Test fleet: YAMAHA TRACER 9 GT

Engineering and technology move on in leaps and bounds from era to era and yet often, performance actually plateaus.

While moonlighting for an aviation magazine, I managed to ride the Tracer 9 GT to The Lightning Preservation Group, based at Bruntingthorpe. Looking around the three English Electric/BAC Lightnings that the group has (and paying £50 towards their upkeep – do the same at:) I realised how technology, speed, carrying capacity/payload and fuel economy are so delicately balanced. And so they are on the Tracer 9 GT…