Riding back from tea and cake at the Beehive cafe, then saw the magnificent old bird come over lovely and low when we were near Foremark. Helped break the monotony of 29 miles home into a head wind!

Apparently on it’s way to the Alrewas memorial.

Glad I’ve seen it flying though – lot’s of happy memories of growing up on Lincolnshire RAF bases came back….

Can remember one of those doing a low fly past in Wolverhampton. Scared the bejesus out of me. What a brilliant machine. Deserves to be kept flying.

I love these planes, such a shame there’s only one flying now. Took this a year or so ago:

Vulcan by the1fletch, on Flickr

I’ve seen it a few times – Windermere airshow and also at the Leuchars airshow. Love the approach at Windermere, it comes in from the north really low, can just see the smoke trails and a hear low whistle then you can make out the shape of it, then it’s overhead and the gates of hell get opened as it opens the throttles and pulls up.

Toss up between that and 4 Merlin engines of the Lancaster for best engine noise ever.

Was anyone on here alive in 1977, & went to the Silver Jubilee airshow at RAF Finningley & experienced a four Vulvan scramble?

I WAS THERE!

It set earthquakes off!

Use to see the Vulcan fly at the Mildenhall Airshows of the 80s.

Amazing the thing can fly at all.

Such a huge plane with what look like diddy little engines pushing the thing along.

Cold war airshows were great to see.
Such a long and varied list of aircraft would attend.

I saw one at Biggin Hill air day in about 1975, stood on its tail and did a near vertical climb (or so it seemed to me at the time)and the ground just crackled and shook.

I have to say that it was nearly eclipsed by a display by five (IIRC) F104 Starfighters that did a low run across the spectator area and then a fanned vertical climb. Fortunately I saw them coming but there was a sort of deafening silence after they’d passed, punctuated by wailing and many children crying; quite apocalyptic. Think they’ve changed the rules now so no flights across spectator areas.

Saw that vulcan fly about 2 years ago. Sat in the back garden having a nice beer one summer. Heard this really throaty roar of something meaty heading my my at lowish altitude. Stood up, turned round to see the Vulcan headed my way. Straight over the house almost. I went ballistic. My lass was non plussed 😕

It’s an aeroplane. so what?

experienced a four Vulvan scramble?

Yeah, I think I’ve seen a similar film.

An absolutely epic machine. I saw one at an airshow when I was abou 11 – it did a vertical climb from practically ground level – the noise was seismic.

I can heartily recommend the book ‘Vulcan 607’ if you haven’t read it. A brilliant tale of planning, execution, a lot of ‘amateur’ sticky taping and a slice of luck here and there. Cracking.

I love the jets of that 50s – 70s era – Vampire, Javelin, Victor, Vulcan, Valiant, Lightning etc – they looked straight out of the pages of Eagle or something similar.

egf…

I saw that 4 Vulcan scramble too at Finningley.. . we lived in Lincolnshire then and the airshow was a regular family trip out. I think we were sitting on the roof of the car, not too far away from the action. I think they all launched and went up at full throttle.

It was truely as staggering thing to experience, a complete audio / visual assault… I’m pleased you mentioned it as I am off to search on facetube for it in a moment…

We used to get a Vulcan passing our house twice a day, once about 7 ish in the morning then later at night… close enough to really appreciate….

just been up to see one today at East Fortune in East Lothian…

Fantastic aircraft, I saw one of them fly over Peebles in 1980, it seemed to be scraping the rooftops it was so low, the noise was earsplitting. It then flew down the valley towards Innerleithen, some of my friends on the bus home from school said it was flying along the bottom of the valley not high above the level of the road, awesome!

What Emsz says. I think its a complete waste of money the millions of pounds they spend each year to keep it flying. If its paid for by donations then fair enough but taxpayers money should be spent elsewhere.

it done a fly past over Donnington Park today also for the Superstars race series.

It’s an aeroplane. so what?

We’re all different. I take it you have some emotions somewhere that are stirred by something?

I think its a complete waste of money the millions of pounds they spend each year to keep it flying.

So what? Some people think it is worth it. You’re not paying. Get over it.

If its paid for through tax I am paying

If its paid for through tax I am paying

You’re not paying. Get over it.

you are partially paying for these tho – suck it up!

BBMF

Amazing thing. I saw it a few years ago, visiting the in-laws who used to live near RAF Cosford. The traffic was a nightmare getting to their house, but the free seats for the air show were well worth it.

If its paid for through tax I am paying

As far as I’m aware it’s paid for by donations, so you’re not paying.

Fantastic plane, first saw it when I was younger at the Biggin Hill airshow, can also remember it doing the near vertical climb, one of the most fantastic noises there is!

It’s not the same now that they’re not allowed to really chuck it around or open it up… I remember seeing it at Leuchars as a kid, when they’d do their level best to explode everyone’s heads… Awesome.

