REGARDING the recently withdrawn Harrier jump jet and its remarkable capabilities.

I suppose we should not worry about these jets being sent to the scrap heap. Instead, I am sure they will be sold to our good friends in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia.

My favourite British aircraft was the English Electric Lightning jet fighter – the RAF’s first fighter capable of flying at Mach 2, which is twice the speed of sound.

The Lightning was a revelation. Pilots who flew it, described the sensation as like “being strapped to a rocket.”.

For a time, the Lightning was stationed at the then-RAF Middleton St George which is why the airport can accommodate the take off and landing of any commercial civil or military aircraft in service today.

JM Gowland, Heighington.