Vulcan Latest

[jims-terrano]

Hi All, I know this is not 4x4 related but thought it a worth while cause for people to read about. This is the latest news letter from the Vulcan To The Air Trust, it speaks for it's self.

Jim T


Dear Supporter,

XH558’s Future Now at Risk.

I imagine that you were as pleased as I was to see the excellent coverage that XH558 and her 50th Birthday Appeal gained in the Mail on Sunday on 17th January. We all need to thank those responsible for making this happen: the supporters who wrote letters to the Mail on Sunday Editor, asking him to publicise our campaign. But the situation remains dire.

The Extent of the Problem

Having already funded Marshall Aerospace to commence the most urgent “critical path” tasks needed for the Winter Engineering Programme, we now have just sufficient funds in our bank account to pay our overhead costs from today until the end of February – slightly less than five weeks. As the result, at the end of this week, I may need to recommend to the Board of Trustees that we give one month’s notice to all VTST employees with effect from 1st February.

The implications for XH558 are extremely grave: if we don’t find the money to keep going and finish the engineering programme, we may well lose all control over her destiny. We have already launched the plea for funds in a national newspaper, unfortunately apparently to little effect. We have raised just over £180,000, but we still need a total of £800,000 to get XH558 to the 2010 display season.

Because of the amount of work needed to be done this Winter, and the lead time associated with some of the items, there is real urgency in raising the sum needed – a further £620,000. As is the nature of engineering work on aircraft, not only is it surprisingly expensive but it’s “all or nothing”, which is why we now should not proceed further until we have confidence of reaching the full amount.

Including the necessary test flight, the whole engineering programme should last no longer than four months. But the longer we have to wait before reaching our £800,000 target, the more we delay XH558’s appearance her 50th Birthday air display season, and the more funds we would have used on unproductive overheads.

For XH558, the only way is forward through to completion of the whole engineering programme.

If there’s one positive thing we can say, it is that, barring mishaps, this is by far the most expensive Winter Service that XH558 will have to undergo for the foreseeable future. It will put in place the fatigue life extension modifications necessary for the remainder of her flying life.

Action Plan

So where to from here?

First, and most important, we are not giving up. We have to turn XH558’s 50th Birthday Appeal into nothing less than her 2010 Survival Appeal.

Recognising that supporters do not want to risk any of their donations not achieving tangible success, we are re-launching and re-driving our Pledge scheme.

Shortly, our website pages will change to reflect the new Appeal. We will be launching a Vulcan viral video, containing an attempt at a new world record, which we hope, with your help, will capture the attention of many.

The nature of the tasks and lead times of the Winter Engineering Programme means that it may be possible to move forward having raised only part of the funds, as long as there is confidence that the remaining funds will be forthcoming.

So when new pledges reach the half-way point of £310,000 (a total raised of £490,000), we will review the progress of the Appeal. If we are confident the whole amount will be raised, we will call in the pledges to date to allow work on XH558 to continue.

To set a deadline, we need to see £310,000 in new pledges by the end of February at the latest, if we are not to miss the main airshows this summer

As part of this new Campaign, I would like to offer an incentive: those who honour a pledge of £1,000 or more will receive an invitation for a personal visit to XH558 at RAF Lyneham during the Winter Service, to see her close-up and talk to the engineers who are working on her.

Please now would you help XH558 by making a Pledge if you can, but just as importantly, by spreading the word about this revised and renewed Pledge Campaign?

http://www.site.vulcantothesky.org/pledge.asp

We will continue to publicise XH558’s current plight and your help in doing this is so very valuable. So far we have not been successful in gaining the attention of very many of the 2.5million who saw her last summer – we need to radically improve this performance.

Assuming that we are successful in returning XH558 to flight, we have decided that we need to run a funding campaign spanning the whole year, aimed at avoiding getting in to a similar situation again. This Annual campaign will be launched formally on XH558’s Birthday, 25th May, and will run from this date every year. We are also closely examining our costs again, in order to reach a sustainable balance of income and expenditure in coming years.

These are desperate times and we recognise that with the shocking disaster in Haiti lest week, this is not a good time to prevail upon anyone’s generosity. However, from the above I hope you will understand that for XH558 it is now or never. We have no choice but to come back to you.

Very many thanks for any assistance you may be able to give.

Robert Pleming

[Deleted account DD]

Breaks my heart to see pieces of historical engineering excellence like this one struggling to be maintained when various organisations will cheerfully throw thousands upon thousands on crap art and dubious "national treasures" :(

A beautiful aircraft and I'm not even a plane spotter :thumb2

[Deleted account DD]

Order going in for a mug, go on you know you want one ;)

[(RIP) PLANK]

my father may he rest in peace, did his national service working on these aircraft and the experience stayed with him allways, he said it was the best time of his life.

So i will take a look and give some support if I can.:thumbs

[lacroupade]

Ditto. We had a Vulcan at Halton when I did my apprenticeship back at the beginning of the 70s - they landed the bloody thing on a grass strip unbelievably! No idea where it ended up but they did remove it years later.

I remember sitting in the cockpit when we were doing ejector seat training - it was incredibly tiny and claustrophobic for such a huge aircraft and only had two ejector seats for the pilots, the other three crew had to bale out of a hatch underneath.

I always loved this big bastard too....

[jims-terrano]

Speaking of Victors, this really shouldn't of happened or was it an accident:augie

Jim T

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3HaeYVlBw8

[lacroupade]

What a ballsup, but thats some seriously good piloting at the end! Amazing vid!

Check this out - interesting explanation and confirms what I just wrote - if anyone else had been flying it, it would have been trashed I've no doubt.

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[Deleted account DD]

Ditto. We had a Vulcan at Halton when I did my apprenticeship back at the beginning of the 70s - they landed the bloody thing on a grass strip unbelievably! No idea where it ended up but they did remove it years later.



Old fart :)

When I joined the RAF, at our passing out parade, one of (if not the) last operational flights out of Waddington was a 3 ship that did a fly past over us. Clucking noisy it was :) but very impressive.

Love em.

[jims-terrano]

XH558 Survival Appeal Update

Dear Supporter,

XH558: the deadline has been set – the end of February.

Sadness and grim determination are the main emotions today: the Trust’s funds are such that the decision has now been taken to place all its employees on one month’s notice, as of 1st February.

We have so much to fight for, but with less than one month to avoid shutdown, the pressure is now really on.

On the few occasions when we have been in a similar position before, all XH558’s most loyal supporters have rallied to the cause, and somehow she has been saved. We are not assuming that the same will happen this time, which is why we are enlisting so many more people to help.

In 1941, Sir Winston Churchill said: “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” We are not giving in.

