1:48 Corgi Aviation Archive English Electric Lightning F.6

In what was certain to be a sombre occasion, thousands of British aviation enthusiasts headed for the Lincolnshire Wolds and RAF Binbrook on Saturday 22nd August 1987 for their annual Airshow, a show which marked the swansong of one of the British aviation industry's proudest achievements. With the impending retirement of Britain's first supersonic fighter now looming large, this event was billed as 'the last Lightning show' and neither the enthusiast nor the base personnel at Binbrook were going to let this occasion pass without putting on a real show. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the day of the show was horrendous and as is often the case in this country, it proved to be just as bad as everyone feared. Nevertheless, this Cold War aviation icon had to be suitably honoured and the last pilots to fly the RAF Lightning were in no mood to let a little rain alter their plans. In one final Lightning base scramble, all serviceable Lightnings blasted into the air one after the other, with the first aircraft returning seconds later at 90 degrees to the runway, passing overhead the next aircraft taking off, before pulling in a steep climb in full reheat - they don't make shows like this anymore! The undoubted highlight of the day would be a series of beautifully flown formation passes performed by nine Lightnings, in what proved to be a fitting tribute to the Royal Air Force career of this supersonic sensation.