Newly Flying RAF Vulcan! Can you believe it!

old iron · **Posted:** Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:30 pm

Please excuse me if this is already old news. Article is on BBC.com today.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151023-how-the-cold-war-vulcan-bomber-flew-again

Mike · **Joined:** Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am **Posts:** 3329

Not just old news, but old, old news. Eight years old, it flew in October 2007 and will be parked for good by this weekend after some $40m has been thrown at it.

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:08 am

Yep, you're too late to see the thing fly. Flew for the last time (again) two weeks ago.
They ran out of airframe life and engines time...they FOD'ed two engines a couple of years back.

They spent a lot of money on the thing but it was popular at airshows since they pitched it as some sort of national treasure and reminder when the Brits could still make complete aircraft instead of being partnered with others. Hard to imagine now, but in the 50s the Brits had three concurrent heavy bomber programs and all three went into production. Fun fact: Number of wholly British supersonic fighter that went into military service: 1.

I wonder if a flying B-52 would create that much excitement here once its been out of military service for 20-odd years? But since the 52 is expected to remain in service for awhile, few of us here will be around to see if that happens.

Still, I would have like to have seen some of the money (much was a grant from national lottery profits) go into rebuilding now extinct RAF types (specifically the Stirling) from the war as a memorial for lost aircrew.

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1576

Not quite last flight: first calendar-lifed item runs out on 31st October, and the team are planning a 'final' final flight this week, to be streamed live. Friday being the 30th, I'd wage a bet for an afternoon trip, possibly around the last V-bomber bases at Waddington and Scampton.

But just a guess. News as it happens will be here: http://www.vulcantothesky.org/.

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1576

Final flight confirmed, but no date yet.

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:00 pm

Silly me, I actually believed them when they did their heavily publicized (and well attended) "last flight" tour two weeks ago.
At this rate, they'll end up doing more farewell tours than Barbra Streisand.

At least we don't have hear any more last minute appeals for money or "she'll be scrapped" or even worse in their xenophobic eyes..."Go to America" (the group always threatened that an always un-named person or party was allegedly begging for it, a threat I always doubted but it seemed to work on the Brits).
If anyone here actually knows that there was a serious US or Canadian offer for the Vulcan, I'd like to know. Too expensive for an industry test bed, too expensive to buy, maintain and fly for an airshow attraction, I just can't believe there was a serious offer from this side of the Atlantic.

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1576

JohnB wrote:

Silly me, I actually believed them when they did their heavily publicized (and well attended) "last flight" tour two weeks ago.
At this rate, they'll end up doing more farewell tours than Barbra Streisand.

At least we don't have hear any more last minute appeals for money or "she'll be scrapped" or even worse in their xenophobic eyes..."Go to America" (the group always threatened that an always un-named person or party was allegedly begging for it, a threat I always doubted but it seemed to work on the Brits).
If anyone here actually knows that there was a serious US or Canadian offer for the Vulcan, I'd like to know. Too expensive for an industry test bed, too expensive to buy, maintain and fly for an airshow attraction, I just can't believe there was a serious offer from this side of the Atlantic.

Make a great flying billboard though. I always wondered if those supposed offers came from someone who wanted to paint a massive cigarette pack all over her.

Speedy · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:50 pm

I know the topic has been re-hashed over and over on WIX, but I for one am sad to see it come to an end. I never minded them begging for money. The Vulcan was part of my childhood when they would come over every year for Paine Field and Abbottsford. I was the biggest, loudest thing I had ever seen and I never once tired of seeing it and hearing it. It's something that I wish my kids could have seen in person.

I'm not jaded one iota about how they funded keeping it alive and how many 'this is the last time....for real' moments they had.

There won't ever be anything like the Vulcan again, so I'm happy to have been a part of it.

Blackbirdfan · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:07 pm

The reason its being grounded is not because its timed out. Its because several of the major technical supporters have pulled their support (Rolls Royce and BAE are the two big ones.) Its my understanding that by British law, the plane can only be supported by OEM companies. If it were in North America, it should be able to fly, and if need be, engines substituted. (Yes, I know major $$$$$$, but it could continue to fly.)

As posted above, the last flight will be sometime this weekend.

I also remember the Vulcan at Abbottsford. When I was a kid I had a "We love Vulcans" bumper sticker on my bicycle. None of the other kids understood the sticker. Its a very cool plane that I'd love to see continue to fly.

Will

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:04 pm

quemerford wrote:

Make a great flying billboard though. I always wondered if those supposed offers came from someone who wanted to paint a massive cigarette pack all over her.

