The Sky’s the limit for BREXIT

Updated: Jan 1, 2019

As quick as Lightning, Britain will be free to reach for the skies after BREXITing Europe and can be proud of an incredible history of mind-boggling aeroplanes such as the Lightning, Harrier and Concorde.

I am not a pilot neither am I an engineer nor a designer but I do want to take a look at aviation and see where England is heading in the early 21st Century.

In the 1960’s England gave us the Harrier jump jet the epic VTOL plane that became famous worldwide after the 1994 film True Lies starring Arnold Swatznegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The Simpsons even made fun of the Harrier in an episode where they said, “The pride of the USAF, the British built Harrier.”

Today, you might find a Harrier on eBay easier than on the deck of a modern carrier and will be replaced by the American F35B Lightning II which will take off from the multi-billion pound Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth & HMS Prince of Wales of the Royal Navy.

HMS Queen Elizabeth photographed by Brian Burnell

What was up-to-date during the Falklands war in 1980 is now past its sell-by date. The Russians built a VTOL at the same time but it was not as successful as the British plane. VTOL standing for Vertical Take Off and Landing despite the fuel consumption of lifting off with a payload of weapons, these VTOLs have been used better as Short Take-Off and Landing but were a favourite of American Marines I believe because they wanted support from planes that can get close to troops without dropping bombs on those very same Marines who called in the Air-Support.

The 1960’s Harrier was incredible but is dated now and the Americans don’t need the British built plane anymore. They have their own plane with the F35B Lightning II which I first saw in disbelief in the 2004 Bruce Wilson film Die Hard 4.0.

The Lightning II is incredible but the British had their own Lightning plane in the 1950s and the English Electric Lightning remains the only UK designed and built fighter capable of Mach 2. (Source Wikipedia)

I once saw a documentary where BBC Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson had bought one as a garden ornament and I think he paid about 10,000 pounds for the supersonic jet fighter.

10,000 for a garden ornament his wife probably hated as well as the local council that asked for it to be removed. Clarkson being Clarkson claimed of course that his Cold War jet was just a leaf blower but I think he still had to get rid of it.

Clarkson has also talked in the past about the magnificent Concorde which I remember reading in one of his books about what he thought of the Concorde.

The Concorde took flight in the late1960s and flew supersonic until the year 2000 when an accident grounded the fleet. Clarkson loved Concorde and flew in it but the supersonic tin can was not about the elite flying in it but the public looking up to it. Like a child looking to the skies, I am sure he believed it was about national pride.

Concorde was not made by England but by coming together with their French rivals and making something incredible.

Concord means agreement and today this European accord continues with planes like the Eurofighter Typhoon even though the French disagreed with the Eurofighter project in order to pursue their own plane the Dassault Rafale.

The Germans, Italians, Spanish and British build the Euro Fighter in which the Spanish and British each build one of the wings and now Austria and other nations have ordered some the 600 Euro Fighters over American competitors.

Like the Eurofighter, European nations came together to build the Eurocopter Tigre attack helicopters. The Eurocopter is as expensive as Fcuk excusing my French and Britain saved money by opting to buy the American Apache attack helicopter which I am guessing Britain will have to do in the future with other aircraft unless Putin wants to sell them some MIGs.

The Sky’s the limit for England but I am sure Richard Branson wished England lifted the limits as an Austrian parachuted from space in 2012 and a South African living in America launched his convertible sports car into Space onboard one of his rockets in 2018.

Concorde is grounded, The English Electric Lightning is gardening in its retirement and a Harrier (Pictured left) was accidentally sold on eBay to a seven-year-old boy.

All England has is the Eurofighter and a very special relationship with America.

If you want to fly vertically buy American, if you want to fly supersonic and in luxury team up with the French and if you want a modern fighter, buy the Euro Fighter Typhoon or a stealthy American plane such as the Lightning II but if you want a British built fighter capable of twice the speed of sound, dig one out of a museum or Jeremy Clarkson’s garden and if you want a VTOL plane, click on E-bay before a seven-year-old beats you to a bargain. The sky’s the limit for BREXIT but Britain might have to start again from scratch.