EE Lightning Taking Off with reheat

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EE Lightning never use reheat when taking off in the standard take-off process right?
Is there any video in which Lightning took off with reheat? I can't find any on YouTube.

Thanks.
 
EE Lightning never use reheat when taking off in the standard take-off process right?
Is there any video in which Lightning took off with reheat? I can't find any on YouTube.

Thanks.
Here's footage of the Lightning taking off with afterburner (reheat) in the early-1960s RAF recruiting film, "Streaked Lightning" (posted by YouTube user Italianoboy UK).

There's a day launch at the beginning, and a night scramble that concludes the film (4min 30sec mark). The night takeoffs look like shooting stars ascending straight up. Quite the soundtrack, too...
 
EE Lightning never use reheat when taking off in the standard take-off process right?

Yes, it did. Optimum climb required burners on the takeoff roll. So maybe not for max endurance training missions, but for a QRA scramble, definitely.

I think reheat is on here:

 
One always hears about the Lightning's climb rate. Did it ever hold any time-to-height records?
 
EE Lightning never use reheat when taking off in the standard take-off process right?
Is there any video in which Lightning took off with reheat? I can't find any on YouTube.

Thanks.
Here's footage of the Lightning taking off with afterburner (reheat) in the early-1960s RAF recruiting film, "Streaked Lightning" (posted by YouTube user Italianoboy UK).

There's a day launch at the beginning, and a night scramble that concludes the film (4min 30sec mark). The night takeoffs look like shooting stars ascending straight up. Quite the soundtrack, too...

GROOOOOVY, DADDIO.
 
One always hears about the Lightning's climb rate. Did it ever hold any time-to-height records?

No, because they never actually let the FAI monitor any of their flights.
 
One always hears about the Lightning's climb rate. Did it ever hold any time-to-height records?

No, because they never actually let the FAI monitor any of their flights.

Why didn't they ever make any record attempts? They didn't seem to frown upon the practice pre-Lightning as the Brits held a lot of records previously.
 
Why didn't they ever make any record attempts? They didn't seem to frown upon the practice pre-Lightning as the Brits held a lot of records previously.

Combination of factors, from what I've read. One, they regarded the Lightning's time-to-climb as sensitive when the aircraft was new. Everyone understood it was very quick, but they didn't want to show off exactly how fast because it would help the Russians figure out what intercepts were possible and what were not. Also, a record campaign with a specially tricked out aircraft (a la Streak Eagle) would have been expensive at a time when money was short.
 
That and the Ministry of Aviation might not have been keen, they didn't seem overly supportive of the FD.2 record attempts for the speed record.
Probably was a missed opportunity for posterity however.
 
One always hears about the Lightning's climb rate. Did it ever hold any time-to-height records?
30 seconds from runway to 40,000 ft when competing with a F-15A. About half of the time that the F-15A used.
52 seconds from runway to 15,800 metres when competing with a Harrier.
According to a Chinese source.
 
Wikipedia (standard disclaimers apply) cites Lightning F Mk.6 Operating Data Manual. Warton Aerodrome, UK: English Electric Technical Services, May 1977 as saying:

Immediately after takeoff, the nose would be lowered for rapid acceleration to 430 knots (800 km/h) IAS before initiating a climb, stabilising at 450 knots (830 km/h). This would yield a constant climb rate of approximately 20,000 ft/min (100 m/s). Around 13,000 ft (4,000 m) the Lightning would reach Mach 0.87 (1,009 km/h) and maintain this speed until reaching the tropopause, 36,000 ft (11,000 m) on a standard day. If climbing further, pilots would accelerate to supersonic speed at the tropopause before resuming the climb. A Lightning flying at optimum climb profile would reach 36,000 ft (11,000 m) in under three minutes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Electric_Lightning#Climb_performance
 
Wikipedia (standard disclaimers apply) cites Lightning F Mk.6 Operating Data Manual. Warton Aerodrome, UK: English Electric Technical Services, May 1977 as saying:

Immediately after takeoff, the nose would be lowered for rapid acceleration to 430 knots (800 km/h) IAS before initiating a climb, stabilising at 450 knots (830 km/h). This would yield a constant climb rate of approximately 20,000 ft/min (100 m/s). Around 13,000 ft (4,000 m) the Lightning would reach Mach 0.87 (1,009 km/h) and maintain this speed until reaching the tropopause, 36,000 ft (11,000 m) on a standard day. If climbing further, pilots would accelerate to supersonic speed at the tropopause before resuming the climb. A Lightning flying at optimum climb profile would reach 36,000 ft (11,000 m) in under three minutes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Electric_Lightning#Climb_performance
You can just browse the Lightning F Mk.6 Operating Data Manual here.
 