Beer, more likely.
But unless they'd fly it over NFL games or NY/NJ beaches on Labor Day, I don't see how it would be value for money to an advertiser. Unlike the UK, airshows here don't draw those size of crowds.

Rally, I think it's pretty clear it was a shameless ploy to get UK fans to pony up money against a non-existent bogyman.

RandolphB · **Posted:** Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:49 am

Maybe Red Bull will buy it and keep it flying........

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1576

Blackbirdfan wrote:

The reason its being grounded is not because its timed out. Its because several of the major technical supporters have pulled their support (Rolls Royce and BAE are the two big ones.) Its my understanding that by British law, the plane can only be supported by OEM companies. If it were in North America, it should be able to fly, and if need be, engines substituted. (Yes, I know major $$$$$$, but it could continue to fly.)

As posted above, the last flight will be sometime this weekend.

I also remember the Vulcan at Abbottsford. When I was a kid I had a "We love Vulcans" bumper sticker on my bicycle. None of the other kids understood the sticker. Its a very cool plane that I'd love to see continue to fly.

Will

The aircraft has calendar-lifed components which run out of 'time' at the end of this week: the CAA requires aircraft in the Complex category to have Design/Support Authority support, and since BAe, Rolls-Royce (and I think Marshalls of Cambridge) are unable to provide this considerable 1-off coverage, the first sign of that support withdrawal is the inability to re-life components. Hence the 31st October date.

XH558 won't be going abroad, and so it will not fly again.

maradamx3 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:55 am

JohnB wrote:

Silly me, I actually believed them when they did their heavily publicized (and well attended) "last flight" tour two weeks ago.
At this rate, they'll end up doing more farewell tours than Barbra Streisand.

At least we don't have hear any more last minute appeals for money or "she'll be scrapped" or even worse in their xenophobic eyes..."Go to America" (the group always threatened that an always un-named person or party was allegedly begging for it, a threat I always doubted but it seemed to work on the Brits).
If anyone here actually knows that there was a serious US or Canadian offer for the Vulcan, I'd like to know. Too expensive for an industry test bed, too expensive to buy, maintain and fly for an airshow attraction, I just can't believe there was a serious offer from this side of the Atlantic.

The last "public" flight was supposed to be on Sunday, October 4th over the Heritage Motor Museum and the Shuttleworth Collection (at least that is what was publicized at the time). By pure coincidence, I was flying to England that weekend and decided to drive up to see the "final" flight. Due to the immense turn out, I was only able to "park" a couple of miles away and see the Vulcan at a distance. Very cool and glad I was able to witness it fly. A day or two later, it was released that more "final" flights had been scheduled. I thought I got to see the "final" public flight of an Avro Vulcan, but, tis not the case. Oh well. It doesn't really matter. At least I got to see it fly. It would have been cool to say I saw the "final" flight, but now I'll proudly say I got to see her fly in her final year. Unless she doesn't actually retire to Robin Hood and continues on in another country........???? :supz:

Tommy

Ztex · **Posted:** Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:18 pm

Looks like the 'final' 'final' final' flight took place today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcKqkq27ffk

Firebird · **Posted:** Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:22 pm

maradamx3 wrote:

JohnB wrote:

Silly me, I actually believed them when they did their heavily publicized (and well attended) "last flight" tour two weeks ago.
At this rate, they'll end up doing more farewell tours than Barbra Streisand.

At least we don't have hear any more last minute appeals for money or "she'll be scrapped" or even worse in their xenophobic eyes..."Go to America" (the group always threatened that an always un-named person or party was allegedly begging for it, a threat I always doubted but it seemed to work on the Brits).
If anyone here actually knows that there was a serious US or Canadian offer for the Vulcan, I'd like to know. Too expensive for an industry test bed, too expensive to buy, maintain and fly for an airshow attraction, I just can't believe there was a serious offer from this side of the Atlantic.

The last "public" flight was supposed to be on Sunday, October 4th over the Heritage Motor Museum and the Shuttleworth Collection (at least that is what was publicized at the time). By pure coincidence, I was flying to England that weekend and decided to drive up to see the "final" flight. Due to the immense turn out, I was only able to "park" a couple of miles away and see the Vulcan at a distance. Very cool and glad I was able to witness it fly. A day or two later, it was released that more "final" flights had been scheduled. I thought I got to see the "final" public flight of an Avro Vulcan, but, tis not the case. Oh well.

I think you misunderstood, the flights on the 4th Oct were never publicised as being the final flights, they were the final public flying displays, so what you saw at Shuttleworth was the last ever flying display by a Vulcan - so very much something to treasure....as it wasn't flown like that again :drink3:

The flight afterwards were fairly sedate farewell tour flights around the UK and were not display flights with the wing-overs, howling engines etc.

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