Mindful that we should not solicit donations whilst we are uncertain about XH558’s future, we are putting 100% of our efforts into the Survival Appeal Pledge Scheme.

We need to raise over £300,000 in new pledges by the end of February to justify a stay of execution, followed by a further £300,000 in March to reach our target of £800,000.

We are therefore launching a number of new activities to secure the immediate future:

· An attempt to set a WORLD RECORD for the number of signatures on a single birthday card for XH558.
· Re-design of the Appeal website to ensure visitors understand our urgent message, with a countdown timer to our deadline of 28th February..
· A sixty-second no-punches-pulled promotional VIDEO, spread via emails, with the goal of going “viral” with our message.
· A written notice and Pledge reply slip to all those on our databases.
· A SURVIVAL RAFFLE, launched by the Vulcan to the Sky Club, to create instant availability of working capital, once we are secured. (Prizes will be honoured by the Club if the worst happens).
· A PROMOTION PACK, distributed with the Club’s Winter magazine, to all club members.
· Targeted ADVERTISING in regional newspapers where affordable.
· Contact with national media and PR agencies to get XH558’s story in front of as many people as possible.
· And of course networking with all existing supporters, sponsors and industry leaders.

If we gather sufficient momentum over the next four weeks, we may well be able to start work on XH558 once again, but we will only do this if we are confident that the target will be met.

In the meantime, work continues at Marshall Aerospace on the detailed planning for the Winter Engineering Programme, whilst our own team are helping with the Appeal.

Assuming we are successful, with the new experienced gained over the past year, we will be building funds throughout the year in all ways possible to avoid the desperate measures we have had to take each winter to keep the dream alive.

Remember our ultimate goal: to be flying down the Mall on 4th June 2012 in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s – and the Vulcan’s – Diamond Jubilee.

As we count down the days of February, all the thousands of our loyal supporters know full well what they will be missing if the worst comes to the worst for XH558. What is most galling, is that there are millions of people who really don’t know what they will have missed. But if they did, they could well decide to help save her.

XH558 is the “People’s Aircraft”. Can the people save her again?

Robert Pleming

[Deleted account DD]

Thats very sad if not unexpected :(

They seem to be a good bunch. The mugs & other bits I bought arrived yesterday and are as cool as :thumb2

[ClanWolf]

Copied these across to GTROC and SO.com The more help the better.

[jims-terrano]

Once again, onwards and upwards!! – 25th February 2010

Dear Supporters,

There can now be no doubt that XH558 has a guardian angel looking after her: I can now confirm some really good news that vastly changes the status of our current Appeal.

Shortly, the Results Graph on our appeal site will show a massive increase due to a fantastic confirmed donation of £458,000! The donor has asked to remain anonymous, but I can reassure you that he is fully aware of the significance of this contribution.

As the result, I have pleasure in confirming that the Board of Trustees has decided that VTST now has sufficient funding in place to go forward with the planned engineering programme, and onward to the 2010 Display Season.

We have to temper this great news with the fact that our Public Appeal has been waning compared with previous years, probably as a result of the poor economic conditions and the weariness of boom and bust cycles.

Our main drive this year will be to finally put XH558 onto a firm business footing, with many new income generation schemes: Educational Lectures, New Merchandise, Regional Sponsorship, Competitions, and of course, an ongoing Annual Appeal. We must acknowledge we will continue to need public support, but gear the appeal over the whole year.

We will now focus our campaign on the 50th Birthday Appeal, which will also be marketed through our World Record attempt for signatures on XH558’s Birthday Card, until we launch our fresh campaign in May, aimed at taking XH558 on into 2011.

Very soon, those who have pledged will be receiving their “redemption” letters. Please await their arrival before making payment, so we can accurately record details and apply Gift Aid if applicable.

Your continuing support is much appreciated by everyone who appreciates what XH558 represents and by all those who have helped XH558 over the years. She is adored and appreciated by people all over the world. She is quite simply - the one and only!

Each and every one of us owes a deep debt of gratitude to every individual who contributed, no matter how small their donation, for keeping the dream alive.

My sincerest thanks and best wishes to you all,

Robert Pleming.

Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

[Deleted account DD]

Excellent news :thumb2 ..................for now :hmh

[sidsid06]

i know how they could save the aircraft:D just put ROYAL BANK OF SCOTAND ON THE WINGS AND THE MONEY WILL SOON START FLOODING IN FROM THE GOVERMENT! :augie

[jims-terrano]

Hi All, another news letter from VTSC. I know this is not really a 4x4 subject but as you can tell it's something that I have an interest in. I'm not trying to ram it down your throats so please say if you don't really want these updates. The real interesting stuff will start shortly when they start posting engineering reports with photo's.

Jim

XH558 Update – Friday 12th March 2010


Dear Supporters,

Following on from the fantastic news of two weeks ago with the achievement of our Survival Appeal target, our immediate priority has been to start the work required to return XH558 to the 2010 air display season as soon as possible.

This has involved formalising the contracts, and in most cases making full payments, for all of the third-party engineering activities, such as the base maintenance support programme (with Marshall Aerospace), component overhaul and remanufacture. The initial on-aircraft activities have been to remove components for return to their Original Equipment Manufacturers. Examples of these are the fatigue meters for bay servicing by Meggitt, and the ejection seats for their annual inspection by SES. The engineers will then focus on the first stages of the “Minor” service: the inspection of the airframe, engines and systems, and determining whether any rectification is needed. In addition to the “Minor” service, four additional engineers will join the team to install the two airframe modifications (Mods 2429 and 2430) needed to extend XH558’s airframe life for the coming years.

As the project plan stands at the moment, we are forecasting finishing in early June, but as ever, dates are dependent on what happens as we proceed with the work. We will keep you updated.

I must at this point pay sincere tribute on behalf of XH558 and the VTST team to all those supporters of XH558 who have donated or made a Pledge in the past four months. The generous support of a few thousand people will enable millions to enjoy XH558’s display this summer – a numerical inequality that I’m sure has not escaped you.

This time last year, because we were so focused on achieving a successful first full season, we took our eyes off the ball of ensuring that our financial future was secure. Now that we have learnt the valuable lessons of 2009, Michael Trotter and I have agreed with VTST’s Board of Trustees that we need a sustainable financial plan in place by the Autumn. This is a vital objective.

From an administration perspective, we will shortly be calling in the Pledges made over the last few months. We have created the mailing database and have provided the letter template to our mailing house. These letters will now be produced and despatched in the latter part of next week to all those loyal supporters who have made a Pledge. Please could I ask you to await the arrival of your letter, which will contain important instructions about how to honour your pledge. This is so that we can accurately record your contribution, and avoid following up Pledges that have already been honoured.

