When Florida resident Diana Cloud turned 50, her husband John took her to Cape Town, South Africa, to give her a lightning fast $30,000 birthday present.

John Cloud had the amazing idea to book his wife for a ride into one of the fastest military jets ever, the English Electric Lightning.
The last serviceable two-seater Lightnings in the whole world are located in Thunder City, South Africa, and it costs $30,000 US to have a ride in one of them.

The Lightning’s speed and climb performance is excellent, even compared with today’s operational fighters. This Mach 2 aircraft’s initial rate of climb is 50,000 ft per minute, and it reaches heights up to 87,300 feet (26,600 meters), a level at which the Earth’s curvature becomes visible and the sky becomes quite dark!

Diane’s next birthday? Good Question…

Diane, just like her husband John a recreational pilot, hopes to become Sarasota’s first astronaut (*). Because Virgin Galactic is expected to launch in 2009, she secured her reservation for 10 percent down already (Tickets are $200,000 a piece).

(*) Source: Citizen in Space



Diana Cloud’s Lightning Fast $30,000 Birthday Present