Mark Felton's wonderful YouTube channel has a video tailored to appeal to people who, like me, would rather have flown in an English Electric Lightning than any other plane ever.
It tells the story of XR729 which, in a 1984 exercise, intercepted a US U-2 spyplane, then climbed even higher - and reached a record-breaking altitude of 88,000 feet (at which the sky was dark and the earth's curvature could be seen).
The same aircraft was also the only one (of many who tried) to be able to intercept Concorde when it was flying at Mach 2.
Great days!