On the promotion and marketing front in the short term, we have been reshaping our plans for taking our project out to the wider world. We have a number of new initiatives that will be revealed as we approach the return of XH558 to flight.

We recognise that working with you, our loyal supporters, remains a very effective way of keeping XH558’s profile high, which is a pre-requisite for continued fund-raising from the public at large. The ongoing and invaluable support from the Vulcan to the Sky Club, remains pivotal to this effort.

From an Operations perspective, we have undertaken a full review of all aspects of the 2009 season. Last year, the Trust’s marginal costs of operating XH558 at air displays exceeded the money raised at airshows by over £130,000. This year we need to do much better, and have the goal of breaking even over the season. With air show organisers, we are seeking local sponsors to supplement the usual airshow appearance fees, to increase our airshow revenues.

We are still in the early stages of planning this 2010 air display season, but if we can’t see additional sources of operational revenues from the flying we do, we will be looking to cut our operating costs, by for example make fewer long (and expensive) transits. A provisional flying programme will be published in late May, based on discussions with organisers and the developing picture from the aircraft servicing.

Above all, with experience of running XH558 as a “single aircraft airline” for well over a year behind us, we are more confident for a viable future, based on our growing commercial activities and the finance streams we are building. The launch of our Annual Appeal for 2011, and other special events planned around XH558’s 50th Anniversary on 25th May, will be central to continuing this drive. In the medium term, the target of flying down the Mall on 4th June 2012, in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, remains firmly in our sights.

We will of course continue with these regular updates for you, giving the very latest news on developments.

Looking back over the past couple of months to another discomforting experience on the roller-coaster that is keeping XH558 flying, it’s clear that we all, XH558 included, owe so much to one another. We must continue to do the best for what is quite a remarkable British project and a unique achievement.

For being part of that, I thank you.

With kindest regards,

Robert Pleming

[Deleted account DD]

Hi All, another news letter from VTSC. I know this is not really a 4x4 subject but as you can tell it's something that I have an interest in. I'm not trying to ram it down your throats so please say if you don't really want these updates. The real interesting stuff will start shortly when they start posting engineering reports with photo's.

Jim



keep em coming :thumb2

I really hope this succeeds. I firmly believe the survival of this aircraft as a flyer is as important as we now regard preserved pieces of victorian engineering around the country. eg one of my faves, the water pumping station at Blagdon :thumb2

[Spook]

just come across this thread, the Vulcan is so much part of this country's heritage form the 70's and 80's - don't forget the herculeian effort that the squadron did to bomb the falklands when it was due to be scrapped within months. it really is a design classic - it looks right, it went well, and served for a long time. now we only have one left.
its amazing that an aircraft that isn't that long out of service and with such a history has fewer airworthy example than the Lancaster and Spitfires that pre-ceeded it by 30years:doh:doh
i'm with Sid - the country will throw millions at 'arts' which very few people are interested in, and a fraction at our engineering heritage. and lets not forget that this countrys engineering was the best for a very long time.....

rant over, time for a brew, had a s***t day

[Spook]

didn't know this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skyshield

goes to show just how good the Vulcan was/is/could have been with some more development

[Deleted account DD]

Spook, We've always had the brains in this country to support top grade engineering. That shows in the aerospace industry even to the extent on something tri national like the Tornado it wasnt the brit bits that were the weak links :D

We just dont seem to keep it going and support them particularly well.

[jims-terrano]

Well guy's nobody said no so here goes........

Update Friday 9th April 2010


Dear Supporters,

I am pleased to let you know that, having now paid for much of the Winter Service activity, our financial situation is keeping to plan. Our assumptions going forward include the honouring of the vast majority of the Pledges made since November last year, and the funds raised from broadening both our fund-raising activities and our visibility to the general public. It is clearly vital we have a successful 50th Anniversary season, to ensure we have the foundation for future years.

One such fund-raising activity that has raised nearly £800 plus a lot of local interest, has been the sponsored cycle ride by 7 year-old Joshua Parkyn, who completed over 20 miles between Bournemouth and Boscombe Piers in Dorset this Easter Sunday. The initiative, determination and commitment from someone so young, inspired by seeing the Vulcan at Bournemouth last year, exemplifies the reasons why we should do our very best to take XH558 to young audiences everywhere, as an inspiration to the next generation of Engineers and Scientists. Huge congratulations Josh!

Why not consider whether you and/or your friends have a hobby or a talent that could attract publicity and funds for XH558 via a sponsored event or activity?

Returning to Pledges, to date, some £80,000 has been received out of the £274,000 pledged, excluding Gift Aid. This equates to about 30%. If you have not yet honoured your pledge, we ask you do so now at your earliest convenience. Our Results page on the website will show the Pledge Redemption levels as a percentage on a regular basis, whilst also displaying ongoing fresh donations ahead of our new Annual Appeal launch.

The Winter Engineering Programme is proceeding to plan at RAF Lyneham. The "inspection" phase of the Minor Service has been completed, and rectification of defects discovered is under way. The most significant defects are corrosion on part of one of the elevon doors (which will require a long alloy bar to be manufactured), and delamination of part of the canopy. We don’t currently envisage any delays resulting from these defects.

Work is progressing in parallel on the two Fatigue Life Extension modifications, to the Front Spar Bottom Booms and the Landing Light Apertures on each wing; no issues have arisen to date.

There are still off-aircraft tasks to be completed to ensure the re-validation of the Permit to Fly, including the completion of the overhaul of the Port undercarriage, and the development of a revised engine cycle exchange rate algorithm.

We currently envisage that the aircraft may be ready for test flight at the beginning of June.

Away from Lyneham, the need to generate sustainable income flows for the next 3-4 years, and the longer-term strategy for XH558, are currently the main focus of our attention. In the short term, fund-raising and PR plans, including the launch of our Annual Appeal, are developing around XH558’s 50th Birthday at the end of May. As it is a phased plan, some initiatives will be announced sooner, as early publicity will increase the level of success.

Our display programme for the year is developing, but it will not be publicised until the end of May at the earliest. In developing the programme, the need to conserve aircraft fatigue life and to ensure that sorties are at least break-even in financial terms, whilst maximising our exposure to the public around the UK, have been important criteria. In achieving the best compromise, I expect there will be some negotiations on the way to a final flying programme for 2010.

Once again, I need to point out that none of this would have been possible without each and every one of you! If you have contributed £1, you have played a vital part in keeping this project alive. Now, with your continued help, we can continue to take our story out to the wider public and capitalise on this special year in the history of the one-and-only Avro Vulcan XH558.

Thank you and best wishes.

