BlackSheep
Banned
- 443
- May 31, 2018
I'm almost positive it was Richard Fairey, thanks!Caption for this image from Tim Mason's excellent book on wartime aircraft testing:
"Lightning I AF106 in June 1942 over Larkhill Camp. Lack of turbo-superchargers (notable by their absence just behind the exhausts) and high altitude handling problems led to cancellation of the British contract by the time the aircraft reached Boscombe. Gas warning diamonds can be seen on the fins". Edit - ahead of the fins, Tim.
AF106 was the only example from the British order to reach the A&AEE, it had no armament and was restricted to 300 mph - no stated reason why, possibly because of the accident rate within US usage of the type owing to compressibility? Handling was described as pleasant although the elevator was heavy. The aircraft stalled at 78 mph with flaps and undercarriage down and recovery was straight forward and flying on one engine was easy and devoid of foot loads on the rudder down to speeds of 115 mph. The colour-coding of the engine controls and the tricycle gear were praised. By this time the testing was purely for research purposes as the aircraft had already been rejected by the RAF.
I vaguely remember reading that Richard Fairey used to fly around in his business suit, could be wrong. I know Keith Park had his own personal Hurricane during his tenure as C-in-C 11 Group Fighter Command and he used to fly around in a white flying suit, but underneath he wore his Number Ones, so he was appropriately dressed in a standard that befitted his position.
