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Current Final Season Flying Dates for Vulcan XH 558


shortliner

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Sent to me yesterday


Here are the dates and locations confirmed to date.

Date: Venue / Location Type of event

Saturday 6th June Throckmorton Display

Sunday 14th June Cholmondeley Flypast

Sunday 14th June Welshpool Display

Sunday 14th June RAF Cosford Display

Sunday 21st June Weston-super-Mare Display

Saturday 11th July RNAS Yeovilton Display

Friday 17th July RIAT (RAF Fairford) Arrival

Saturday 18th July RIAT (RAF Fairford) Display

Sunday 19th July RIAT (RAF Fairford)

Saturday 15th August Herne Bay Flypast

Saturday 15th August Headcorn Aerodrome Display

Saturday 15th August Eastbourne Display

Sunday 23rd August Bournemouth Display

Saturday 29th August Dunsfold - Surrey Display

Sunday 30th August Dunsfold - Surrey Display

Check our appearances button on our home page often for the latest 2015 locations

Please note – all appearances are subject to technical and weather conditions on the day.

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She was doing a practice demo flight over Waddington yesterday afternoon.  Waddington is still closed whilst the runway is rebuilt so I guess the airspace is free for this sort of thing.  I was given a heads up about it a little too late but a friend was where and posted some pictures on a Facebook site for the RATS Riders Association of Triumph in Lincolnshire and I know he wouldn't mind me sharing one of them.

 

Regards Chris

 

post-6685-0-95995000-1433008471_thumb.jpg

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The V bomber fly overs are 27/28 June.

 

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/news/670/82/Salute-to-the-V-Force-Tour.html

 

There's some dates missing from the list posted in the the first post, including a couple local to me. The most exciting one for me she's booked for a full display at Shuttleworth on Sunday 5th July. Small venue, big aircraft, should be good! The other is a flypast (well, three passes) at Little Gransden on Sunday 30th August. Smaller than Shuttleworth, but the dog leg display line means the aircraft banks right round in front of the crowd. A shot from a couple of years ago shows how close it is there. I was stood quite a way back from the front of crowd, and it only just fitted in the viewfinder!

 

9654197931_d3289bba85_z.jpgVulcan by Nigel Pitt, on Flickr

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Many of us on here admire impressive railway engineering

 

Our heritage is not confined to railways of course - we have a strong history in many other fields including aviation. A link to one of those comes to a close this year with the last flying season of Avro Vulcan XH558. Whatever you might think about the reasons for the building of the V bomber force the Vulcan is the last flying link to some impressive engineering heritage - get out and see her while you can!

 

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

 

I followed my own advice and took SWMBO to Throckmorton Air Show today. She wasn't impressed with the 3 and 3/4 hours to do the 25 miles to get there - traffic chaos - but it was worth it....

 

 

The legendary Vulcan howl at the end is certainly something else...

 

Phil

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Personally I'd bring the Vulcan back into service and overfly Novaya Zemlya in response to Russian Tu 95 Bear incursions into UK airspace....

 

Dava

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I know there was a struggle for funding - is it the last season due to cash (or lack of) or something else like expiring airframe/fatigue time, or suchlike?

Neither - yet! My understanding is she has flown 10% more than any other Vulcan ever did - and no-one is in any position to offer technical support for an airframe that has got to this point and therefore her safety case can no longer be maintained.

 

Phil

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Great Video.

 

Can clearly recall the simulated scrambles of 6 Vulcans at the Battle of Britain Airshows at RAF Finningley circa 1970, one aircraft after another without a break, what a sound and sight !!! the only other aircraft that can bring memories like that Is the English Electric Lightning Full reheat, release brakes, off the ground wheels up, tail down disappear near vertical climb out of sight.

 

Both sights fantastic if you ever saw it done, just memories now, modern aircraft just don't seem to have  the same.

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Thanks John

 

Having stayed with my Uncle at Waddington in the 60s those memories have a significant resonance believe me!

 

Kind regards

 

Phil

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Took this about 50 years ago, Vulcan at Leconfield air display,  think it was in 1965 (programme's in the loft). This one did a solo display then there was the obligatory 4 ship take off.