Robert Pleming
Vulcan To The Sky Trust.

[Deleted account DD]

All good stuff Jim :thumb2

I have to say though one point that was bothering me but theyve let the answer slip in that piece is what service they were carrying out.

Unfortunately its a "minor" which although is still a big job isnt half as big as subsequent major/equalised ones. So if theyre struggling to get all dosh in and to fund a minor I would be very worried.

However good luck to them :thumb2

[jims-terrano]

I reckon all the more reason to make the most of it this year:thumbs

Jim

[Deleted account DD]

I reckon all the more reason to make the most of it this year:thumbs

Jim

Defo.

[jims-terrano]

Hope she's flying at Waddington:thumbs

Jim

[Deleted account DD]

Agreed. I want to see this and the spitfire BM597 flying.

May make an effort this year :thumb2

[jims-terrano]

Time to bore you all again:lol

Congratulations to XH558 on reaching her 50th Birthday!

Today, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of XH558's first ever test flight on 25th May 1960 – her 50th Birthday - by launching her 50th Anniversary Season.

We will be celebrating XH558’s five decades, during five months, with at least eight key events. Our main Appeal pages now carry the FIVE FIVE EIGHT banner announcing this aim.

As a start to the celebrations, XH558 will now bear the inscription “The Spirit of Great Britain”, to reflect all that she stands for. I hope you will agree with me that this is a fitting tribute to a famous aircraft.

Also today, we will be choosing the winners in XH558’s Birthday Prize Draw, and also unveiling a GIANT Birthday Card that will be taken around the Air Show circuit, to allow all of XH558’s supporters to sign it.

As XH558 is still on an active RAF base at Lyneham, our options for public access have been severely limited, but please do look out for an update tomorrow, when we will give you a report and pictures from the day.

Later this week, we will also unveil some of the plans we have to carry on the 50th Birthday Season celebrations next month. We have some simply stunning activities planned, which I am sure you will enjoy taking part in.

Please make sure you and everyone you can contact are subscribed to our Newsletter service, in order to hear developments just as soon as possible.

We look forward to an exciting 2010 Display Season.

Kind Regards,
Robert Pleming
Vulcan To The Sky Trust.

[Deleted account DD]

Not at all boring Jim :thumb2

Takes me back looking at photos of the airframe work, I remember toiling with the hand tools shaping and rivetting on repair patches under the close scrutiny of our instructor at Halton. One of his fave lines refering to the tolerances we supposedly worked to was "0.1 of a mill thats a ******* motorway, I could drive my ******* jag through that, you useless w ****ers"

Yes they could get away with such descriptions in those days. He only changed from c ***** t to w ****ers when one of the young ladies on our fitters course complained :lol:lol:lol:lol She did actually tell him she wanted him to find out and use the female version of w ****ers when he was talking about her, he never did bring himself to do that :lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

Anyway I digress, I am struggling on the Vulcan site to see if theyve published a definite schedule for 2010 ????

[jims-terrano]

Hi Dave, I've a feeling they don't know when it's gonna be ready for Air Shows due to the engineering works this winter. Keep fingers crossed it's fixed by Waddington:thumb2 If not I'll be paying Sunderland a visit when it's their show.

Jim

[clivvy]

I might have to go see. I was there on I believe its last flight from service, blimey, i was only what, 14/15 year old...!

[jims-terrano]

Engineering Programme Update

Ever since the funding for the 2010 Engineering Programme was secured in early March, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust team, supported by Marshall Aerospace and key manufacturers, have been working flat out to prepare XH558 for the 2010 season.

As you know, the Engineering Programme included a Minor Service, the rectification of any problems which surfaced during the Minor, the embodiment of two complicated fatigue life extension modifications (one of which had only ever been added to the Vulcan Structural Fatigue Test Specimen), and full overhaul of the Port Main Landing Gear.

At the start of the year, I announced that the engineering programme was expected to last no longer than four months from the date that funding allowed its commencement. Barring any last minute surprises, and despite every effort to accelerate the work, this is turning out to be a reasonably accurate prediction. Given that the work started in March, this puts the return to flight towards the end of June.

As those who attended the Vulcan to the Sky Club AGM heard, we have already had to withdraw from appearing at a number of displays in early-to-mid June, including Cosford and Margate.

On behalf of the team, it is only right for me to alert you now that there has to be some doubt about whether we will be ready to take XH558 to the RAF Waddington Airshow on 3-4th July.

Rest assured that we continue to do everything possible to bring dates forward, but, as ever, there can be no short-cuts to returning XH558 to flight safely.

I will provide a further update next week.

Kind Regards,
Robert Pleming
Vulcan To The Sky Trust.

[briggie]

Engineering Programme Update

Ever since the funding for the 2010 Engineering Programme was secured in early March, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust team, supported by Marshall Aerospace and key manufacturers, have been working flat out to prepare XH558 for the 2010 season.

As you know, the Engineering Programme included a Minor Service, the rectification of any problems which surfaced during the Minor, the embodiment of two complicated fatigue life extension modifications (one of which had only ever been added to the Vulcan Structural Fatigue Test Specimen), and full overhaul of the Port Main Landing Gear.

At the start of the year, I announced that the engineering programme was expected to last no longer than four months from the date that funding allowed its commencement. Barring any last minute surprises, and despite every effort to accelerate the work, this is turning out to be a reasonably accurate prediction. Given that the work started in March, this puts the return to flight towards the end of June.

As those who attended the Vulcan to the Sky Club AGM heard, we have already had to withdraw from appearing at a number of displays in early-to-mid June, including Cosford and Margate.

On behalf of the team, it is only right for me to alert you now that there has to be some doubt about whether we will be ready to take XH558 to the RAF Waddington Airshow on 3-4th July.

Rest assured that we continue to do everything possible to bring dates forward, but, as ever, there can be no short-cuts to returning XH558 to flight safely.

I will provide a further update next week.

Kind Regards,
Robert Pleming
Vulcan To The Sky Trust.



thought you might enjoy this jim ....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VECwLl06ik0

[jims-terrano]

XH558 Update - 25th June 2010
25 June 2010 - Vulcan To the Sky Trust

Engineering Update Friday 25thJune 2010


The Engineers and support contractors continue to make great strides in preparing XH558 for her 2010 Display season.



The port undercarriage is now fitted and tested. The next step, was to begin lowering the aircraft weight back onto her main wheels for the first time in nearly 9 months. This was completed on Thursday.



We still have a days work to complete the engines test and the remaining electrical test prior to the first post service test flight schedule.



