Simviation Forums

Just a quick question... does anyone know the exact reason for the CAA to not allow EE Lightnings to fly here? It is highly irritating that these awesome British aircraft are not allowed to fly in their own country! And instead have to be sent to Cape Town and America...  >:(

I'm still trying to find a way to get down to Cape Town and take a ride in one of these beasts but it looks like the plane to Cape Town will set me back a fair bit...  :-[

there are rules on afterburning aircraft in civillian hands.

To the best of my knowledge jet aircraft with afterburners are not allowed on the UK civil register. This affects many other ex-military aircraft & not only the Lightning.

I'm still trying to find a way to get down to Cape Town and take a ride in one of these beasts but it looks like the plane to Cape Town will set me back a large amount...

Ultimate High do an all-in package including return flight, hotel & of course the trip in the aircraft of your choice. I've considered doing it myself.
http://www.ultimatehigh.co.uk/fastjet/index.php

To the best of my knowledge jet aircraft with afterburners are not allowed on the UK civil register. This affects many other ex-military aircraft & not only the Lightning.

I think it's more to do with the catogorisation of aircraft - the Lightning, like the Buccaneer, Vulcan and Sea Vixen is listed as a complex type. This opens a whole can of worms - manufacturer support (and liability in event of an accident?), aircrew qualifications and currency, how the aircraft can safely be operated in UK airspace and maintained as a civil aircraft and lots of money. Then lots of money to convince the CAA that all is well. And airframe life of course. Then there's the safety record from its service in the RAF - not the best, particularly with regards to engines giving up the ghost. They're probably quite nervous about the noise problems too.

All of these have been major hurdles for the Vulcan - for example I believe the CAA have stipulated that all the aircrew have passed the RAF's Vulcan OCU (quite a large hurdle). Marshalls have taken the engineering support - I think also for a complex aircraft the engineering support cannot be volunteer labour.

Much as the CAA are given a lot of flak, it must be remembered they administer some of the busiest airspace over a relatively small area, and some aircraft types are probably safest on the ground.

I'm still trying to find a way to get down to Cape Town and take a ride in one of these beasts but it looks like the plane to Cape Town will set me back a fair bit...  :-[

A think the Lightning ride would set you back a fair bit more!

I'm still trying to find a way to get down to Cape Town and take a ride in one of these beasts but it looks like the plane to Cape Town will set me back a fair bit...  :-[

A think the Lightning ride would set you back a fair bit more!

I'd bet a Lightning ride would be at least 15x the air fair to the Cape...

Your looking at about

[quote]Your looking at about

Looking at the Ultimate high page, an all inclusive package would be (according to the Ultimate High site) from 3500 Euros which is about

[quote]Looking at the Ultimate high page, an all inclusive package would be (according to the Ultimate High site) from 3500 Euros which is about

[quote]Looking at the Ultimate high page, an all inclusive package would be (according to the Ultimate High site) from 3500 Euros which is about

[quote][quote]Looking at the Ultimate high page, an all inclusive package would be (according to the Ultimate High site) from 3500 Euros which is about

[quote][quote][quote]Looking at the Ultimate high page, an all inclusive package would be (according to the Ultimate High site) from 3500 Euros which is about

[quote][quote]Looking at the Ultimate high page, an all inclusive package would be (according to the Ultimate High site) from 3500 Euros which is about

(How did you find that Cape Town Direct link! - some people have all the luck! )

Amazing what you can find on good ol' Google.