Avro Vulcan prototype

[Beefsteak 305]

Now I (Not wishing to sound cynical) would not see Richard Branson failing to dig in his pocket for "Concorde to the skies"

Just a thought , we could charge all passengers half a million each to come for aviation day (Lunch would be thrown in for free though !!!)

[Fynger 841]

errr

[plantfit 7,580]

The Vulcan is booked to display at East Kirkby Lincolnshire on 25th May together with the BBMF and taxi runs performed by their own Lancaster bomber "Just Jane"

Rog

[firbeck 859]

Not according to their official website it isn't.

Pre-flight maintenance doesn't start till 20th April and will take 6 weeks, all early airshows are therefore out of the question, it's first appearance will be at Cosford on June 14th, Beefsteak won't need his big lens for that one.

I'm wondering whether it will feature in the Queens Birthday Flypast this year which should be round about the same date.

Just checked, it's the day before, pity, it doesn't sound like it will feature, but who knows.

[Beefsteak 305]

I also have it on the QT that she will be there Rog but I was told to keep it under my hat about a fortnight ago !!), you don't have to get it from there official website, just people who work on it (I have heard that she may have to cancel Waddo this year though !!!)

[plantfit 7,580]

Vulcan update,

Will not be displaying until the middle of June/early July so the first display could be Waddington

Rog

[Beefsteak 305]

I shant be at East Kirkby at the end of May then ...bu99er!!

[Stan 386]

Vulcan update,

Will not be displaying until the middle of June/early July so the first display could be Waddington

Rog

I happened to be looking for something else when I came on this little article by chance. I remember quite large numbers(comparatively) of Vulcans at Scampton1958-60., but the following from the New Scientist is something I gladly did not know at the time!

Careful with that nuke

30 June 2001 by Rob Edwards

Magazine issue 2296

NUCLEAR bombs stored at British military bases in the late 1950s could have exploded by accident, according to declassified Royal Air Force papers. Just one going off would have been like 25 Hiroshima blasts.

Rushed into service as a stop-gap while Britain developed its own H-bomb, the gigantic devices held so much fissionable material that they risked going critical when armed, the documents reveal.

Up to a dozen of the huge fission weapons, based on a design codenamed Violet Club, were supplied to RAF bases including those at Finningley in South Yorkshire, Scampton in Lincolnshire and Wittering in Cambridgeshire between 1958 and 1960.

But the RAF was worried that when the bombs' safety mechanism was disabled there was a "risk of catastrophe". In one memo dated 12 January 1959, a Group Captain Tait wrote: "A high-yield nuclear explosion would be possible if the weapon were jettisoned,

[plantfit 7,580]

There was a group captain Tait in charge of 617 sqdn (Dambusters) wonder if it's the same chap,

Interesting story about the nuclear stuff Stan, I suppose some more stories could come through now as they start to lose their secrecy status (public information)

Rog

[Stan 386]

If you want a real scare,plantfit,-read about the `Violet Club' and the time 133000 steel ball bearings came out of it by accident in 1960,it will really turn your pants brown!

[Stan 386]

Correct ,Plantfit, `Willie Tait was CO of 617 at one time. I found it amazing that an airman of his stature only rose to the rank of Group Captain. `Suppose he must have trodden on the wrong toes.

He had been in the front line for almost five years, and had flown 101 sorties. His well-earned tally of four DSOs and two DFCs was unrivalled.

Can you imagine it 4 DSO`s.!!!

[Frank 13]

Scrolling through my pictures, I found this......

Wonder if he's still raising funds???

[littlebro 234]

Doh......

From the BBC:

A restored Vulcan bomber aircraft which was set to fly at the RAF Waddington Air Display has been grounded because of a mix up over paperwork.

The plane was due to perform at the air show in Lincolnshire, but it had not been issued with a permit to fly at a public display.

The bomber had previously taken to the skies at a display in June.

A spokesman for the restoration team said fans would be understandably upset at not seeing the aircraft in flight.

