Vulcan XH558 on the move

Have we done this:

Linky

Some talk of one last ferry flight / or dismantle and rebuild at its new home. Hope its the former.

I’d like to see it fly once tbh.

I read Vulcan 607 only a few weeks back whilst on holiday. Amazing book – didn’t know much about the Vulcans before that.

Mr Sharman said the option of dismantling the Vulcan would be “extremely sad” but ultimately “she would be preserved and still able to inform, educate and inspire future generations of engineers”.

Hopefully also with the caveat that they are likely to have to move abroad to find the engineering related career they aspire to.

While I am a plane nut I find that I’m conflicted by the need to keep a flight worthy aircraft such as the Vulcan.

Bombers are by their nature offensive weapons, and this one in particular – along with the other V-fleet were designed with a singular mission in mind. I’m not certain that a flying version (often seen alongside the BBMF Lancaster) doesn’t just pander now to our more jingoistic nature? It’s a dramatic aircraft IRL to be sure, but there’s plenty of footage, static exhibits, and living memory that it won’t pass from future research and our history, and I’m unsure that keeping increasingly complex and difficult aircraft – that were hard enough for the RAF to keep in service for as long as they did – flying in civilian hands is safe.

Dunno, just sounding off I guess, but it always gives me pause.

I’d love for it to happen, but I don’t believe it will. Getting RR to sign off the engines is a huge hurdle, plus getting the pilots to recertify, then the CAA.

It’d be easier to build a hangar.

On the beeb caption it says this:
“The Vulcan, known as Spirit of Great Britain…”

As it’s dragged away, chopped up into bits and sold for scrap, I can’t think of anything more prosaic.

It had its time, but aircraft follow the bathtub curve for maintenance and cost, it’s a 60 year old airframe with a need for a bespoke maintenance schedules and no real spares support.

The engines are probably not the worst issue, a 60 year old delta wing airframe must be fun to run through an ageing aircraft audit and keep structural integrity for.

Recertification for one flight seven years after the previous one…? Can’t see it happening much as I would like to happen.

Recertification for one flight seven years after the previous one…? Can’t see it happening much as I would like to happen.

100% this.

While I am a plane nut I find that I’m conflicted by the need to keep a flight worthy aircraft such as the Vulcan.

definitely. I know it’s a hobby/labour of love for the people who are interested in this thing, but at the end of the day (even though I agree it’s a very cool plane! Was fortunate to see it at air shows a couple of times) it’s a war machine that – unlike say Spitfire or Lancaster – actually had very limited operational use or impact, and surely they could be devoting their time/effort/millions to some kind of more relevant charity/cause.
(of course, as I say, completely their prerogative to spend their time/effort pissing money away into this thing rather than e.g. helping the homeless, etc 😃)

There’s zero chance of a flight for the simple reason (beyond all the logistical ones like CAA, certification etc) that it’d cause absolute chaos. There’d be hundreds of thousands of people lining up to try and see it with the associated traffic carnage.

Flying it itself wouldn’t be that difficult, they still do live engine runs. The plane itself works. You’d just need to pull back on the stick a bit…

Less about the plane in this case – the original plan was to house it at Doncaster but the future of that airport itself is in doubt.

Yeah, I don’t think it’ll fly wherever it goes. They pretty much ran it to the death before it was parked, didn’t they?

They’re pretty good at transporting planes though. I mean, they get killed- just chopped and then bodged back together, it’s not a plane any more after that but still.

Absolutely think it should be preserved, though. Partly because Vulcans are just cool, big daft paper planes made real. But also, they’re fascinating engineering at an important time, and they have so many stories attached, both good and sad/ironic- lesson teaching stuff.

(ie, how many more generations of Independent Deterrant did we have, all stupidly expensive and none ever to be used… Or the perfect caveat of the Black Buck raids- “Yes we poked holes in the runway. But it was also hit by naval artillery and by harriers.”)

how many more generations of Independent Deterrant did we have, all stupidly expensive and none ever to be used… Or the perfect caveat of the Black Buck raids- “Yes we poked holes in the runway. But it was also hit by naval artillery and by harriers.”

