Flying the English Electric Lightning | Air Marshal (Retd) Cliff Spink
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 03. 2022
- In this clip, Air Marshal (Retd) Cliff Spink shares his story flying the mighty English Electric Lightning which we filmed at Duxford, and as you can see there was plenty of activity that day!
This is a clip from Cliff's original interview which you can watch here - www.aircrewinterview.tv/cliff...
Help keep the channel going:
PATREON - / aircrewinterview
DONATE - www.aircrewinterview.tv/donate/
Purchase our Aviation Art Book, Volume One - amzn.to/3sehpaP
Visit our online shop: www.redbubble.com/people/acin...
Follow us:
www.aircrewinterview.tv/
/ aircrew_interview
/ aircrewinterview
/ aircrewtv
Original thumbnail photo by Ian Black - www.firestreakbooks.com - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I've always loved how the Lightning was this superlative aircraft that consistently pushed the limits and proved worthy of its name throughout its career, all the while looking like a child's drawing of a fighter jet!
I was brought up on a Lightning base in Germany. It was amazing as a little boy to have these beautiful aircraft screaming over our house. Just over a decade later I was fortunate enough to go up in one, something which remains a treasured memory.
So jealous!
I was also a childhood guest of the Station Commander at RAF Coltishall perhaps a few years before the Air Marshal was there when it was the Lightning OCU and was fortunate enough to be shown over various Lightnings and some of the other aircraft that were there then. Tempus fugit.
@@bill8784 so jealous
You are doing such good work documenting the lives of these airman. Hats off to you 👏
It certainly was worthy of its name.
I remember doing starter crews for Mr Spink on 111 squadron and two detachments to RAF Akrotiri the last just prior to the invasion. It was good to hear about his experiences on the lightnings they were definitely mean machines but they could be pigs to work on.
A colleague of my father was at Nicosia and gave my father a cassette tape recording, presumably from the tower, taken when the airport was shot up. Only problem was we didn't then have a cassette recorder.
Hello David, are you ex 217 Entry Cosford by any chance ?
@@zenzen9131 yes i was but failed the exams and passed out as a mechanic in 71
@@davidgrainger3431 This is Taff Horsell and it's good to see you agaain :)
Cliff authorised my work experience at Coningsby in 199(2?). Great time on the line and in the hush house, thanks Cliff!
Fascinating to listen to his experiences. It will always be an awesome plane just to look at.
One of the better Air Marshals .
Agreed
Very pleasant Cliff
Another fantastic interview, especially the high altitude stuff. Pleased to hear how well the Lightning did in DACT too!
Thanks Matt.
That is so very true, many of the front line aircraft are not difficult to fly, the hard part is operating the aircraft, particularly like EE Lightning with a single crew, factor in a pitch black night over the North Sea, it would certainly focus ones mind to the job in hand.
An aircraft that lived up to its name.
If one hits you, you die?
@@MostlyPennyCat, well, yes.
We do have a tradition of it… Spitfire, Meteor, Lightning, Tornado. Now, the Typhoon.
My favourite aircraft helped by growing up near RAF Binbrook, running there to watch from either crash gate take offs and landings. Saw Italian Starfighters and Lightnings chasing across the airfield in 1979, fantastic noise, probably an exercise. Later when the Lightnings were being retired while myself in the army I liberated ha hum a few parts from Lightnings laid up for the scrap man, RAF security was never much good lol did a few RAF base security checks... used to drink at the Blacksmiths Arms where many aircrew had many a lock in! Miss thoughs Great cold War aircraft in general and a good time in retrospect.
Such a fantastic chap!
My father was at wattisham on 111 as a radar technician leaving in 1972 to work for ferranti on aircraft going to Saudi Arabia.
Very interesting interview.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Great interview !
Great interview..
The Lightning Interceptor. With Russia able to cross Europe quickly 2 TAF was scrambled first followed by UK Very very capable of intercepting EXTREMLY quickly.
Basically a point-defense interceptor, the spiritual descendant of the Me-163. Exceptional performance, at the expense of very short range. Combat range was just150 miles. That's about ten minutes. The Starfigher, a plane from the same era with the same original role, had a combat range of over 400 miles.
Man knows his stuff
Indeed, having watched it I was driven to check my Kindle to see if he had written any books.
I missed the last couple Q&As, gutted, hope there's another soon!
Great interview Mike!
Thanks Eric.
And that icing on the cake: the SPITFIRE!!!
Great interview, I’d love to hear the story about the Turkish pilot
Definitely! I didn't know the Lightning could hit 70K+. That's crazy!
@@davidsmith8997 it is, I was shocked
@@davidsmith8997 one of them claimed all the way to 88,000+ a good video was done on it by Mark Felton czcams.com/video/8DdUwIhI-ZA/video.html it's really interesting
Great insight into the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. When I joined up we had a Corporal who had been shot in the neck when the Turkish Army arrived. He was in a sentry tower outside Nicosia at the time.
I was at the OCTU at RAF Henlow in 73, there many rumours flying around when the invasion took place, all sorts of ideas of how we would be used.
@@johngathard4717 Im sure that was an interesting time!
You never know with the Forces where you could end up.
My friends son was in the TA and won the chance to go on a RN ship (affiliated to his Regiment) in the Mediterranean.
This was when something bad broke out in the Lebanon and next thing his mother sees him on the BBC standing on the Dock with Helmet, Body Armour and rifle whilst there are bullets and shells and thousands of people trying to board the vessel!
She thought he was only going to the Med for a fortnight to drink Keo beer in Akrotiri!
I’d do it all again but probably in the RAF!!! All the best, Ian
When's Cliff returning for a Q & A Mike? Also Jeff Guinn!
We have never had Cliff on for a live Q&A, but I would love to. We will probably have Jeff on at the end of the year.
Ir was a beast
I joined up at 16 at RAF HALTON but I never made it to Air Marshal☹
Interesting that he says the Lightning outperformed the F-104, because the 104's time to climb record seems faster than the Lightning's.
Yeah ove noticed that alot of pilots that have flown both aircraft in a debate seem to have contrary opinions to Google search results. Like Okie saying the Typhoon wasn't a particularly great aircraft compared to the f14 ... but then those who have flown both say the Typhoon is the best 4th gen they've ever flown. Or that the tornado wasn't that fast but test pilots say the F3 Tornado was the fastest 4th gen. Well never know.
Performance is not climb rate, only.
So what did RAF do during the Turkish invasion? And what kind of life is now enjoyed by the people in the Turkish occupied territory? No matter how great of an aviation your guest is, it would be good to read all sides story. Peace :-)
My uncle was a QRA Lightning pilot, then converted to the Jaguar before retiring.
I grew up with the stories...
Now he can bearly speak... Altzheimers is cruel.
Sorry to hear that but what a great career he has had.
It looked mean, it looked fast and it looked.... Pregnant?
what if it had only one engine