Vulcan XH558

Seeing as it's been mentioned....the Vulcan flew from Finningley yesterday............bit of a fly round to warm the engines up.

 

I went last year and it was pretty good even from the beach. Even with my box brownie, the photos were OK:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamessquared/sets/72157645321325565

Tom

 

http://mxm.mxmfb.com/rsps/m/q_nWa0bsV8bk6IN4QBZOsJZRTYCBpslMOfK_liAnYg4

 

No many hours left on the old bird. This will be the last year of flying so if you don't see it this season, you never will.

 

Sadly it's engine availability rather than airframe hours. If they hadn't wrecked two a couple of seasons ago we may have got another year out of her. I went to see her "final flight" back in '93 when the RAF retired her so the past few years have been a real bonus. I suspect I'll be amongst the multitude to see her final flight this time round.

 

From the VULCAN e-mail newsletter.


INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Salute to the V-Force
– a major tour planned for late June.

A few months ago, the Secretary of the British Aviation Preservation Council (BAPC), Brian Dixon, approached Trust Chief Executive, Dr Robert Pleming with an idea. He proposed that XH558 should visit all the surviving Vulcans in the UK and if possible perform a short display during our final year of flying as a special "goodbye". He also suggested that each of these Museums could also get involved by holding special events or talks in the week leading up to this final tribute. At the time, like us, he didn’t know that our final year of flight would be 2015.

We liked the idea and gave it a lot of thought; “Salute to the V-Force” was born.

Over the weekend of 27 and 28 June, XH558 will indeed overfly every complete Vulcan, Victor and Valiant in the UK. These two special flights will pay tribute to the unique and revolutionary group of aircraft that formed Britain’s nuclear deterrent for many years.

It will allow us to display XH558 to a wider audience than usual – we will have never completed so many displays in a single weekend before – and working in partnership with the BAPC, the story of the V-Force can be told at each location by the Museums involved.

There will be seventeen sites overflown during the tour, with a small display at many of them. If not a display, there will certainly be flypasts and steep-climb-outs as possible at each. We hope to include the RAF Museum at Hendon, but this will clearly require special permission from the CAA due to the built-up area of the location, which we are hopeful of obtaining.

Given the distances involved, the tour will be split into two separate sorties, one covering a northerly route, then another with a southerly route, if possible both completed over the one weekend, reserved as Saturday June 27th and Sunday June 28th. We are pressing ahead with this earlier in the season, so we can hopefully do another major tour based on national landmarks later in the season.

Here is a list of the remaining complete (UK based) V-Force airframes with their locations in North to South geographical order.

15 Vulcans
EAST FORTUNE
CARLISLE
SUNDERLAND
DONCASTER
WOODFORD
WADDINGTON
NEWARK
COSFORD
EAST MIDLANDS
NORWICH
COVENTRY
WELLESBOURNE
DUXFORD
HENDON
SOUTHEND
4 Victors
ELVINGTON
COSFORD
BRUNTINGTHORPE
MARHAM

1 Valiant
COSFORD


We will be involving all of the Museums and associations at each location with major publicity and all have been very supportive of our idea. We even hope to engage those associations and supporters who look after the few V-Force airframes that sit in the USA and Canada!

 

Many thanks for posting that. Sounds very interesting, and well worth turning out for,

 

If you go to http://www.vulcantothesky.org and sign up to their electronic newsletter, you get regular updates as to what's going on.

 

Thanks, yes I'll do that,

 

Went to Welshpool International Airport and Rapid Transit Hub this afternoon to have a final look at a Vulcan in the air, I probably will not get another chance to see - and hear!! - this incredible piece of flying history. What an aircraft!! A shame that it was so overcast and cloudy; still, managed to get some pics:
















DON'T miss the last chance to see this spectacular machine in action.

Cheers,

Alan

 

Yes a spectacular sight that brings back memories from 40+ years ago. Throckmorton was 558's first display of the year a week ago and was well worth the visit.

 

She was rather impressive there, wasn't she? Not as loud as the Typhoon though - wow! I'm glad I made the effort to go to Welshpool. I still can't believe it was only £7 for a ticket!

 

Yes indeed, it was very impressive, a really incredible sight. I originally thought of going to Cosford, but at Welshpool, you are much closer to the action, as we saw with the Vulcan's spectacular display - you could almost reach out and touch it!! Glad that you enjoyed your afternoon.

Cheers

Alan

 

Sadly, it is neither engine life or airframe fatigue. After a recent briefing by 'Dr Bob', its actually the OEMs who have 'collectively agreed' to withdraw support at the end of this flying season, and thus the CAA are duty bound to withdraw the 'Permit to Fly'. Sadly, it would seem that at the end of this season, we will have a serviceable aircraft with potential to carry on, but no manufacturer support. So she'll get to retire to Doncaster to be a ground runner - when the airport let her out to play.

 

XH558 today, cruising towards Hendon on a thoroughly miserable afternoon. I had planned to go to Hendon but the Vulcan website warned that the flight may be off and didn't confirm until 12. Terrible traffic on M4, M25, A312, everywhere in fact...meant I just went over to just South of M25, jn 20. Quite a few locals out.

 

She looked good for the few seconds she was over Hendon - turned up slightly early too!

Place was busy, and needless to say, as soon as she'd gone, the car park emptied.

Still, had a pleasant afternoon wandering round the museum.

As for the traffic.................

 

I saw (and heard!) her at Scarborough on Saturday. Magnificent, as always. Thanks to all concerned.

 

Couple from the weekend, firstly at Elvington on Saturday...

XH558 by Nigel Pitt, on Flickr

...and then at Duxford on Sunday.

Duxford by Nigel Pitt, on Flickr

 

Take off from Finningley aka Doncaster Sheffield Airport on Sunday.

 

I never knew that it carried a spare Airbus underneath!