away steeply. After it had done that, the two Tornadoes sounded almost quiet!

[@sgkingly8392]

Yup. I do that at RAF Coningsby watching the typhoons. After watching a F.6 Lightning do a fast taxi at Bruntingthorpe the typhoons sound quiet.

[@Antifaith29]

You should hear the F135 in an F-35. Easily the loudest thing I have ever heard. Im including F-18's in full afterburner and F-111's in Dump and burn. Both quite loud but the F-35 is just another level. Kind of Ironic for a LO aircraft but I guess sound doesnt really come into it. By the time you hear these things theyve already done what they need to do and are on the way home.

[@gravydavy4188]

Get yourself to Bruntingthorpe and watch a taxi run. They come past about 50 yds away on full reheat.

[@Tigermoto]

Now we need one in the UK, and a Buccaneer to go with our Vulcan. Dear Santa..... But seriously, massive congratulations!

[@paul1978g]

Would love to have a BAE Lightning in the skies over Britain, but the CAA won't allow it. The TL:DR is we don't have anything fast enough in service anymore to catch her if the pilot goes rogue and opens the taps.

[@Scoobydcs]

Paul Gamble the typhoon could but thats about it lol.

[@Tigermoto]

eatthisvr6​ And even that is close call. Both around Mach 2. But Eurofighter is said to be "Mach 2 class" whereas we know the Lightning could actually do Mach 2

[@Scoobydcs]

Lee Butterworth top speed isnt the issue, there are quite a few mach 2 planes around but very very few could match a lightnjng in a drag race, typhoon su27 and probably f22 could but very little else!. Even to this day more than 55 years after it entered service its STILL 1 of the most brutal airplanes ever to fly!

[@Tigermoto]

eatthisvr6​ Wouldn't doubt it for a second fella. Never flown in my life. Yet this baby is one of my favourite aircraft. Wasn't trying to dump on your comment. Just join in the conversation.

[@gemmayates1375]

Awesome time piece, a slice of history, I would imagine the cost if keeping it flying is off the chart

[@killercrabman]

Good on you guys. Looks and sounds beautiful.

[@hannahprents236]

Epic to all you guys. The best of the best.

[@Cobraguy321]

Amazing aircraft. I was based at Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Hatfield Herts UK. We originally had two lightnings based there for air to air missile testing. To watch them take off left you in awe.

[@brucebagley9871]

worked with these beautiful aircraft while in the RAF fire/rescue service in binbrook/akrotiri. massive soft spot for them!!!!

[@malcolmbrown153]

What a fantastic plane that is.

[@techstepman]

what a beauty! i didnt know there where 2seaters in this configuration!

[@richardtaylor9500]

British classic. Saw one at Gaydon Airshow in 1975 - it was stunning with the way it soared. Never forgotten it

[@Andrew-yb1uv]

What a beauty ... and a total BEAST.

[@chrismorton3064]

Love how you have some duct tape holding things down in the cockpit very British indeed! :D

[@SimchaWaldman]

Nice looking jet!

[@johndavid5618]

Still thee best till this day. Forever thunder City.

[@arthurmay167]

Awesome, so happy to see it fly again!

[@johnreed3638]

Always my favourite British Jet. Awesome takeoff.Remembering in the late 80s watching her outpace a Tornado over the North Sea,big style.

[@alexkay2026]

@Shaun Mclaren England is part of Britain - what are you talking about......?

[@JohnSmith-ei2pz]

@@alexkay2026 Liebour say no!

[@24bellers20]

Used to watch them leaving Binbrook. Lovely aircraft. Saw my first one heading out to sea over the East Yorkshire coast when I was about 10. Aaah. Nostalgia.☺️

[@aureliobrighton1871]

She to me is the most adorable thing ever gotten airborne ... even on the ground sublime elegance and almost smiling .. the E-Type of the Jetage . although I prefer less black along her lines :)

[@williamwilson6499]

Lucky enough to see one of these fly back in 1986...walking around Bishop Thornton I heard a jet engine and looked up to see a Lightning passing overhead.

[@Antifaith29]

What an incredible aircraft. And to think of it's age is just astounding. Yes we have all kinds of computers and sensor fusion , DAS, high off boresight missiles, AESA and all of that now but it seems weve not gotten any faster. Perhaps its not needed now I'm not going to pretend I know why but as an interceptor there wasnt much ( except perhaps the Mig 25) that could out run it then and as far as I know there's nothing now. Really impressive.

