Newbie Audax question

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PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
ColinJ said:
My dad took me to an air display at RAF Gaydon when I were a lad. It was all very interesting until a boring bit when he told me to look up at the lightnings. Well, I didn't really see the point because there weren't any black clouds in the sky so there wasn't much chance of a thunderstorm.

I was staring up at the white clouds and wondering what the point of all this was when - KABANG - two English Electric Lightnings shot past each other from opposite ends of the runway, about 100 feet above my head and about 50 feet apart! ;)

I hadn't noticed them coming and to say that it gave me a fright would be grossly understating it - I was still shaking about 10 minutes later. It was an impressive stunt but if the pilots had got it wrong they would have killed hundreds of people in the huge crowd below them. I don't reckon that Health & Safety would allow it these days...


A friend of mine from the USAF always described Lightnings as "machines for converting jet fuel into noise"

Was once buzzed by a Tornado in "terrain following mode", not on that road though, somewhere in the wilds of Scotland. Even in a car the noise was un-f***king-believable.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Ah, the Lightning...

A friend told me a story once, apparently happened to a friend of his. This chap drove lorries for the RAF, and was watching a ground crew load a plane (presumably a fuselage only, it might have been after a hasty landing) on a flat bed truck once, and noticed they were doing something wrong, something about how they were strapping it down would damage it. They ignored his input, so he went and found the pilot, who raised hell, and thanked him for stepping in.

Some months, or it may have been years, later, he was in an airbase Mess, a bit down because his job had taken him away from home with no chance of getting back home for his wedding anniversary. The same pilot was there, and recognised him and said "I'm flying back up that way, I'll give you a lift...."

He was flying a two seat trainer Lightning... That's some lift!

If you have the cash, you can go up in one, in South Africa.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
Arch said:
Ah, the Lightning...

A friend told me a story once, apparently happened to a friend of his. This chap drove lorries for the RAF, and was watching a ground crew load a plane (presumably a fuselage only, it might have been after a hasty landing) on a flat bed truck once, and noticed they were doing something wrong, something about how they were strapping it down would damage it. They ignored his input, so he went and found the pilot, who raised hell, and thanked him for stepping in.

Some months, or it may have been years, later, he was in an airbase Mess, a bit down because his job had taken him away from home with no chance of getting back home for his wedding anniversary. The same pilot was there, and recognised him and said "I'm flying back up that way, I'll give you a lift...."

He was flying a two seat trainer Lightning... That's some lift!

If you have the cash, you can go up in one, in South Africa.

Ah, the Lightning...

Two engines with with two wings bolted to them with two i***ts strapped on top.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
You taxi for take off and look upwards. The sky is a nice skyblue colour.

You take off and start climbing. When you get your stomach back from your anus, you look up and the sky is a nice royal blue colour.

You level off. You look up and the sky is a nice navy blue colour.
 
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