Our Engineering Authority, Marshall Aerospace and OEM’s, BAE and Rolls Royce, together with the CAA, are working hard to complete all the relevant paper work necessary to allow the application for a permit to test. Once the test flight is completed and rectification is clear, a Permit Maintenance release will be signed by MA and the CAA will then issue a permit to fly.



The CAA have stated that they will support MA with the turn around of this document in the shortest possible time. Without the regularity paperwork in place and the master of this document on board the aircraft, we will be unable to display the aircraft.



However, as has been said many times before, reliability and safety will never be sacrificed in returning XH558 to the Display Circuit.



It should be remembered, that only in March, the whole project was near to financial collapse, with the lack of funding preventing the Winter service and major air frame life extensions from starting.

To be even in the position we are now, just 3 months later, is a major achievement for the whole team!



To offer every good chance of making RAF Waddington on the 3rd and 4th of July, we have decided to postpone an official announcement on XH558’s condition till the early part of next week. We feel this will allow the public the best notice of the aircraft's condition and the likelihood of her attendance.



We would appreciate your understanding of this matter and look forward to your continued support, throughout the season to come.

Thank you.

Vulcan To the Sky Trust.

[jims-terrano]

Scroll to the bottom of the page contained in this link and see some nice photo's taken today.

Jim


http://www.site.vulcantothesky.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9512&whichpage=10

[jims-terrano]

Herculean efforts continue to ready Vulcan XH558 for RAF Waddington Airshow


Huge efforts are being made to complete the final servicing procedures & tests that would allow Vulcan XH558 to appear at the Waddington Airshow this coming weekend. The Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST), in partnership with the CAA, Marshall Aerospace, BAE Systems, Messier-Dowty, Kearsley Airways, and Rolls-Royce, continues to do its utmost to try to ensure XH558 takes her rightful place in the skies above Waddington in celebration of her 50th Birthday. XH558 was the first Vulcan B.Mk2 to be delivered to the Royal Air Force at Waddington in July 1960, so it is a particularly significant & poignant year for this iconic and much loved aircraft.

Dr Robert Pleming, Chief Executive of VTST said: "Given where we were at the start of March, to be able to reach this stage and to have the aircraft almost on the brink of flying again has been an incredible achievement. Without a huge amount of commitment, energy, determination, problem-solving and hard work from all at VTST and at our partner and supplier organisations, this just would not have been possible."

"The Winter Service, Undercarriage Overhaul & Structural Fatigue Life Extension Modifications carried out on XH558 over the last four months have been a one-off & complex engineering project, which has had to be carried to the highest technical standards. Some of the work had never been carried out on a Vulcan airframe before. This was all performed in the light of the October 2009 Haddon-Cave report on the Nimrod MR2 crash in Afghanistan in 2006, which has sensitised the aerospace industry to the issues of ageing aircraft airworthiness.

We now stand at the point where we are working to ensure that all of the engineering, technical, regulatory and safety requirements are in place and correctly documented, to maximise the chance of appearing at the Waddington Airshow. Please bear with us, because while this vital work is moving forward positively, we remain uncertain it will be completed in time. We will continue to publish regular updates on our website to ensure that everyone is fully aware of our progress."

In recognition of all the efforts to return this unique British aircraft to flight, Vulcan XH558 has had the inscription "The Spirit of Great Britain" added to her livery. It is clearly only through this “Spirit” and the immense help and support that the public have so generously given that she is able to fly, to honour the brave people who remained on alert during the Cold War, to thrill crowds and to inspire the young throughout the United Kingdom.

Dr Pleming continued: "We would like to thank all the people who have given so generously to help support this superb example of British engineering and heritage. I believe that XH558 and the VTST exemplify the "Spirit of Great Britain", which I hope will inspire young people and encourage them to consider a career in the fields of engineering and technology, such an important part of all of our futures. All of the team at VTST are very proud to be associated with this endeavour, especially in this the major milestone of XH558’s Golden Anniversary year."

[jims-terrano]

Photo's from today...

http://forum.vulcantothesky.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10289

Jim

[jims-terrano]

Fly next to XH558!

Sep 17, 2010 by Ian Homer. Posted to category: General

Your chances to fly next to XH558
Later this month, XH558, in conjuction with the Blades Aerobatic Team, are taking part in BBC's Children in Need. Outside of the seats being provided to the BBC, we have made two more available. One to Auction off, the other, to Raffle.

Our Homepage will shortly carry our promotion for these, while we have now started e-newsletter distribution to nearly 25,000 contacts on our database.

You can buy your £5.58 each Raffle tickets here:

http://vulcantotheskyenterprisesltd.netdirector.co.uk/product/Raffle_Ticket_for_Blades_Flight_next_to_XH558_BLAD ESRAFFLE1

You can bid on another seat here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110587479434&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Good luck !

[jims-terrano]

Here it is possibly your VERY LAST CHANCE to see flying history!!!!!

[jims-terrano]

Sep 24, 2010 by Ian Homer. Posted to category: General

A message from Robert Pleming
Dear Supporters,

With three more hugely popular displays now completed – at the Jersey Airshow RAF Leuchars and Bristol Filton - we are approaching the end of another successful air display season for XH558. Based on the spectator numbers provided to us, we estimate that XH558 has been seen by over 1.5million people at the 17 venues she has visited around the UK.

This means that we are also approaching the last of our major revenue-earning flying activities. With currently no other major new funding sources clearly identified, we need to take some decisive actions to ensure that XH558 achieves her destiny of flying in the Diamond Jubilee year.

The Trust’s cash position as we move into the autumn is now very tight. Let the figures speak for themselves. As of 31st August, our income for the ten months since the start of our financial year (1st November 2009) was £1,966,917 against the plan of £2,441,492, a shortfall of over £474,000. Our costs though were lower than expected, at £1,880,915, against the plan of £2,160,760, a difference of £380,000, this despite having completed all the planned engineering investment. Further detail on how these figures are made up maybe seen on the accompanying pie charts. http://www.vulcantothesky.org/how-to-help/financials.html

We have of course been monitoring how well we have performed over the past year. As regards things that have not gone as well as hoped, our late start in July to the UK air display season, owing to an overrun of our engineering programme, meant that disappointingly XH558 missed a number of profitable air displays in June.

Despite investing heavily in an advertising campaign in various media, we haven’t yet seen any significant return – this is a major concern as we currently don’t know why. Restricted as XH558 currently is to flying in Visual Meteorological Conditions, the loss of the displays over the Bournemouth and Shoreham air display weekend due to poor weather hit us hard, with the loss of over £46,000 in net income.

Certain things we have been forced to delay until 2011, for example the internet-based competition “Ticket to Ride” for a fast taxi in XH558 has had to be held over due to Gambling Commission constraints. Something, certainly in ours sights for next season!