I started going air shows many many years ago and was shooting on slide film and here’s one I took that’s been scanned. I’ve seen the Vulcan many many times and loved the displays with really only the SR-71 rivalling it for incredible take-offs. Happy happy days

It’s an aeroplane. so what?

Give us a clue then, what floats your boat? (just interested)

taxes pay for lots of things some people have no use for or no interest in.
deal with it.

Beauties aren’t they?

I’m lucky enough to live close to Carlisle airport where there’s a one there permanently. Haven’t been up there for a while but used to regularly have a walk around it!

its for dropping bombs, isn’t it? not really something to get wet about is it?

if it was one that was going to take me on holiday, i might like it better LOL

http://www.neam.co.uk/wingate.html

Saw this from the school window too. Certainly haven’t seen anything like it since, & don’t want to!

emsz – Member

its for dropping bombs, isn’t it? not really something to get wet about is it?

Well, it was. And it did. But now it’s for flying around looking cool.

All paid for by donations.

It is a charity and i’m proud to have given them a few quid.

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

3 Vulcans

Spent a year or so working out of Baginton, by Coventry airport, where there is a decomissioned Vulcan parked up by the road. Every day, both on my way in and on my way home, I’d get distracted by it. Beautiful it isn’t, but there aren’t many planes that look more purposeful or “hard as nails” that the Vulcan, save for maybe the SR-71.

Finally got to see the single remaining Vulcan flying in 2010 at Goodwood Festival of Speed. I can tell you that even though they weren’t opening it up properly, and it was a good way up in the sky, the noise is unreal. Every unsilenced F1 car or GP bike was drowned out by a huge margin by the Vulcan!

its for dropping bombs, isn’t it? not really something to get wet about is it?

It’s not what it was designed to do that’s important, but the design and engineering itself that is. I’m going to assume you’ve not really got much appreciation for engineering emsz, as the Vulcan is/was/will always be great for various reasons. Aside from the radical looks (that are now over 50 years old!), it was the first proper Delta Wing plane to see active service, the use of 4 Turbojet engines, the fact they saw active service for long after they were expected to be retired because they were so good, the fact that the Russians and the Argies were shit scared of em etc. Oh, and the fact that the development of the Vulcan eventually lead almost directly to the Concorde, the greatest passenger carrying plane ever to have been conceived!

Don’t deny the importance of something just cos you don’t have any appreciation for it yourself!

Oh, and it’s funded through donations and charities, the taxpayer doesn’t contribute a penny AFAIK.

Good stuff.

Another ‘anorak’ fact is that only 10 years separate the design of the Avro Lancaster & the Avro Vulcan.

And remember it was designed on a drawing board….no CAD or computers back in 52!

If you ever get the chance, go along to Wellesbourne Airfield near Stratford, Warwickshire.

They have a Vulcan that could fly but they do not have permission from the CAA. They do a fast taxi run each year and it is used for training with the crew that fly XH558.

I went along with my wife and 2 kids about 18 months ago and got the chance to go inside their Vulcan.

Pictures on here http://www.xm655.com/index.php again they get no funding and the guys that look after it are a great bunch.

OK…. so this is where I get to admit how old I am…

I once flew in a Vulcan.. Just a shortish air experience flight… about 2 hours or so.
Got to fly it a bit as well. Flew really well for a fat bird.

I was also instructed for a while by Martin Withers….(the chap who was captain of the Vulcan that dropped the bombs at Port Stanley) when I was learning to fly Jet Provosts.

Now I am just an old fat bloke.

emsz – Member
its for dropping bombs, isn’t it? not really something to get wet about is it?

True, but having it made sure that nobody dropped bombs on us.

Me my lad and my dad are off to RAF Cosford museum on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing all of the V Bombers.

I think that the Victor is the best looking of the 3 myself. Designed by the same team who did Flash Gordon’s spaceship.

It’s not what it was designed to do that’s important

Sorry, but that’s just rubbish isn’t it? You can wrap it up any way you like, but these things have one job, and that’s killing people. I wonder if the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan appreciate the design of those drones that drop bombs on them from miles away, or those helicopters that look like something from a terminator film.

I like good design, but I’d rather see better uses for technology than these sorts of things

Next you’ll be saying that the Nazis didn’t have the best uniforms…

Function and form are interlinked, but it is possible to appreciate them in separation.

A thing of beauty?

Yeah, but clothes don’t kill people, unless you suffocate them with it!

Those items make it safer for the person inside to kill people…bit like a mediaeval version of a drone.

A Vulcan passed over me when I was climbing at Rylstone once. Scared the crap out of me – but what an awesome machine.

I saw Henry V’s armour once. It was tiny. The French at Agincourt must have thought they were being attacked by Wee Jimmy Krankie.

Are you sure it wasn’t his boyhood jousting type armour? Henry VIII was over six foot tall…