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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0281.PDF
Floshing Fighter . . . The Rolls-Royce Avon RA.24R places the emphasis on improving performance upon air-to-airmissiles rather than on their carrying aircraft, and the require- ment for rocket boost has therefore lapsed. Nevertheless, theventral tank may still be carried to increase the range, and to this tank is attached a fin of very low aspect ratio to provideadditional stability at great heights. Although the precise mark of powerplant may not be mentioned,it is reasonable to suppose that the rating of the Rolls-Royce Avons in the production Lightning is the type-tested RA.24Rlevel of 11,250 lb thrust dry (and appreciably higher thrust with reheat). In order to minimize frontal area the upper engine issqueezed in above the minimum-diameter part of the jet-pipe of the lower engine. Inspection of advanced fighter Avons showsthat the rear compressor casing and compressor outlet casing is entirely fabricated from a single piece of steel, and the after-burner nozzle is an infinitely variable petal assembly, matched to any degree of reheat according to the position of the cockpitpower lever. The latest civil Avons have ratings of at least 13,000 lb and it is logical to suppose that future Lightning enginesshould be amenable to comparable development. Doubtless the latter already employ air-cooled turbine blading, and so futureimprovement may be expected to be centred at the cold end of the engine, possibly by adding zero stages to the compressor. Armament of the Lightning can be varied to suit requirements,but is normally centred on a pair of de Havilland Firestreak infra- red homing air-to-air missiles, carried on the ends of shortpylons. In the upper part of the fuselage are mounted two 30 mm Aden guns and an additional pair can be disposed lower down ifthe missiles are deleted. Alternatively, in lieu of the Firestreaks, it is possible to install a pair of flip-out packages made by Microcell,each containing 24 launching tubes for 2in spin-stabilized rockets. All types of armament may be selected and fired automaticallyby the finely engineered radar fire-control system produced by Ferranti. Known as Airpass, this system was first test-flownin a Canberra and Dakota (pictures, July 4 last). The fire control provides facilities for automatic searching, lock-on and trackingwhile at the same time providing pictorial information for the pilot. All portions of the Lightning's armament are pre-packagedfor quick replacement or conversion, and it has been stated that the lower packages, which are mounted on a detachable tray, canbe replaced by a camera installation. Centre of the Lightning programme is the English Electricairfield at Warton, Lanes. To this airfield there is a steady flow of R.A.F. pilots and engineers from the R.A.E. at Farnboroughand Bedford, the A. and A.E.E. at Boscombe Down, and the C.F.E. at West Raynham. Well over 30 Service pilots have flownthe aircraft, including at least one who previously had a bare three hours on swept-wing aircraft. The Lightning has beenfully evaluated by pilots of the U.S. Air Force (A.R.D.C.), and a permanent R.A.F. liaison officer, S/L. James Dell, is stationed atWarton as a project test pilot. He is pictured, together with English Electric's own Lightning team, on the previous page. These pilots have completely filled in the Lightning's flightenvelope, and in many respects have shown that the aircraft can substantially exceed the performance originally specified. A con-siderable flight time has been logged at Mach numbers in excess of 1.9, gun-firing and missile-launching is satisfactory, and theaircraft is proving capable of meeting every demand imposed upon it. The two original P.lAs are now at the R.A.E. Bedford,and most of the flying is at present being done with pre-produc- tion machines which must be virtually to the production standardof the aircraft which will form the first R.A.F. Lightning squadron at the end of this year. In conclusion, it is appropriate to recallthat last July a production order was placed for the P. 11 version of the Lightning, in which a slightly fatter forward fuselage willprovide side-by-side accommodation for a pilot and navigator. This machine will carry full operational equipment and shouldprove extremely versatile. • * * This series of photographs portrays the Lightning in several configurations; from top to bottom, a non-reheat take-off, a blistering reheat run, deceleration with gear down and airbrakes open, turning on the final approach and the touch-down, with parachute streamed
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