Our Annual Appeal has so far raised £46,296 in the two months it has been running, but this is only about 18% of the £125,000 per month rate needed to reach our target.

On a more positive side, we have had a number of significant successes. XH558’s technical serviceability this year has remained high, largely due to the diligent attentions of our engineering team, so we have been able to satisfy a very high percentage of our air display bookings this year.

Our engineering organisation has now gained some of the formal technical approvals from the CAA necessary to undertake maintenance and rectification activities independent from our Engineering Authority, Marshall Aerospace. This in turn will lead to reduced costs.

The winter servicing programme included the successful embodiment of two fatigue life extension modifications to XH558’s wings. For one of these modifications, it was the first time the modification had been made to a flying Vulcan, the only other time being to the Vulcan Fatigue Test Specimen at Woodford in the 1960s!

The engineering programme this year has actually come in under budget, which confirms that we are managing to keep our costs under control..

Despite a yet more exciting display this year, our aircrew have modified the way they are flying XH558 so as to reduce the rate of consumption of the airframe’s fatigue life by over 30%, thus delaying the inevitable end of her flying career.

On fund-raising and communication to our supporters, the new-look website and email newsletters appear to have gone down well. The 50th Birthday Card signing page has now notched up over 10,500 signatures, each one with a touching comment or message of good wishes for XH558 – a stunning success!

We have re-organised our merchandise and web store, and this part of our activities is now making a significant return for the Trust, with revenues of nearly £60,000 over the past two months.

The Trust’s hospitality presence at Farnborough this year, while pricey, has produced a number of new and significant corporate sponsorship and philanthropy leads, which we are of course continuing to pursue as vigorously as possible, but it is currently impossible to foretell whether any of these will prove fruitful before we finally run out of money.

We know that we need to tell the world about our current situation - yet again – so a new media campaign will commence on Monday with the crisis messages as strong as we can make them. Our website will now be updated with the current status of our activities so that we can all monitor our progress.

We will of course be making it absolutely clear that it would amount to a national travesty if XH558 were not available to be able to fly down the Mall on 4th June 2012 in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, mirroring the Concorde flypast performed on the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

So how else can we reach out to the British Public?

Over the next few weeks, we will tell you about our plan for the future, taking us through exciting opportunities with XH558, past her expected remaining flying life to planned retirement, and the construction of a lasting legacy to the days when Britain led the world in aviation, by means of an Academy of Engineering Excellence. With a very strong story to tell, it is hoped that we can capture the support of a wide audience.

We now look forward with mixed feeling to the last planned public sortie of XH558’s 2010 flying season, to participate in the “Help for Heroes” fly-in at Coventry Airport on 26th September, hoping that it will not turn out to be the final public appearance of her second flying career.

There is one final sortie currently planned, on Wednesday 29th September, when XH558 flies with the Blades aerobatic team at Sywell, who will be carrying the winners of this year’s Children in Need competition.

On the subject of competitions, you now have just hours left in our Raffle and Auction - aimed at releasing two additional seats on the Blades aircraft alongside XH558 on this flight. In mid October, we will also Auction off on ebay many items of memorabilia and parts, all aimed at raising funds. Look out for news in forthcoming newsletters by making sure you are subscribed to our e-mail list from the “Sign-up”button of the Home Page.

One further thought, about the extended Vulcan to the Sky team, including our eleven employees, the aircrew, volunteers, Club members and those who support XH558 in companies round the UK. All members of this extended team have worked extremely hard, firstly to return XH558 to the air, and since then to keep XH558 flying for the public. On behalf of all of you who are reading this, I would like to pay tribute to this unique team’s unstinting efforts in making real the vision of a flying XH558.

We have a huge fight on our hands to keep XH558 funded. If we fail, we’ll lose a treasured national icon forever. With the current commemorations of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain in mind, I’m counting on you to join the rest of the team in fighting the battle for XH558, the Spirit of Great Britain.



Robert Pleming

Vulcan to the Sky Trust

[robobone]

Here it is possibly your VERY LAST CHANCE to see flying history!!!!!

you going jim

[jims-terrano]

Wouldn't mind Tony but too much on at the mo. At least if this winter sees the trust fall over I can say that I saw it for it's first display of this year at Waddington:clap

Jim

[jims-terrano]

PLEASE forward this email to any friends you think might be interested!


A very important week for Vulcan XH558 ....


Next Thursday, the Board of Trustees will meet to discuss the viability of keeping our project alive, based on the available cash reserves and known regular monthly income.

At this moment, we are still a long way from the requested £400,000 to see us through to 2011. This gives us great cause for concern. We should now seriously consider what options are available to us if the Trust is forced into administration.

Although we can have no major influence ourselves, the strength of public opinion could well help sway the thoughts of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, who will take charge of our main asset - XH558 herself - if we get to that point.

We pose two simple questions and would ask you to think carefully before clicking on the option you would most prefer to undertake our poll:

A. Whilst she is still airworthy (ie soon), XH558 makes one final flight to a museum site in the UK and is then grounded forever. This keeps XH558 in the UK, which as a national heritage asset, and the oldest complete Vulcan in existence, is an appropriate thing to do.

B. XH558 is flown to another country - probably quite long distance away - where there is sufficient funding available to keep her flying. XH558 will be lost to the UK but will be kept flying.

Vote Here: Please only select one option to give a balanced view:


There is of course, a third option that is still very much in the publics' hands.

If everyone reading this were to donate just £10, then we would raise sufficient finance to continue pushing ahead with our plans to inspire and educate the youth of today.

Our Donation Hotline will be in operation from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-12noon at weekends for the remaining days of October.

To help, simply place a call with your Debit or Credit card ready, to: 0845 5046 558 (local call rates apply).

... if she survives, she will be the last of many!

This week's Coalition Government announcement of the cancellation of Nimrod MRA4 means that XH558 has become the world's most significant representative of British aviation from the 1950s - the greatest era of British aircraft development. Now that the early retirement of the RAF's VC10s has also been announced, she will soon be the only flying example of British four-engined jet aircraft in the world.

Can you imagine air displays without anything big, noisy and British?

We must make sure that XH558 survives and continues to fly.

PLEASE CALL OR CLICK NOW TO MAKE A DONATION

http://www.tvoc.co.uk/

[Deleted account DD]

Tbh Jim , and with great reluctance I have to say I sadly believe this is a lost cause.

Aircraft are very expensive indeed to keep serviceable and even more expensive to keep flying.