 

Regards

 

Simon 

post-79-0-23962600-1433669312.jpg

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Does anyone have recommendations for the displays with best orientation wrt sun direction? I turned out for her last summer and mostly got contre-jour shots against a hazy sky, so little detail within a dark silhouette.

 

The Nim.

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Sent to me yesterday

 

 

Here are the dates and locations confirmed to date.

 

Date: Venue / Location Type of event

 

Saturday 6th June Throckmorton Display

 

Sunday 14th June Cholmondeley Flypast

 

Sunday 14th June Welshpool Display

 

Sunday 14th June RAF Cosford Display

 

Sunday 21st June Weston-super-Mare Display

 

Saturday 11th July RNAS Yeovilton Display

 

Friday 17th July RIAT (RAF Fairford) Arrival

 

Saturday 18th July RIAT (RAF Fairford) Display

 

Sunday 19th July RIAT (RAF Fairford)

 

Saturday 15th August Herne Bay Flypast

 

Saturday 15th August Headcorn Aerodrome Display

 

Saturday 15th August Eastbourne Display

 

Sunday 23rd August Bournemouth Display

 

Saturday 29th August Dunsfold - Surrey Display

 

Sunday 30th August Dunsfold - Surrey Display

 

Check our appearances button on our home page often for the latest 2015 locations

 

Please note – all appearances are subject to technical and weather conditions on the day.

 

 

Damn, I will be on holiday when it comes to Weston.  :(

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The Vulcan was a beautiful looking aircraft, it is remarkably that something so large can posses such elegance and grace. The Vulcan at Hendon has a good film show on a screen in the bomb bay showing a scramble in the cold war rapid reaction era. The RR (Bristol...) Olympus was a fine engine too, most people think of Concorde but the Vulcan was the aircraft that took it into the sky and it also served well as a marine engine and in stationary power generation.

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It'll be shame to see her leave the skies where she belongs, but I guess you've got to draw the line somewhere between Flying and Safety.

 

Last year, I managed to take film of her at Bournemouth Air festival. I'll be filming again this year, for what will be the last time I'll see her flying. (Apologies about my poor camera work)

 

Regards,

Matt

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I know there was a struggle for funding - is it the last season due to cash (or lack of) or something else like expiring airframe/fatigue time, or suchlike?

AIUI it's mostly the engines. The current set have a limited number of hours left on them & Rolls Royce are either unable or unwilling to do a full 'zero hour' overhaul on them. So once the hours are used up, that's it as there aren't any more.

 

P.

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Another problem is that only ex RAF engineers with Vulcan experience are allowed to do many of the technical jobs. The current team do not have the necessary certification to train up and approve new recruits and so they have to rely on people working on it are well beyond retirement age.

 

Apparently, climbing up inside the nether regions of a Vulcan gets a bit tricky as you get older.

 

That, plus the absence of spare engines and the airframe lifespan and the level of continuous funding that is needed to keep her flying have combined to make them say that enough is enough.

 

The Vulcan to the Sky people have really worked wonders to keep her flying this long.

 

It will be a sad day when she is finally grounded. My Dad was the engineer in charge of them for a few years at Scampton in the 70s and a big chunk of my childhood was spent seeing and hearing these wonderful flying machines.

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Neither - yet! My understanding is she has flown 10% more than any other Vulcan ever did - and no-one is in any position to offer technical support for an airframe that has got to this point and therefore her safety case can no longer be maintained.

 

Phil

Aye - all good things come to a end and it would be a tragedy if it was as a pile of wreckage at some point.

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Probably, but not for on here - If we meet at an exhibition  I might  bore you rigid!  :jester:

 

Here's my contribution,  this was XH558 at Duxford last Autumn with 2 Folland Gnats.

 

attachicon.gifvucan-dux-2.jpg

 

 

I was in North Lincolnshire a couple of weeks ago and, unexpectedly, it flew overhead!

 

Now that is one of those "I wish I'd taken that!" photos  :yes:

 

 

I was also fortunate enough to be at Wyton and saw the last Valiant fly before they were grounded with the cracked spar problem - another wonderful V-force aircraft

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