[@lucythfirestar4452]

love the light ning its nuts

[@raymondyee2008]

From last update online: “Hangar 51 Aviation, which operates some aircraft in South Africa at Port Elizabeth, purchased a handful of the ex-Thunder City airframes in late 2021, however, ZU-BBD remains unsold”.

[@NeilHarris-gf4ew]

Awesome airplane, i remember the raw power, one of our best interceptors, love it.

[@Tubetopfan1]

Besides being such an elegant and kick-arse aircraft, I like it because it is probably the only plane with engines stacked one on top of the other and where the auxiliary tanks are on top of the wing rather than below it. I wonder-did they go inverted when they dropped these tanks?

[@sirius1935]

+Tubetopfan1 I never flew one with the tanks fitted but I seem to remember that they did not jettison. If you needed to get rid of the fuel you pulled a lever which fired a detonating cord which blew the back of the tank off and the fuel vanished. However a Lightning didn't need to get rid of that weight even if it suffered an engine failure, so probably the above never happened.

[@markedwards9580]

fantastic job

[@stephenthomson2196]

i grew up these as a kid in Germany cracking plane and great to still see it airborne

[@jaguar113provence7]

Legendary aircraft !

[@stargazeronesixseven]

😊🙏 First learned about the English Electric Lightning Jet Fighters from the Airfix model catalogue in the 1970s ... Still a command respect old Jet Fighter indeed! 🙏🌷🌿🌏💜🕊🇬🇧

[@mancuby6679]

Really amazing fighter !!! And it was veeeeery fast

[@otslave]

Beautiful!

[@guanjun1178]

Stunning.

[@danr5105]

On its Wikipedia page it is detailed how, in an 1984 NATO exercise the Lighting beat the pants off an F-104 in 17 of 18 flight performance results (the low level supersonic speeds were "a dead heat"). Also, the Lighting performed ground controlled intercept's on a U2 at 65,000 ft.

[@Feedbackboy1]

...a thing of beauty and wonder.

[@bigend07]

Cant wait to see more of this plane

[@HeavensGremlin]

Great stuff. One ride that will never need pimping...!

[@HeavensGremlin]

WHAT an aircraft....!!!!!!!!!

[@andrewlambert7246]

How could an English lightning aircraft find its way to South Africa?

[@eleventy-seven]

Amazing team. All in for the pilot. My hats off to all of them.

[@stewsretroreviews]

Whats happening with these lightnings at the moment? would have loved to see them in the air again.

[@baskerville304]

Have done MANY engine changes on Lightnings, & have been through the Sound Barrier in a T5, when on 74 Squadron, in Singapore.

[@Georgeconna32]

Wow thats Fab, I have to start Saving up again!! Congrats.

[@TravellerYT]

Absolutely awesome aircraft. Is this not the one featured in the BBC documentary "Earth : The Power of the Planet". Big Like!

[@okrajoe]

Fascinating to see this project underway. Classic warbird.

[@nickboden5866]

Such a handsome beautiful aeroplane, great video. May I ask what the music is

[@daviddarrall9384]

Well ahead of its time! 😊 UK

[@caribman10]

I had planned to fly down to SA to fly in the T model Lightning until the accident. Damn shame.

[@phmwu7368]

Filmed at Thunder city - Cape Town international airport in South Africa... I believe this aircraft was lost in 2009.

[@RB28v]

It was ZU-BEX which was a silver T5. This one has recently been bought, with the rest of the fleet, and is getting restored to flying condition

[@phmwu7368]

@@RB28v R.I.P. pilots Mike Beachy Head (May 2017) and Dave Stock (Nov 2009) 🧐

[@igorcooper7890]

3:55 Russian IL-76

[@TheSuziesue]

What’s been happening with that plane recently

[@Radio478]

Don't give up

[@nkj3985]

Reassembles Mig 21 because of similar Nose and air inlet around.

[@charliebowman785]

I've read that Thunder City is no longer in operation but this video is published on January 2014. Could somebody tell me what it is the current status for operation of Thunder City please? Thks.

[@DaveDave65]

Hi Charlie, Another T5 belonging to Thunder City apparently crashed in 2009. It was attributed to hydraulic failure & the pilot died due to a malfunction in the ejector seat. The subsequent SA CAA investigation found flaws in maintenance programs at Thunder City & they ceased flying in 2010. In 2012, 3 Lightnings, 3 Buccs & 4 Hunters were offered for sale. The aircraft that crashed was not the T5 in this video - different registration. Sad though it is, I hope this helps

[@nathanmavris3269]

They were selling the planes though

[@RB28v]

They have just been bought by a company called Hangar 51. Apparently they are all getting restored to flying condition.