BAC Lightning mod 9

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9 years 10 months

Posts: 584

Has anybody had experience of the mod 9 program? Were there any visible features externally?
If so, does anybody have photo's of the mod and tail numbers of the modified a/c?

Original post

Member for

19 years 3 months

Posts: 83

Excuse my ignorance - what did the Mod 9 programme introduce? Which Marks were affected?

Member for

9 years 10 months

Posts: 584

About 30 mk6 a/c were modified. It was a wing-strengthening mod to increase their service-life by about 400 hours.

Member for

21 years 2 months

Posts: 2,108

Has anybody had experience of the mod 9 program? Were there any visible features externally?

The extra wing reinforcement plates to the underside near the wing roots were visible..... I remember Barry Pover explaining them and pointing them out on XS898 at Cranfield in 1989(?) at the launch meeting of the Lightning Assciation.....(although, IIRC, '898 was done as a result of the last RAF display pilot overstressing the a/c back in 1980 after an inflight disorientation resulting in a dive at M1.3).
However, I'm not sure if MOD 9 existed prior to this, or the resultant 'fix' for '898, ended up being the guinea-pig for what became MOD 9, as I know MOD 9 did involve fitting reinforcing plates....just not sure if they were visible as per '898....???

Member for

9 years 10 months

Posts: 584

898 was involved in an incident. The pilot was suffering from target-fixation and ended up in a dive at about Mn 1.3. He got out of it by overstressing the a/c (10-14g). I know they manged to repair it afterwards but I assume those repairs weren't the standard mod 9. I was away from the Lightnings then but I have seen stress-relieving plate repairs on Buccs and Victors.

Member for

19 years 3 months

Posts: 83

13G Fynes?

Member for

21 years 2 months

Posts: 2,108

13G Fynes?

Yup.