F.53 XR753 at Tangmere, 3rd September 2005; author	F.53 ZF579 at Charlwood, March 2003; M J Roach

Another ex-Saudi Lightning, this was one that I spotted once while on a train to Bristol - just idly gazing out of a window and for the briefest of moments the aircraft was visible from behind. Just about enough time to blink and wonder if I was seeing things, and if maybe I should lay off the museum visits because I was obviously hallucinating Lightnings! Anyway, she's real, and she was there alright - at Quedgley. Raymond Hansed, the aircraft's owner, informed me that she had been repainted to represent XR753 as she was in 1975 when she was personal aircraft of Wing Cdr Thomson, CO of 23 Squadron (white spine and fin with red 23 Squadron eagles on the fin). She's since moved to the Tangmere museum and was on external display there for a while until the new hangar was completed - she has now been moved indoors, as you can see. Information current as of 03/09/2005.

Another ex-Marine Salvage Lightning is ZF579, purchased by the Gatwick Aviation Museum in early 2000. Delivered in April and reassembled in practically no time at all, it is the intention of the volunteers there to restore the aircraft to ground running condition. Sadly however lack of space means there's no chance of taxi runs - unless somebody fancies building a taxiway to nearby Gatwick Airport? ZF579 was to be painted up as an RAF F.6, in the overall grey scheme, but after some thought the volunteers have bravely decided the polished metal scheme it is currently in is worth keeping despite the effort involved! As you can see work on the electrical systems has come along nicely - restoration to ground running condition is still ongoing, with the majority of No.1 engine bay subsystems installed and refurbished. The fuselage is currently undergoing restoration too, with the port side almost complete and starboard side treated ready for polishing. Information current as of 22/05/2003.

F.53 ZF580 at BAe Samlesbury, October 1998; Garry Lakin	F.53 ZF581 at Rochester, 27th March 2005; Garry Lakin

Not only have BAe preserved a Lightning at Warton, they have one on the gate at their plant at Samlesbury, what marvellous people! The picture previously displayed showed a rather different scene; as you can see since that one was taken, the undercarriage has been retracted and a pair of missiles fitted (Firestreak to port, Red Top to starboard). It's a pity about the paint scheme - though now it's faded a bit it doesn't look quite so 'wrong'!

ZF581 has a had a busy retirement! Originally sold by BAC to the Saudis, she was purchased back from them in the 1980s for possible sale to the Austrians but that deal fell through. Sold to a private owner, after some years she moved on to Marine Salvage in Portsmouth and then finally got bought back by BAE Systems (Avionics) in the Autumn of 2000! She underwent a complete restoration at the Rochester site of the company before being placed on the gate in early 2004. She is painted up in 56 Squadron markings, representing an RAF F.6, and looks stunning. Information current as of 27/03/2005.

F.53 ZF583 at Carlisle, 5th May 2003; Bob Lawson	F.53 ZF584 at South Gyle, 22nd May 2006; Simon G Boothroyd

Another of the ex-Saudi examples bought back by BAe is ZF583, which is on display at the Solway Aviation Museum at Carlisle in the colours it wore for the flight back to the UK. Looks to be in good nick despite being out in the weather, which is no doubt down to the level of care it's receiving - note the intake blank and wheel covers. As you can see her repaint is progressing nicely. Information current as of 05/05/2003.

Now here's ZF584, another ex-Saudi F.53 presented by BAe to Ferranti (later GEC, and now merged with BAE Systems!) in recognition of their pioneering work on the AI.23 AIRPASS radar of the Lightning. She was mounted on a plinth at the old Ferranti plant in the South Gyle area of Edinburgh and a plaque on the base of the plinth recorded the donation. With the closure and demolition of the old factory site in 2005, the aircraft's future was under threat. However, recent news is that the aircraft has been donated to the Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum and they have now taken the aircraft down and dismantled it ready for transport, which should happen in the night/morning of May 22nd/23rd. Information current as of 22/05/2006.

F.53 ZF588 at the East Midlands Aeropark, 19th August 2001; author	F.53 ZF592 at Horsham St. Faith, 21st April 2007; author

ZF588 is yet another ex-Saudi F.53, and the boys at East Midlands have got around the problem of painting her in the correct Saudi paint scheme by faking her up as an F.6 in 74 Squadron colours. However now the Saudis have softened a little, there has been talk of repainting her in Saudi markings once more. The aircraft is currently being worked on to rectify various things, hence the missing ventral fins. The Aeropark reopened after a long closure in August 2001, so get down there and view progress for yourself!

Looking an awful lot better than in my previous visit during 2003, F.53 ZF592 was - rarely for a Lightning - disassembled correctly for transport, no wings hacked off on this old girl! Reassembled and restored in full Saudi markings since her arrival, she is a real credit to her owner. Information current as of 21/04/2007.

F.53 ZF593 at the Warner-Robins Museum, August 1999; Kevin Kenz	F.53 ZF594 at Sunderland, September 2000; Bob Lawson

The only Lightning 'preserved' in a museum in the US is this ex-Saudi example, which retains its British military serial from the delivery back to BAe but is painted in RAF markings, masquerading as an F.6 of 29 Squadron. The picture previously displayed here showed ZF593 proudly displayed in front of the museum; unfortunately since then the museum has had a new director (one Elizabeth F. Garcia), and her attitude to the Lightning was rather different. She ordered 'that thing' removed from display and it has been dumped in the museum's back lot without so much as a sign to tell visitors what it is, should they make the effort to trek back to it. From the looks of things the aircraft had been well and truly abandoned to its fate; the tires were flat, the nosewheel leg badly corroded and the oleo had collapsed, the canopy had clouded over, the paint was fading (and only looks half-decent in this picture because of recent rain) and corrosion was evident around the jetpipes and main wheel hubs too. Pretty shabby treatment for an aircraft that was gifted to the museum by British Aerospace. Thankfully more recent news is that the Lightning has been moved to the adjacent USAF base for a repaint. Let's hope this is a sign that things are looking up for this particular Lightning. Information current as of 02/02/2006.

Another ex-Saudi bird, ZF594 was 53-696 in Saudi hands, and saw service at Jeddah, Riyadh, Abdul Aziz, Khamis Mushayt, Tabuk, Dhahran (13 Squadron) and Tabuk once more, ending her days with 2 Squadron. Sold back to BAe and given the UK military serial of ZF594, she was flown back to the UK by an RAF pilot and languished at Warton for three and a half years before being sold to the North East Aircraft Museum. ZF594 suffers from being shoehorned into a hangar that simply isn't big enough to hold the aircraft and the rest of the hangar's contents. The end result is that she's missing much of her tail in order to fit into the confined space. The museum's had a fair bit of flak for the manner in which so many aircraft are shoved into a small space and hopefully in future they'll be able to do something about it.