The English Electric F6 Lightning

Wednesday 18th February, 7.30pm – RHP Social Club, Elm Avenue
Lecture – The English Electric F6 Lightning – Mr Dave Bonsell

The presentation will revolve around the Lightning Preservation Group set up in the late 80's to
preserve two English Electric F6 Lightnings. Topics covered will include the development of the
Lightning, archive photos and video of the aircraft when in service, also why and how our group
started, some photos of what we have to do to maintain our two aircraft in a fully serviceable
condition (CAA will not allow them to be flown).

Finally some photos of the re-build of our QRA hangar "Quick Reaction Alert" hangar originally at
RAF Wattisham housing two Lightnings during the Cold War days at the ready to respond in
minutes to foreign intrusion from unwanted aircraft.

Lecture - Imperial Airships

Tuesday 3rd February, 7.30pm – Millgate Museum
Joint Lecture with Newark Archaeological & Local History Society
Imperial Airships – Alan Brittan

Alan Brittan is an Industrial Archaeologist, who has made a special study of the Imperial
Airships Scheme proposed in 1924, which on a global scale, was the largest project of its kind.
Two ships were proposed, as a competition between two design teams but it was still seen
that both of these ships were unique prototypes.

Not until the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin II some seven years later would newly designed
commercial passenger airships of this scale take to the skies.
On completion in October 1929, the R101 ship was the largest man made object ever to fly, the
only competition was from Germany with the smaller LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin".

The talk will cover the design and construction of the two ships, and their test flights, leading to
the ultimate destruction of the R101, and the abandoning of the project.