4 ms·
While on summer camp as a university cadet in the early 1980s, I was fortunate to fly (as a passenger, of course) in the training variant of the Lightning from
by strongai 11y ago
While on summer camp as a university cadet in the early 1980s, I was fortunate to fly (as a passenger, of course) in the training variant of the Lightning from Binbrook, in Lincolnshire, one of their operational bases.
It has always been hard for me to recall cohesive memories of the flight. In the space of about 3 hours, and as a wet-behind-the-ears 18 year old, I was rushed through ejection seat training, sea survival training, flight suit checks, oxygen mask fitting and the flight itself. I think I also had to be squeezed into an immersion suit - the flight was over the North Sea.
As we taxied out to take off, the prevailing wind and the geometry of the airfield meant that we had to pass the rest of my cadet group as they sat outside in the sun in deckchairs, watching flight operations. I gave them a confident thumbs-up and we were off.
It turned out that I would be the only one of us to get a ride in a Lightning during that summer camp (I'd won the draw that made me the first to go) - some combination of weather and aircraft availability.
Edit: typo
- crdb 11y agoAmazing! How did it compare with what you had been flying until then? Did you fly any other jets since?
- strongai 11y agoHeh. We were there in the summer vacation to boost our flying hours on Bulldogs - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Aviation_Bulldog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Aviation_Bulldog. I had joined the cadets relatively recently and so, as it happened, my first solo occurred during that camp also. Because the Lightnings were using the main runway, we were using a parallel grass strip, and flying mirrored circuit patterns. On my solo trip (really just a flight around the airfield) a Lightning passed next to me on its approach and caught me in its wake, flipping me onto my side. Exciting but no drama - I just went around again. After uni I did sign up as an RAF pilot, but circumstances (and my own fundamental lack of aptitude) conspired against me and I flunked the course (just) before getting my wings. Welcome back to civvy street!