Stennis International Airport, Kiln Mississippi
The Cold War was a fascinating period for military aircraft development and has always intrigued me. The tensions between NATO in the west and Russia in the east fueled a massive arms race on either side, with the Soviet Union looking to one-up the competition, the United States or Britain. The order of the times was fast and powerful supersonic jets armed with missile weapons that could fend off Soviet nuclear-equipped bombers.
In the 1950s, Great Britain needed an interceptor to stop a significant nuclear bomber threat from the Soviet Union and protect its bomber force. The Royal Air Force chose the English Electric Lightning, which would become one of the most iconic interceptor fighters ever. The Lightning entered service with the Royal Air Force in May 1960 and served as a front-line fighter until the 1980s. The Lightning possessed an excellent rate of climb, a high service ceiling, and Mach two speed. Pilots describe the Lightning as "being saddled to a rocket." Today, the Lightning is the only Mach two capable fighter aircraft produced by Great Britain.
The lightning is an exotic-looking machine with many unique features. The aircraft had a vertical configuration of its two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engines within the fuselage and a large air intake on the nose. Unlike any aircraft of its time, it had a radical shoulder-mounted wing that swept to sixty degrees. The lightnings configuration was completed with an all-moving rear tailplane mounted to the bottom of the sleek contoured fuselage.
Out of 300 Lightnings built, only a few remain able to Taxi, and as of yet, only one is in flying condition. The Anglo-American Lightning Organization (AALO) Lightning422 project is restoring an English Electric Lightning T5 (XS422), a two-seat model, to flight. In April 2020, Stennis International Airport hosted an open house, allowing visitors a close look at this British aircraft legend of the Cold War. To see this powerful supersonic interceptor in flight would be a sight to see and not an experience you should miss.
Website: www.lightning422.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lightning422/
Youtube: Lightning422
The lightning was only supposed to have a service life of 8 years. However, forty years after the aircraft design was created at the beginning of the cold war, the Lightning survived to see its end towards the late 1980s.
As of March 2021, XS422 was capable of fast taxiing down Stennis International Airport’s almost 8500 foot-long runway. This T-5 was formerly with the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, UK.
A unique feature of the Lightning's design is the vertical, staggered configuration of its two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engines within the fuselage.
The Lightning T-5 variant was developed as two-seat side-by-side training version, which only 22 production aircraft were built.
The lightning design was completed with an all-moving rear tailplane mounted to the bottom fuselage.