But the deterrent was used. And the replacements are being used right now. Why hasn’t Russia invaded Latvia? Why hasn’t NATO sent its ground forces into Ukraine? Because the deterants are working.
The Vulcans were an important part of that,and they worked in that respect. That they never did the job they were designed to do shows that they worked.
.
Black Buck was a little different maybe, getting a bomb on a runway the other side of the world had a little strategic use, but it’s main point was a statement of intent “we can, and will, do this if we have to. And if we can hit that we can also hit any naval base or airfield in Argentina if we chose to” Psychology/propaganda? Yes, but both very useful.
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Is keeping a Vulcan flying any dafter than repointing Nelson’s column or preserving the Mary Rose?

 There’d be hundreds of thousands of people lining up to try and see it with the associated traffic carnage

That is probably true, but IMO shows why it should be done if it can be.
It would cost millions. Spent by people who want to donate on providing some very specialist engineering jobs? Why not?

Absolutely think it should be preserved, though

Including XH558 there are 19 Vulcans on display (including one in Canada and one in the USA) it’s not particularly rare as an aircraft

One of my customers used to fly Vulcans. In his late 70s now and still thrashes around on a big motorbike.

but it’s main point was a statement of intent “we can, and will, do this if we have to.

I thought its main point was to justify budgets for the RAF who had been, effectively, kept out of the game at that point. Apart from a few GR3s and a Chinook. 😁

It would cost millions. Spent by people who want to donate on providing some very specialist engineering jobs? Why not?

Bloodhound would be a far, far better place for the cash to end up.

As nickc says, it’s not rare and I am fairly sure that a lot of instrumentation was stripped out before it’s return to flight so it wouldn’t even be a particularly good museum exhibit. There’s a nice one that you can go look around (with lots of other interesting stuff) at Newark a few miles south.
Elvington don’t want it so it looks like any potential new home will either be a long trip on on a convoy of low loaders or sadly a local scrap yard.

I read Vulcan 607 only a few weeks back whilst on holiday. Amazing book – didn’t know much about the Vulcans before that.

Me too, also on Holiday. The true story is fantastic, just jaw dropping really. (The writing less so, a bit Bravo Two Zero IMO.)

I’ve seen the Vulcan fly a couple of times, Beautiful and such a glorious noise!

ie, how many more generations of Independent Deterrant did we have, all stupidly expensive and none ever to be used… Or the perfect caveat of the Black Buck raids- “Yes we poked holes in the runway. But it was also hit by naval artillery and by harriers.

Also, the Argentinians managed a temporary repair and could fly transporters in and out by the time the war ended.

If you’re coming down to the Bournemouth Air Festival in a couple of weeks, definitely take the chance to pop into the Bournemouth Aviation Museum opposite the airport.

There’s a Vulcan cockpit, along with many others, that you can climb into and indulge your jet flying fantasies.

Plus if you time it right, you get to see the Red Arrows taking off / landing and often doing an extra little display for the airport & museum folks.

My dad volunteers on the one near Warwick-xm655 I believe it is. They won’t get flightworthy status on that one but do a runway run a couple of times a year to test the engines and show it off a bit. Think there’s one next month.

glorious noise!

Childhood memory for me was lying in grandad’s garden in Waddington or the play area in Coleby – and feeling like I was being pummelled into the earth by that noise…. Most noticeable when multiple planes took off.

It won’t be flying anywhere. Not a hope. Post Shoreham, even less chance than there used to be. I’ve no idea if the

There’s a long running thread on Pistonheads about it – if its to be believed, a large chunk of the reason for its grounding was down to VTTS pissing off all the tech agencies like Marshalls and Rolls who needed to be on side to keep it flying, and since then most of the cash raised has gone on wages for the board, not on sorting a hangar for it.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing//topic.asp?h=0&f=191&t=443784&i=6760

I enjoyed seeing it fly, but it’s now just another dead bit of metal. As others have said, its not especially rare – all the museums have one already, and unless you have a hangar, they just rot away in front of you (I had a good close look at the Duxford Victor before it went for restoration and it was a right mess). Best use would be to provide (free) spares to the other ground running Vulcans to keep them going longer.