Problem is the size of the thing. Wheras a spitfire or a jet provost has 2 mains and a tail or nose tyre with each main say £200 apiece , a Vulcan has 6 even bigger tyres all round at many more £££££ each, and so it goes on with every part of it. To compound their problems I would suggest theres plenty of people out there love the aircraft but times are tight and donations seem to be getting lost in a bottomless pit as they go from one deepening crisis to another.

I personally reckon the best bet is a last flight to a relevant museum. Very very sad but i reckon the best option for the old thing :(

Having said that, i see the ebay fund raiser is doing well and Im a bit soft in the head about this sooo............ i hope I get that print. Dont know the missus will be impressed but itll look good on the wall :augie:augie;)

[jims-terrano]

Hate to say it Dave but your so right and I voted that way too, rather it stay sat somewhere nice n dry that go off to let the yanks have her:nenau

Jim

[Deleted account DD]

Didnt give me any pleasure to say all of that but when ive bought from the shop and donated Ive always had it in the back of my mind that theres not enough drop sin this particular ocean :(

On a lighter note, did you see the blades flight that somone paid £5000 for on ebay to go up alongside the vulcan. that must have been fantastic :thumb2

sorry just spotted your earlier post, see they did it via raffle too :thumb2

[MontysMaverick]

This week I have seen 2 items that spring to mind as a way of helping this old girl out... firstly on here we have a new banner at the top of the page (Billcar) this is obviously some form of advertising that if successful the owner of this site (nissan site) may get payment for (obviously down to his own needs and wants) secondly, anyone seen the new tescos advert that has them promoting a formula 1 team and a premier div football team, all to advertise the clubcard points, cant someone, whoever it may be I dont know sell the space on the vulcan wings say for advertising etc, this to the purists would be like living with the devil, BUT I am old enough to remember formula 1 before the advertisers got hold of every spare inch and look at it know no one takes any notice of whats happenend, The trouble is like daved says "its todays climate thats an issue" But if this aint an option then I too would have to agree that a last flight and the vulcan remains HERE is the best option, Too may things that belong here finish up in different countries or someones personnel collection

[jims-terrano]

Robert Pleming, Chief Executive, Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

I have just come off the ‘phone to our Chairman of Trustees, and I was able to confirm that yesterday, the Trust was in receipt of over £57,000 in donations. I am delighted to let you know that the Board of Trustees now believes that the Appeal has sufficient momentum to raise the remaining £75,000 before the end of the month.

As the result, he has agreement of the Board of Trustees that the Trust has sufficient liquidity to continue to trade, and accordingly the notices to our employees have been rescinded.

This is obviously really good news, and is very much down to you, our core supporters, and the desires of the wider public, who have dug deep into their pockets to move us forward once again. We have received tremendous support from thousands of people, and from literally all four corners of the world! On behalf of XH558, thank you so very much!

If you were waiting for it to become clear whether a donation to XH558 would be worthwhile, now is your moment. We have achieved a huge amount in the last few days, and the Board is now confident that we can move forward to a successful 2011. We do need to keep up the donation momentum all the way through to Sunday 31st October, so please take that step and make a donation, join thousands of others, and help ensure we break through our target by Sunday evening.

Call 0845 5046 558 or donate online by Card or PayPal

[Deleted account DD]

Good news :thumb2

[jims-terrano]

2012 and beyond....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct 1, 2010 by Ian Homer. Posted to category: General

The Plan – to 2012 and beyond
A solid plan exists for the longer-term survival of XH558. There are some quite exciting and new ideas here so please read on to find out what’s coming.

To start with, it costs around £2million each year to operate XH558. Efforts continue to reduce this sum but it is widely accepted that this is about what it costs to run a single-aircraft airline that has no passengers…

So where will the money come from..?

Well here’s the good news to start with - nearly half comes from established & stable sources – Standing Orders, our sponsor Aerobytes Ltd, revenues from Airshow appearances, The Club, merchandising & the Flying Fund.

For the past four years, we have always hoped a large sponsor would fill the remaining ‘gap’. That large sponsor has never arrived so this has ended up being the ‘hole’ that has been filled by crisis appeals in previous years.

As a result, we have now developed a ‘self-sufficient’ business model that places no reliance upon a large sponsor.



The ‘Butterfly’ Appeal (66% of the gap)

You may already be familiar with the ‘butterfly effect’ – where an apparently small & insignificant action results in something happening that is massively disproportionate? (The common example is of a butterfly flapping its wings in one place & resulting in a storm somewhere else).

Well this is exactly what has kept XH558 flying these past few years – lots of relatively small actions that resulted in something quite staggering – something unmatched anywhere else on this planet & something we should all be jointly proud of.

This is not to trivialise the valued contributions made by supporters over the years – but ‘£100 in isolation’ would never have saved XH558 whereas many times ‘£100 in isolation’ has – time and again…

We are looking to sign-up 10,000 new Standing Orders of at least £5.58 per month. With Gift Aid, these will cover two thirds of the ‘gap’ until XH558 is expected to run out of airframe and/or engine life around 2013/14.

This campaign will be launched next week – once the database to manage it has been completed.

When the time comes, please remember to opt in for Gift Aid if you are able – only 56% of the ‘gap;’ needs to come from your pocket because the Government will donate the balance via Gift Aid.

(Of course, if you would rather give your money to the tax-man than to XH558 then please feel free not to complete the Gift Aid details!)

Auctions & Raffles (8% of the gap)

The law in respect of online ‘gambling’ is understandably complex.

As a result, it was only very recently that we found we were able to operate online auctions & raffles within the law.

Our first offering was the opportunity to fly in formation with XH558. This alone raised around £11,000 in less than one week.

Further auctions and raffles will take place regularly – and the prize won’t always be Vulcan-related… Many companies recognise that donating a free prize to a high-profile organisation like ours is actually, a very effective form of advertising.

Merchandising (6% of the gap)

To be honest, the 6% mentioned above is a very conservative figure (but we’ve learned to ‘play safe’).

This last year however, our merchandising has already contributed a vastly increasing return with the introduction of our own Web Store and direct sourcing of supply.

With a range of new products lined up in time for Christmas & with some quite exclusive ideas, we are confident that this target is very achievable.

Meanwhile, please take a look at our online shop here were we have an Autumn Sale in progress: http://www.vulcantotheskystore.co.uk/

If you can think of a product you’d have liked to purchase but that we don’t offer then please email: webstore@vulcantothesky.org

Events (6% of the gap)

It is now an established fact that Vulcan XH558 has a significant influence on the number of people that choose to visit an airshow (the ‘Vulcan Effect’). We also know that she has a certain appeal to those that understand her.

Well in 2011, we intend to capitalise upon these facts.

We will create and offer several events of which XH558 is the star and whose profits go entirely towards keeping her in the air.

