I used to live in a Cape Town suburb from the early 80's through to the early 2000's and we were right under the flight path for the airport/air force base. In those days the South African Air Force was still operating the Shackletons, Bucaneers, albatrosses and other interesting types that would come over the house. It was hell trying to watch TV at night! As a military Vet who remembers seeing Hunters in real action in the 1970's, a special memory for me is of the Hawker Hunters of Thunder City flying over Cape Town and that "blue note" is something else to hear!

I had the pleasure of doing the 40-minute flight in ZU-BEX with Dave on 6 April 2004. WOW, it was absolutely amazing, a dream come true! What an awesome dedication to Mike and Dave.

@RB28v

2 жыл бұрын

That must have been an absolute treat. I remember seeing BEX do the climb record at Ysterplaat AFB in 2005, what a sight.

What a brilliant documentary. Many thanks for uploading it. 😊

No tornado, no vulcan, no lightning, no harrier could go on. All we got now is (minus the red arrows) a euro fighter and I didn't even get to see that at last years air show at Brighton. I really miss those days even in the mid 2000's. Looks like I need to travel to South Africa now! Need to start saving and hopefully my wife is OK with it.

@ASPWthenextjourney

2 жыл бұрын

Thunder City is no more. The planes are in a locked hangar, all up for sale.

I remember sitting in the lighting when I was a kid at thunder city was the best day ever.

I just came across the vlog! As a member of the public and having a love for the Lightening! That was just fantastic! Well done to the guys that have sadly passed on! R.I.P but thank you to all the guys that are I hope! Are keeping this wonderful collection flying! I loved your clip that you did as well! Thank you 👍😊😉

This world needs many more people like you.Absolute respect to you all and Rest in Peace Mike and Dave.I hope you have a 60' sweep on your angel wings.

I worked on Lightnings at RAF Coningsby back in the 80's,along with Phantoms - some years later I watched them working as chase 'planes for the Tornado,as it was being tested out of BAe Warton - Our pilots used to call the Lightning,a rocket with a cockpit - or the frightening on landing - Fantastic aircraft,defended us for years,and now can't fly in UK airspace - such gratitude - NOT !!

@richardvernon317

3 жыл бұрын

@LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH If the guy above worked on Lightnings at Coningsby, he would have been either a MT driver that drove the fuel bowsers or a Flight Line Mechanic at their Visiting Aircraft Section. Not the most highly trained people in the RAF. The RAF Lightnings were only based at Binbrook during the 1980's. I actually got to work on the Lightning as an ATC Cadet for a couple of days during a Summer Camp there in 1982, back in the good old day when Cadets were allowed to do such things. Learn a lot in those two day about how much they leaked fuel and OM15 Hydraulics oil all over the place, which was one of the reason the biggest cause of Lightning losses by far was the aircraft catching fire.

@JohnSmith-ei2pz

11 ай бұрын

@@richardvernon317 The Flems were retrained during the 1980's

I bought this on dvd a few years ago and I love it. Its a shame what happened to thunder city but Mike beachyhead had a vision and wow did he make it come to life. You did a great job of this Andrew. R.I.P Dave Stock and Mike Beachyhead.

@phmwu7368

Жыл бұрын

Indeed, in 2009 British physicist Brian Cox flew aboard ZU-BEX for the BBC series "Wonders of the Solar System" kzread.info/dash/bejne/o6ubyLdrYpvJnKg.html

@johndavid5618

3 ай бұрын

"Great memories of thunder city that will live forever. ❤️ ✌️

Excellent video for any aviation enthusiast...many thanks Andrew...

VETERAN SCOTS GUARDS**FOR A HUNTER JET, TO BE STATIONARY FOR SO LONG .THEN FLOWN THOUSANDS OF MILES IS AWESOME AND TALKS OF THE QUALITY OF THE HAWKER HUTER JET..WOW...***

Always loved Lightnings and had the pleasure of seeing 693 at Warton being chased by a Tornado in 1985/6 while working on the Foxhunter radar. This is a great nostalgic and interesting video for me

Thank you to all concerned for not only saving these beautiful historic aircraft, but keeping them in the sky where they belong. Typical British authority attitude has meant that save for 1 Lancaster, 1 Swordfish & a handful of spitfire's & Hurricanes there is nothing left flying here. Oh how it would be to see a Wellington, Liberator, Typhoon/Tempest, Mosquito, Barracuda, Corsair etc flying here.

@austinholt6027

3 жыл бұрын

There is a mosquito flying

Awesome documentary! Awesome airplanes! Thank you!

Ah yes, the good old UK Campaign Against Aviation!

Great work. Love it.

Cold War jets! Remember seeing these fantastic a/c at airshows when I was a schoolboy. I still think the Hunter is the prettiest fast jet, bar none. Great film, thank you!

Love this!!! The CAA won't let any classic jets fly these days in the UK, even if they are maintained which is so sad, and really pathetic. Wish I'd been old enough to see the proper jets of the 70s and 80s, no Vulcan, Concorde, Lightning, harriers, and even the Tornados don't fly today which is shocking. We scrap everything with no thought of the people who made them, and what it means to everyone in this country. So so sad! But this excellent content 👌🏻 😊

@JohnSmith-ei2pz

11 ай бұрын

That's a result of the lunatic killing civilians in the Hunter

I came across this video while browsing English Electric Lightning clips I have just paused after your intro and not watched the film yet....suffice to say that the intro alone is so captivating that I am certain that the actual video will be riveting! Your sincerity and integrity as a documentarian shines out!

Great work,thanks

Thankyou Andrew for sharing this story, it is comforting we all seem to share the same passions and interests to keep these machines alive and enjoy our fabulous country environments with others .

