Lightning Aden cannons firing at a banner ...
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Lightning Aden cannons firing at a banner ...
Does anyone have a video clip from an EE/BAC Lightning of Aden cannons firing at a banner?
A clip posted on YouTube would be ideal. Particularly so, if the pipper drifts towards the spreader bar and shoots the flag off the tow wire.
RB2
A clip posted on YouTube would be ideal. Particularly so, if the pipper drifts towards the spreader bar and shoots the flag off the tow wire.
RB2
I remember a Boss of mine telling us of having to send 1 slab of beer to the Canberra crew for every frame the Canberra appeared in his gun camera film.
There were several.
Reasons to fly fighters: #92 in a series of several million. You never tow banners.
There were several.
Reasons to fly fighters: #92 in a series of several million. You never tow banners.
And the banners that shoot back.
Charlie Chan had to eject from his Lightning at Akrotiri in July '87 after a bit of the banner mechanism he had just shot at was ingested by his No 1 engine. Thrust was also lost on No 2 forcing him to bang out.
Charlie Chan had to eject from his Lightning at Akrotiri in July '87 after a bit of the banner mechanism he had just shot at was ingested by his No 1 engine. Thrust was also lost on No 2 forcing him to bang out.
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Working out of Bacon Grill Hill and being underneath it in its final moments, I remember that one quite well.
edit: Not its immediate final moments!
edit: Not its immediate final moments!
Last edited by Al R; 11th Jan 2012 at 10:22.
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Ref post #6 – Akrotiri Lightning ejection
The IWIs were always reminding adventurous (and some daft) fighter pilots to fly a descending "S" curve into the firing position on the banner.
Clearly a low angle off was hairy for the towing pilot, but a climbing approach made the firing aircraft vulnerable to a banner coming off. Keeping a flight profile above the banner horizontal datum mitigated any collision probability and allowed a shot off banner to pass below the firing aircraft - as seen in many exciting gun camera frames.
Please tell us more about the Charlie Chan Akrotiri ejection – and the BOI – if there was one.
Clearly a low angle off was hairy for the towing pilot, but a climbing approach made the firing aircraft vulnerable to a banner coming off. Keeping a flight profile above the banner horizontal datum mitigated any collision probability and allowed a shot off banner to pass below the firing aircraft - as seen in many exciting gun camera frames.
Please tell us more about the Charlie Chan Akrotiri ejection – and the BOI – if there was one.
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shell holes
After a multi lightning gunex with few holes in the banner Nig Randall asked the boss of an Akrotiri squadron if he knew our banners were much the same size as barn doors. Big frown
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I had just moved to 'Tatty Ton' from Binbrook when the Charlie Chan incident happened. If I recall correctly it was during the last Lightning APC (I stand to be corrected).
Did my first APC on the Ton with 43 Sqn shortly after (nicknamed the 'Barn Door Det' for some reason)
Great memories of APCs from both the Lightning and Canberra side.
I notice at the bottom of the BOI report 'Claims for vines'. Over the years the locals had more free banner rope (900ft lengths) for their vineyards than you can shake a stick at Never satisfied some people.
Did my first APC on the Ton with 43 Sqn shortly after (nicknamed the 'Barn Door Det' for some reason)
Great memories of APCs from both the Lightning and Canberra side.
I notice at the bottom of the BOI report 'Claims for vines'. Over the years the locals had more free banner rope (900ft lengths) for their vineyards than you can shake a stick at Never satisfied some people.
Last edited by C130 Techie; 11th Jan 2012 at 20:03.
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Ah, happy memories at Tac Weapons of scouring the banner for evidence of even the slightest glancing blow of ones coloured rounds a after a session of sqeeze, dagger dagger, oh bugger, up and over. Do they still fire on the banner in the Air Force?
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To be fair to the gun-firers, the original mounting of the Aden cannon in the F6 was truly terrible. It was so flimsy that someone worked out that the gun must surely be moving around in an undesired way when it was fired, and they were right. IIRC some high-speed photography at Shoeburyness or somewhere confirmed it - the rounds were leaving the muzzle in a sizeable cone spray pattern.
So in the mid 1970s a mod came out to stiffen the gun mountings. The engineers didn't publicise it, they just got on with it when the kits were issued, but the results against the banner were suddenly so much better that the IWIs descended on the engineers demanding to know what we were doing differently. And making sure we didn't stop.
So in the mid 1970s a mod came out to stiffen the gun mountings. The engineers didn't publicise it, they just got on with it when the kits were issued, but the results against the banner were suddenly so much better that the IWIs descended on the engineers demanding to know what we were doing differently. And making sure we didn't stop.
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C-130,
I think you're correct. We had a call through on the ground net to say that a jet was in trouble and (I ask myself if memory is playing tricks with me), the jet just glided in. It was slow and shallow enough that we heard clattering and banging sounds coming from the cockpit area. I think the engine was (in aviation equiv mode!) coughing and spluttering and there was the sound of whining from it. It was very eerie. I think the pilot landed in the quarry area; could be wrong about that mind.
I think you're correct. We had a call through on the ground net to say that a jet was in trouble and (I ask myself if memory is playing tricks with me), the jet just glided in. It was slow and shallow enough that we heard clattering and banging sounds coming from the cockpit area. I think the engine was (in aviation equiv mode!) coughing and spluttering and there was the sound of whining from it. It was very eerie. I think the pilot landed in the quarry area; could be wrong about that mind.
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Kato Crash
I was on 11 Sqn and had just come back from Cyprus when Kato had his accident- The aircraft was XR763 AP - painted Light grey!- i don't recall 100% the exact details but from memory the bottom part of the spreader bar was like a metal wheel this flew off and went down the intake taking out the Number 1 engine- Charlie did an amazing job to get the aircraft back to dry land ( I've never really asked him how it flew) But finally the other engine gave up and he banged out- from memory again it crashed near the Akrotiri saddle club - think so and i do recall when i went back on the F3 the fin was mounted in concrete near the crash site- Kato was the last RAF pilot to bang out with Dick Coleman being the last from the RAAF - Hope that helps SF