…because I can…
(must have been standing right next to the guy ^^^)

andrewh
Free Member

And if we can hit that we can also hit any naval base or airfield in Argentina if we chose to

Which of course we instantly committed to not doing under any circumstances, to keep the little bit of international support we had onside.

Four months younger than the B52 (whatever happened to that aircraft). It won’t be flying again just based on the certification process.

B52 (whatever happened to that aircraft)

still flying/operational, and will be for another 30 years according to Wiki! Far better & more practical design obviously than the Vulcan, although the latter is more cool looking…

And if we can hit that we can also hit any naval base or airfield in Argentina if we chose to

I’m not sure that would’ve been possible. There were 7 Black Buck missions, 2 were cancelled out right because of aircraft failures or weather (I think) 2 more were completed by the back up plane (failures of primary aircraft). The wear and tear on both the fleets of Victors and Vulcans was immense. Operating those old aircraft far from their home bases, on missions they were never designed for (the stress of continuingly loading them to over max weight was starting to really effect their serviceability right from BB-1) at a time when they were coming to the end of their service life was mostly balsa and wood glue, including the fact that I think only something like 150 bombs of the appropriate type could be located, and one Vulcan was grounded in Brazil for the duration after diverting. And they had no ability to avoid Argentinian radar, if they had been forced to make those sorts of raids, the outcome of the Falklands might’ve been very different.

The Argentinians clearly didn’t know all that of course, but deception only goes so far. The RAF literally got away with it.

the B52 (whatever happened to that aircraft)

Got lost at the side of the road, approx 15 miles from a love shack.

Aside, but, I love that there are B52 crew that are the children of B52 crew.

still flying/operational, and will be for another 30 years according to Wiki

The A-10 likewise, some have been in service since the late 70’s the “newest” A-10 was built in 1984 – as long almost as the USAF have been trying get shot of them. There’s a updated avionics and replacement wing programme that looks like it will keep them in service for a while yet. Boeing thinks they could be flying until at least 2040.

Also, the Argentinians managed a temporary repair and could fly transporters in and out by the time the war ended.

But not fast jets, so they had to fly them from the mainland throughout the conflict.

More cool looking, indeed, but not designed for backseat riders.

The V-Bomber Ejector Seat Controversy

edit: something wrong with my pic, will fix

The point of the photo is this is the only view you will get of XH558 today. To get it, park down a dead end road that leads to the sewage works next to the airport, try to get there early before the doggers arrive. Then work your way down the brambled and nettled gap between the airport fence and the Yorkshire Water fence. Get your pic by carefully avoiding the chain link fence.

I, and many others really liked having her close to me, and seeing her fly more than most, but in retrospect, her last flight should have been to an existing museum with direct access to a runway.

Did you take a ladder for the second photo so you could see over that big grey wall?

You know at the start of Vulcan 607, where the crash of XM610 in Wingate, Co Durham is explained? I saw that.
It flew over our school with flames coming from the engine before going in a few miles away.
I also witnessed a spectacle I’ve never seen or heard the like of since, a 4 Vulcan scramble at RAF Finningley during the Queen’s silver jubilee airshow in 1977.
There’s a Vulcan at Sunderland Aviation museum (was?) I watched that one land there.
Love a Vulcan me. Spock included.

For the Vulcan enthusiasts

Falklands War 1982: Black Buck Six – Rio de Janeiro Diversion

I used to work with the sister of David Castle

“Oh for **** sake Rod,” I screamed. “If he won’t be quiet tell him we’re from Huddersfield. Now Brian let’s have another go,,” I added in a rather less stressed tone!”