Hi Andrew, you said in your intro this is not your best work...?!? I can't see anything wrong with it at all! Fantastic story & great editing! Loved it!!! :)

@andib3955

Жыл бұрын

I agree. This film has captivated me from stop to go! I doth my cap to you sir it's a treasure. The lightning is a formidable object and you have made even more so. Rip with respect to Dave stock.

i remember when one visited my air base at bitburg germany. it was in the hangar for some type of maintenance because it couldn't make it back home safely. looked kind of strange next to the thuds.

I love this stuff! And steam trains!

Thank you Andrew what a brilliant documentary! Made my day stumbling across this! The lightning is my 2and favourite plane of all time after the spitfire of course!. What has happened to the lightnings and all the parts from thunder city??

Flipping Excellent!! very proud to be from that place where you do this stuff. "Conflict Aircraft" British laws... in Johannesburg South Africa, 1966 my dad needed a prop for his Tiger Moth... before the British Customs would allow it to be delivered from Redhill Surrey, he had to sign a waver that the Tiger was not going to be used for "war like activities"... right... here's my dad in hid Tiger taking on Migs from Angola... jeezz how stupid!?!?

We saw the lighting crash with Dave Stock at Bredasdorp. Sad thing to witness...

true brits true grit never give in well saved lads

Fine!

Isn’t it amazing how the UK just can’t seem to get out of its own way in order to grow or flourish.....I learned this from living there to earn an advanced degree in international business there. I left the place for good as soon as I finished the last exam.

@markmiller4449

3 жыл бұрын

Lightnings were conceived, designed, built and operated in the UK.

@addz17

2 жыл бұрын

@@markmiller4449 Then thrown to the wayside and abandoned like so many others historical feats of engineering. Sold to the highest bidder or scrapped without a second thought. Want to check out the Queen Mary? Youn can't, it's in America lol

Its really sad to see such a awesome air craft not fly over its home. half way back wards UK Sounds like they lost there mind, really make me mad they are so pig headed !! Screw um! Awesome you got these back up and ruining

Air shows are no where near as exciting as they used to be, the classic UK jets is what make it exciting, only have the Red Arrows and a Tyhoon these days, no cold war jets 😢 Thanks CAA for helping to destroy are history once again. Well done to these saviors of our classic jets in this video though, true heroes 👌🏻 👏🏻

*Maintenance engineer* : _"Off you go then, it's totally and completely safe to fly your Buccaneer. We've tested all of the important flight surfaces -everything's been fixed and we know for certain that it will fly. So line up on runway 2-7 left and take her to the skies.. ...She flies beautifully!! ...But-.."_ Mike Beachy-Head: "Thanks man, that's magic. Can't wait to fly her. Gonna take her out and do some acrobatics and just put her through her paces... ...aaaand round to 2-7 left.. ..throttles to the max.. aaaand go-go-..." Maintenance Engineer: "...we haven't fixed the landing gea-..N-N-N-N-Nooooooooo.. DON'T ROTAAAAAA-OOO-HHH GGGOOOO.....D..." Mike Beachy Head: "Sss-orrrrry.. I know these engines are loud as FFFFFF... ..b-b-b-buh.. th-tha.. th-th-thounded an awful lot like you said that you haven't prepared th-th-.." Maintenance Engineer: "-landing gear... yeah.. we know

Buck an Lightning what awesome aircraft they were

13:45 "Shirley...the English Electric Lightening?"

First one of thease I saw was on fire at Gutersloh air field .

I wonder what they really think of the CAA? Flying anything is risky

@JohnSmith-ei2pz

11 ай бұрын

Manage the risks

👋💪💪💯🇬🇧

What happened to the lightings 😕 i wanted to go over there and fly in one then they suddenly closed it 😢

It's a pity we can't turn the clock back to the days when the RAF and the navy had aircraft.. I don't go to so called airshows now because your lucky to get a copter or 2 and the brilliant red arrows if extremely lucky

is Me Ernie Marshall contactable?

the CAA wouldn't allow them to fly then again, really they wouldn't be able to catch the lightning if it ran out of UK airspace but it was a real same the CAA at the time just plain didn't want them to fly

@johnthatcher2349

5 жыл бұрын

Yes they would just fly slowly and wait for the lightning to run out of fuel which wouldn't take long. Lightning fantastic plane but fuel critical

Andrew, are you an ex-Halton 123 Entry Brat?

Thank goodness for enterprising people like this pushing-back against the collective group think of these smothering public bodies, like the UK CAA (Whose HQ in High Holborn, London is conveniently located in between the academic institutions of Bloomsbury and LSE - no adverse influences there then). Maybe the idea of a really capable war-bird like a lightning, residing in private hands within UK home territory was just too frightening for the British Establishment.

This increasing CAA type of bland, negative, destructive bureaucracy is the death of the UK.

My guess is that the UK caa did not want it in the UK because if it was in the wrong hands and armed it would be a problem they couldnt catch

@richardvernon317

3 жыл бұрын

Wrong. CAA knew of the Lightning's habit of catching fire due to fuel or Hydraulics system oil leaks around the engines and reheat section bays. Also under their rules an aircraft as complicated as the Lightning has to be supported by the Original Equipment Manufacturer or a Compony authorised by the OEM to be given a Permit to Fly. BAe and RR would say right off the bat, Pay us a lot of money to do it properly or Fook Off.

😁

CAA=Campaign Against Aviation

copy of the mig 21

@constant3273

4 жыл бұрын

this was made before the mig21...

@sobobwas6871

4 жыл бұрын

Your ignorance is manifest

@mrfrosty42

3 жыл бұрын

What a dumb ass you showed yourself to be!