English Electric Lightning - Survivor XR728
F.6 XR728 - Lightning Preservation Group (runner), Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire
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Lightning F.6 XR728 at Bruntingthorpe, 28th May 2022; Jake Wallace
Built as an F.3, XR728 first flew on 17th March 1965, being delivered to Warton for storage until converted to an F.6 and then delivered to 23 Squadron in November 1967. She also served with 5, 56, and 11 Squadrons plus the LTF, finishing her career with the LTF as the Binbrook Station CO's personal aircraft which was John Spencer at the time (hence the 'JS' coding on the fin).
After retirement, she was bought by the Lightning Preservation Group (LPG), with her final flight being into Bruntingthorpe on 24th June 1988. After that day, XR728 was kept in a taxiable condition, and would often perform taxi runs at Bruntingthorpe, alongside XS904.
Sadly those days came to an end in 2020, with Cox Automotive leasing the airfield. Thankfully the QRA shed was safe, and the LPG continues to keep XR728 in a runnable state along with XS904. XR728 and the rest of the Bruntingthorpe collection are not currently accessible to the public, but it is hoped that the new museum site by the QRA shed will open to visitors in the near future.
After retirement, she was bought by the Lightning Preservation Group (LPG), with her final flight being into Bruntingthorpe on 24th June 1988. After that day, XR728 was kept in a taxiable condition, and would often perform taxi runs at Bruntingthorpe, alongside XS904.
Sadly those days came to an end in 2020, with Cox Automotive leasing the airfield. Thankfully the QRA shed was safe, and the LPG continues to keep XR728 in a runnable state along with XS904. XR728 and the rest of the Bruntingthorpe collection are not currently accessible to the public, but it is hoped that the new museum site by the QRA shed will open to visitors in the near future.
Information on this page current as of 02/06/2022, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XR728 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net