Maybe (just maybe) one of these might be a dedicated airshow – but we’ve learned the hard way that regulations and costs could make that a promise we can’t keep – we will do out best though.

Education (5% of the gap)

It has always been rather difficult to run school visits. With the aircraft often in secure, military areas (and not necessarily close to the schools) we have had to watch many opportunities disappear.

We will be actively promoting school visits to our new location & we will also be actively promoting our education packs to schools that might not be able to visit in person.

Airshows (4% of the gap)

The ‘Vulcan Effect’ is now undeniable – airshows with XH558 do very well & those without XH558 are rather… well, quiet…

For coming years, we will no longer be negotiating fees to appear as a welcome piece of publicity for our aircraft. Instead, we know very well that she is the star attraction & will ‘play hardball’ accordingly.

Similarly, we will seek to further optimise her usage. If we can fit in several displays and flypasts in one sortie then this ‘gain’ will be used to our advantage (keeping XH558 flying) instead of to grant discounts to the airshows.

Club (4% of the gap)

Club membership is expected to grow significantly. This figure estimates the proportion of that which will be released to support XH558.

Please note that none of the above figures consider the (entirely realistic) expectation of a major sponsor for the year of the London Olympics. But with fingers burned after several years, we consider this to be a “nice to have” we cannot rely upon for XH558’s longer term survival.

Various initiatives will support the above. Some of the key ones are introduced below.

Recycling Schemes (1% of the gap)

Before now, we needed to rely on a lot of hard work and complicated logistics of collecting and distributing Cartridge to get the best prices..

We are now launching a new scheme, with associated partners, where the public are able to send on Phones and Cartridges directly for processing. We have little to no involvement and yet collect the value!

Given the recent increased value of trade-in phones, this can be a lucrative new market to us. Look out for more news on the Web Site soon with regard to this.

An accessible Winter Home

It is very unfortunate that our main asset (Vulcan XH558) has so far been locked away for eight months of each year (ie. outside of the display season).

This however, has been of necessity – live RAF bases quite understandably cannot allow ‘Joe Public’ to come & go freely.

The good news is that negotiations are now well underway for a winter home that is fully accessible to supporters & school-visits. It will also include a dedicated shop that promotes Vulcan merchandise.

As is the way of such things, we might not be able to ‘move in’ as soon as we would have liked but at the time of writing, things are looking quite positive.

More for the North

Up to & including this year, we could only justify flying XH558 where airshows were able to cover the costs.

But because there were relatively few large airshows in the north of UK, this meant that many of her supporters did not get an opportunity to see her fly. They have shared their concerns with us & we sympathise entirely – something must be done.

Whilst we are not yet in a position to give away too many details, you can be assured that we are working hard to correct this ‘injustice’ for 2011.



You might also like to see the associated article: http://www.vulcantothesky.org/news/127/82/A-review-of-2010.html

and a very inspirational video of why we need to keep XH558 alive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-Q2UCg9yU

Any support you can give us now, will be much appreciated. Simply visit our donation page here: http://www.vulcantothesky.org/donate.html

[Deleted account DD]

XH558 is expected to run out of airframe and/or engine life around 2013/14.

l (http://www.vulcantothesky.org/donate.html)


Dont get me wrong, I admire the determination of the Vulcan team :bow:bow:clap:clap

but I did wonder when that point was,it'll be a killer when they're out of hours. £2 mill will be a drop in the ocean.

I was chatting with a mate (ex engine techie) the other day and as he pointed out theyre in a catch 22. Fly more hours to raise cash and keep the beast in the air means engine & airframe hours will run out sooner.


:confused::confused:


The answers beyond me.

[jims-terrano]

Yeah that too has crossed my mind. It is such a shame to know that in a few short years it'll be grounded. I just want to see it as many times as possible before that time.
I'm also keeping an eye on "Just Jane" the Lanc down at East Kirkby, all being well that'll be the second Lanc in the British Skies. There's only one other Lanc in the world besides our's. I think the Lanc's are a more long term prospect really. Much as I love the sound from those Roll's Merlin's I still love the sound of the Vulcan.

Jim

[Deleted account DD]

How are they getting on with the old beast?

I meant to post the other week, id just watched the England rugby match , went upstairs and just happened to be looking out of the window and over flew a vulcan.....no shit, couldnt believe it (presumably this one !!!) and the match we'd just won.................Argentina :cool::cool::cool: made my day lol

[jims-terrano]

Cracking Dave!!!

Well I still get the news letters so I'll drop the next one on here. Basically they had a to cancel some shows due to weather and then discovered a fuel leak so lost some more income from a couple more shows. It's back in the air now. They are now based at Finningley with a hanger all of their own. By the way I'm a stick in the mud and don't use the name Doncaster Robin Hood Airport because it's not!!!! They are setting up a visitor centre too and already doing prebooked hanger tours.
Saw it at Waddington this year and they are now throwing it aound a little more at displays so it's a little more like it should be!!! Loved every second of the display and it's great to see a big aircraft not lumbering around but flying a little more like a fast jet. With a bit of luck I'll see it next year at Waddington and if I'm not too busy when I'm at RIAT I'll see it there too!! by then I may be Flgt SGT Terrano!! so going daft over an aircraft and dropping everything I'm doing isn't setting a good example!

Jim

[Deleted account DD]

Hi Jim, can quite understand the enthusiasm, when it flew over us it was quite high up but not fast. peopel were literally standing having a good look at the sky , it looked fantastic. My neighbour even commented "didnt know we had vulcans round here" :lol:lol:lol:lol He's now been onto the "to the sky" site :clap

ps it'll always be Finningley to me too, my outstanding memory of the place? getting hammered several times by their rugby team. Each year we were like daft kids having another go after not learning our lesson :lol mind you, they ran cracking post match food and entertainment.

[briggie]

http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y311/phuctiphino/G-VLCNJ-015G-KAXF-20090620-APICT0451-big.jpg

[jims-terrano]

Well as per usual the old girl is suffering lack of funds. However here may be your chance to see her fly this weekend.

Here is where you might catch a glimpse of XH558:

XH558's Detailed Flight Plan for Sunday 16th (Subject to weather and serviceability - all timings approximate)

1345 - Crew in
1445 - XH558 departs Robin Hood (RAF Finingley if you please!!!)
1515 - Flypast at Highclere Castle
1545 - Flypast at Highclere Castle
1600 - Flypast at Wootton Bassett
1630 - Overflight at Wellesbourne
1655 - Land at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster (RAF Finingley if you please!!!)
1700 - 'Hot' change of crew
1705 - Take off for crew currency flight - circuits
1715 - Landing and return to parking