Lightning storm

A depiction of an RAF Lightning interceptor powering out of lightning flashes and stormy clouds. The English Electric (later BAC) Lightning was a brilliant example of British engineering whose performance was ahead of its time, although it was limited by its fuel capacity.

I showed this to former RAF fighter pilot Clive Rowley - who flew Lightnings operationally - who commented: "I was hit by lightning once in a Lightning, in cloud.

“I was recovering to Binbrook and coasting in over Spurn Point, on minimum fuel as always, for an instrument approach in thick cloud, when there was a bright flash and a loud bang, which was disconcerting to say the least.

“Being such a steam-driven, non-electronic aircraft, everything seemed to be functioning normally except the radar, which failed. After I had landed safely we discovered that the lightning strike had burned a hole in the radome in the nose air intake.”

I have a soft spot for Lightnings because when I was small my next door neighbour flew them, at RAF Middleton St George (now Durham Tees Valley Airport): which I am sure played a key role in sparking my lifelong interest in aviation.