English Electric Lightning.

[zeitghost]

Watched Brian Cox's prog last night.

He flew in an English Electric Lightning to 60,000ft to demonstrate the curvature of the Earth and the thin blue line of the atmosphere.

Spectacular aircraft for 1959.

We did good stuff in those days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Electric_Lightning

Not to mention Blue Streak and Black Arrow.

Lions. Donkeys. Doomed. Etc.

And

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Electric_Canberra

was used by the Septics for spy flights before they thought of sticking ridiculously long wings on the Starfighter.

[Cliphead]

Watched Brian Cox's prog last night.

He flew in an English Electric Lightning to 60,000ft to demonstrate the curvature of the Earth and the thin blue line of the atmosphere.

Spectacular aircraft for 1959.

We did good stuff in those days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Electric_Lightning

Not to mention Blue Streak and Black Arrow.

Lions. Donkeys. Doomed. Etc.

TSR2

I still have bits of one.

[Durbs]

I saw that, v.impressive. Said max height 60,000 but actual flight ceiling for the Lightning 'classified'.

Wondered who the guy was at first and thought he seemed a n0b but i warmed to him by the end. Good program.

Seeing that vertical takeoff though . I'd have lost my lunch there i think!!!!

[OwlHoot]

Watched Brian Cox's prog last night. ...

I can't watch the guy for more than a few minutes. His window-licking mong-like grin irritates me too much after a while, which is a shame because what he covers is intrinsicly very interesting and I'm sure he's a nice guy.

[Mich the Tester]

I can't watch the guy for more than a few minutes. His window-licking mong-like grin irritates me too much after a while, which is a shame because what he covers is intrinsicly very interesting and I'm sure he's a nice guy.

I think his grin comes from genuine enjoyment of his subject. I wish there were more science teachers like him.

[moorfield]

His window-licking mong-like grin irritates me too much after a while,

He's good but so overused by the BBC now as it's "Face of Physics" that alas he has become a tad irritating.

The Scottish guy doing the geology stuff a few weeks back was good, genuinely interesting and passionate about his subject.

[DaveB]

I saw that, v.impressive. Said max height 60,000 but actual flight ceiling for the Lightning 'classified'.

Wondered who the guy was at first and thought he seemed a n0b but i warmed to him by the end. Good program.

Seeing that vertical takeoff though . I'd have lost my lunch there i think!!!!

In 1984, during a major NATO exercise, Flt Lt Mike Hale intercepted an American U-2 at a height which they had previously considered safe from interception. Records show that Hale climbed to 88,000 ft (26,800 m) in his Lightning F 3 XR749.

Which must have annoyed the sceptics.

[TimberWolf]

Ah, a great series. Methane rain on Titan. Methane functions there much as water does here, existing in solid, liquid and gaseous form. Trouble with Titan, even though it has a not too uncomfortable atmosphere, the air is quite deadly.

[TimberWolf]

Only if you're a water based carbon life form that breathes oxygen.

Methane breathers are quite happy.

We aren't sure if there are any yet. There are supposedly bodies in the solar system that could support some of our terrestrial bacterial extremofiles though, which I find stagbgering. Don't recall if Titan is included.

[Gibbon]

Lightnings, very impressive as a man guided rocket, FA real use as warplane.

It only carried 2 early generation heat seeking missiles, and couldn't intercept low flying targets very well as it only had a pulse radar.

The Phantom F4 was a massive improvement, but not as much as TSR would have been. 8 missiles and a pulse doppler radar.

If we'd still had carriers that could accomodate them in 1982 the Argie air force would have toast.