English Electric Lightning - Survivor ZF589 (ex 53-700)
F.53 ZF589 - David Tylee, Gatwick Aviation Museum, Charlwood, Surrey
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Lightning F.53 ZF589 at Gatwick Aviation Museum, 26th June 2021; Jake Wallace
The last ever Lightning off the production line around the 1970s was 53-700. The airframe retired to Warton in in 1986 as ZF589 and was sold to Marine Salvage, where it was stored at Stretton in Cheshire around 1997. The cockpit section of ZF589 was later cut horizontally and was one of five cockpits used in the 1999 film Wing Commander, which was filmed in Pinewood Studios (a few other cockpits were also exported to Luxembourg for filming also).
Once the cockpit was no longer needed for filming, it was disposed of at the paintball park at Bricket Wood, where it was lost for several years. It wasn't until 2016 that photos of it emerged on Facebook, sat under trees covered in a layer of green. The cockpit was later purchased and rescued by David Tylee, who moved it to a secure location to restore it to its former glory.
After months and years of restoration, David placed the cockpit on display at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, where it now sits next to a fully functional F.53, 53-671!
Once the cockpit was no longer needed for filming, it was disposed of at the paintball park at Bricket Wood, where it was lost for several years. It wasn't until 2016 that photos of it emerged on Facebook, sat under trees covered in a layer of green. The cockpit was later purchased and rescued by David Tylee, who moved it to a secure location to restore it to its former glory.
After months and years of restoration, David placed the cockpit on display at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, where it now sits next to a fully functional F.53, 53-671!
Information on this page current as of 19/08/2025, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of ZF589 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net