Late last year, Flightline UK reported on an innovative new evening event held at Bruntingthorpe by the Lightning Preservation Group. So popular was the event that they repeated it early in 2009. Paul Johnson/Flightline UK reports from a very chilly Bruntingthorpe. All photography copyright of the Author.

The week leading up to the Extravaganza couldn't have been worse. Monday 2nd February saw the worst snowfalls in the UK for 18 years. Snow continued to fall throughout much of the UK for the next few days before slowly easing towards the end of the week. Thankfully, the weather eased enough for the LPG to go ahead with their event though plans to run a Lightning down the main runway at Bruntingthorpe had to be cancelled due to the snow and ice. The open days held by LPG help raise funds for the restoration and construction of the QRA hanger which is used to house these iconic aircraft and is itself an important part of UK military history being an icon of the Cold War. The event last year helped raised enough funds to get the front doors to the hanger hung giving evem more protection to the aircraft. It hopefully won't be too much longer before the outer skins of the shed are on making for a truly unique preservation project.

The snowy conditions gave a unique persepctive to the many preserved airframes on the airfield as well as to the Lightnings themselves for the Burner runs and the twilight photoshoot in front of the hanger. However, the cold weather clearly didn't please the Lightning which refuse to start one of it'e engines. Many thanks to the LPG for running this superb event in what were difficult conditions.