Aviation_News_2017-03

its undercarriage and at the end of the

runway appeared to turn on a sixpence

before climbing vertically until it became a

small silver dot lost in the vast blue sky. It

showed the Lightning’s sheer power and

was enhanced by the sight and sound

of the  ghter’s afterburners. I have seen

hundreds, if not thousands, of displays since

that day but do not think any have made

such an impression.

The long thin fuselage, the length of the

pitot tube and swept-back wings gave the

impression the Lightning went faster than

anything else around.

The Lightning looked the part but by

the 1980s it had become dated and was

replaced by the Panavia Tornado F3 in

the air defence role. RAF Binbrook in

Lincolnshire was the last home of the

Lightning with 5 Sqn, 11 Sqn and the

Lightning Training Flight (LTF) based there.

My hopes of a  nal hurrah for the Lightning

were realised when it was announced the

station would hold an open day on Saturday

August 22, 1987, which was billed as ‘The

Last Lightning Show’. I was 31 years old

and it was difficult for me to get to an air eld

during the week because I worked in an

office. I relied on weekend airshows for

an aviation  x. RAF Binbrook didn’t open

its gates too often and this was a display

I was not going to miss, no matter what

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 51

TALES FROM THE LOGBOOK

...

Main photo (left): A highlight of the airshow

was the formation  ypasts by nine

Lightnings. All photos Brian Hodgson except

where stated

A Lightning Training Flight two-seat T.5 used for instruction.

This particular example  rst  ew on October 26, 1965 and today

can be found at Skegness Water Leisure Park in Lincolnshire.

An F-5E from the USAF’s

527th Aggressor Squadron

at RAF Alconbury in the

aircraft static park.

A wide range of RAF aircraft types were on show

including this Canberra TT.18 from 100 Sqn.

50-54_lightning_talesDC.mfDC.mf.indd 51 02/02/2017 18:18