ON TRIAL

摘要

It was a lovely clear July day in 1965. British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) chief test pilot James 'Jimmy' Dell and test observer Graham Elkington were accelerating to Mach 1.82 on a southerly trajectory, 35,000ft over the Irish Sea, side-by-side in the cramped cockpit of XM966. Originally a Lightning T.4 trainer, this aircraft had been rebuilt as the second prototype T.5 by BAC Filton. St Bees Head, Cumbria, was visible to port as the aircraft flew down Test Run Alpha towards the airfield at Warton, Lancashire. Test sortie 263 aimed to expand the flight envelope, focusing on roll/inertia coupling characteristics. Dell smoothly rolled into a 3G port turn, prior to applying full starboard aileron with the doors of the ventral rocket pack extended.