30 seconds from runway to 40,000 ft when competing with a F-15A.

Mach 1.4 vertical? I find that more than a bit difficult to believe.

Translation:
RAF Lightning Squadron was once in a climbing and acceleration race with other aircraft. At first it climbed to an altitude of 40,000 ft (12,190 m) from taxiing within 30 seconds, defeating the F-15A "Eagle". Then it was going to challenge the Harrier but when the Lightning was still taxiing from the hangar to the runway, the Harrier had vertically taken off and climbed to an altitude of 3,000 m before the Lightning could take off. However, the Lightning soon caught up - reaching an altitude of 15,800 m after 52 seconds - and overlooked the Harrier 2,000 m below. (The Harrier got an excellent climbing performance and had a thrust-to-weight ratio over 1.0 when vertically taking off.)
In these two competitions, Lightning accelerated from 450 kph to sound speed with 20 seconds! Besides, in 1960s-1970s, the American U-2 high altitude reconnaissance aircraft often took part in various NATO exercises. This kind of "Black Spy" with a cruising altitude of 20,000 m always beset the airspace of eastern countries, and Lightning was the only interceptor in NATO that could easily "shoot down" the U-2.

source:"陈朴.十大生不逢时战机之四 明亮而无声的闪电[J].航空史研究,2001(07):25-29+50-52. "
(Author Name: Chen Pu. Article Name: The Fourth of The Ten Warplane Being Born at A Wrong Time - Bright But Silent Lightning. Journal Name: Aviation History Research. Time: 2001(07). Page: 25-29, 50-52.)
 

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In Farnborough 1962, a group of Lightning took off with reheat and went vertical climb after taking off. There was also a Lightning doing high-G low-radius turn at low altitude.
Just search "Farnborough 1962" in Youtube.
 
30 seconds from runway to 40,000 ft when competing with a F-15A.

Mach 1.4 vertical? I find that more than a bit difficult to believe.

Translation:
RAF Lightning Squadron was once in a climbing and acceleration race with other aircraft. At first it climbed to an altitude of 40,000 ft (12,190 m) from taxiing within 30 seconds, defeating the F-15A "Eagle". Then it was going to challenge the Harrier but when the Lightning was still taxiing from the hangar to the runway, the Harrier had vertically taken off and climbed to an altitude of 3,000 m before the Lightning could take off. However, the Lightning soon caught up - reaching an altitude of 15,800 m after 52 seconds - and overlooked the Harrier 2,000 m below. (The Harrier got an excellent climbing performance and had a thrust-to-weight ratio over 1.0 when vertically taking off.)
In these two competitions, Lightning accelerated from 450 kph to sound speed with 20 seconds! Besides, in 1960s-1970s, the American U-2 high altitude reconnaissance aircraft often took part in various NATO exercises. This kind of "Black Spy" with a cruising altitude of 20,000 m always beset the airspace of eastern countries, and Lightning was the only interceptor in NATO that could easily "shoot down" the U-2.

source:"陈朴.十大生不逢时战机之四 明亮而无声的闪电[J].航空史研究,2001(07):25-29+50-52. "
(Author Name: Chen Pu. Article Name: The Fourth of The Ten Warplane Being Born at A Wrong Time - Bright But Silent Lightning. Journal Name: Aviation History Research. Time: 2001(07). Page: 25-29, 50-52.)
Chen Pu is one of the most famous researchers on military aviation history in China. However I cannot find any other sources that mentioned the Lightning's "40,000ft in 30secs".
 

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