The Vulcan Bomber Flies Again
Most people (certainly English) will remember the glory that was the Vulcan bomber:
My personal memories stem from childhood, sitting on the beach (or in the sea) at Lee-on-Solent during the HMS Daedelus Air Day and seeing this hoofing great silent beast flying at me from the Isle of Wight. As it got overhead the noise was deafening. Watching the plane pull its nose up, light the afterburner and fly almost vertically up is something I will never forget. The last flight of the Vulcan bomber was XH558. It first entered service (and was the first Vulcan to do so) with the RAF in 1960. The last flight of a Vulcan bomber was the same aircraft, XH558 at RAF Cranfield with the RAF Vulcan Display Flight in 1992. Video of the event:
15 years and countless hours of hard effort later XH558 took to the skies again:
What a fantastic moment that must have been for all those involved in the project. Unfortunately the project to get XH558 flying is still having a hard time. Andrew Watson, the Engineering Director for Vulcan To The Sky Trust had this to say in May ‘08:
We’ve travelled a long, hard (flight) path to get where we are today, littered with mountains to climb and hoops to jump through - but we’ve got this far. All of the tests are complete and paperwork is about to be submitted for CAA approval, which will be the second major milestone reached in the last few months (the first being a return to flight). Now we hold our breath and wait for a Permit to Fly, and a corporate sponsor to unclip XH558’s wings.
For everyone at the project it is unfathomable that any number of sponsors are not locked in a bidding war to be associated with such a great British icon. Unfortunately they are not. If a major cash injection is not forthcoming the hanger doors will remain closed at Bruntingthorpe and XH558will once more sit in darkness pondering what more she could have done to have a few more seasons in the sun.
It will be such a shame if the Trust doesn’t find a sponsor. Of course, you can do your bit by making a donation to the Trust on their website at http://www.tvoc.co.uk. I’ve made donations (I think about £100 over 5 years) and if I could I would willingly donate more. Please, help them out, make a donation and help to put one of the world’s finest aircraft back in the sky.
No Responses to “The Vulcan Bomber Flies Again”
Dave Petrie - May 27th, 2008
Many people seem to have the notion that the Vulcan has Afterburners, but it does not have them, only four of the best british engines
Collin - May 27th, 2008
Many thanks for the correction Dave! I assume they just throttled to the max for the vertical push then?
Leave a Reply