Aviation_News_2017-03

M

y affection for the English

Electric Lightning started at the

1971 ‘Wings over Merseyside’

air display at Liverpool Airport

when I was 15 years old. It was a sunny,

May Saturday with not a cloud in the

sky, and the  rst programmed item was

the Lightning. I had not seen one take-

off before and didn’t realise the all-silver

 ghter would perform its party trick – the

rotation take-off. The aircraft blasted down

the runway, hardly climbing, tucked up

THE LAST

LIGHTNING

SHOW

Brian Hodgson recalls an historic event that was a fi tting farewell

to the charismatic Lightning, despite rain and low cloud.

RAF BINBROOK – AUGUST 22, 1987

50 Aviation News incorporating Jets March 2017

LIGHTNING SPECIAL

TALES FROM THE LOGBOOKTALES FROM THE LOGBOOKTALES FROM THE LOGBOOK

...

TALES FROM THE LOGBOOK

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50-54_lightning_talesDC.mfDC.mf.indd 50 02/02/2017 18:18