Vulcan to the Sky, the trust behind the aircraft's restoration, had spent years working on the plane and had brought it back to its former glory.

[Ashley 288]

Re the ceiling at the blue bell, that bloody banksy! nothing but vandalism, ain't there any painters in lincs?

[littlebro 234]

From: "Thisislincolnshire"

A spokesman for the trust said: "As part of the 2005 to 2007 major servicing, a number of structural inspections had to be deferred, because it was not feasible to complete them on Vulcan XH558's airframe. "It was planned by VTST and Marshal Aerospace, in agreement with BAE Systems and the Civil Aviation Authority, that these inspections would be carried out before the renewal of XH558's Permit to Fly on July 3, 2009. "Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, it has not yet proved possible to complete all these inspections. "Consequently, we have currently not fully met the conditions that would enable the issue of XH558's permit to fly renewal. "XH558 is however is fully serviceable and ready for flight, and Marshall Aerospace together with VTST and BAE Systems are doing all they can as quickly as they can to resolve this unexpected, one-off issue within the next few days. "We are very sad that it is not going to be possible for the Vulcan to display at Waddington over the weekend of July 4 and 5." RAF Waddington spokesman Wing Commander Simon Prior said: "Obviously we are very disappointed both for the Vulcan Operating Company and for the huge crowd. "There are great displays to see both in the air and on the ground and that combined with the fabulous weather is still going to give us bumper crowds.

[firbeck 859]

Rather important section of the TVOC statement missing there.

The structural examination was due to be carried out on another Vulcan airframe, XM 603, being scrapped at Woodford, what bearing that has on anything to do with a live Vulcan is beyond me. The Vulcan was passed after its winter overhaul with a new engine being installed and corrosion issues dealt with. It was given a display permit to fly at Cosford and Biggin Hill over the last two weeks, and has carried out several faultless transit flights, so why wasn't the full permit given a few weeks earlier in order to prevent this nonsense which will have cost TVOC much needed cash.

The CAA and to a certain extent TVOC themselves have made some blunders here and have done before.

There is a brand new Focke Wulf Fw190 sitting in a hangar at Duxford and has been for the past two years because the nit pickers at the CAA won't give it a permit to fly, why, because it's brand new, had it been built from a smashed up WW2 wreck, that would have been OK.

I'm sure that Beefsteak, having travelled from Cheshire to Waddo to see it, will do his nut on here later, and quite right too.

Bloody civil servants, needless officialdom strikes again.

[Ashley 288]

Don't know what but something just come over here 10 mins ago(radcliffe) at zero altitude and gawd knows how fast, (sounded military jet) by the time I got to window it was gone

[firbeck 859]

Probably Beefsteak on his way home when he knew that the Vulcan wasn't going to appear.

[Beefsteak 305]

New all about it yesterday morning (10.00am) Didn't stop us enjoying our selves though did it ?? (or the other 100 odd thousand that were there.!!!

[littlebro 234]

My son has just sent me a text, he was at Waddington for both days on a sponsor stand, he is now having drinks with the Red Arrows pilots & Parachute display team. He offered me free tickets but I couldn't get across. Ah well,

[firbeck 859]

I hear that the Vulcan was able to fly there and did appear in the static, though it didn't do a fast taxi, possibly because the CAA still have their knickers in a twist over the Victor incident.

I gather that the crew even went to the airshow briefing in case the CAA got their act together at the last minute and signed the bit of paper, I'm sure Beefsteak will know more about the full story, I wouldn't be surprised if he chatted up the crew and got in the cockpit.

I recall going to the Legends airshow a few years ago, the organisers, TFC had just taken delivery of a rare P-40, but the CAA hadn't got the paper work ready in time to allow it to fly in the show. Simple remedy by TFC, they carried out an official airtest an hour before the show flying started so everyone got the chance to see it in the air.

[plantfit 7,580]

Might be a good time to knock this Vulcan to the skies project in the head, drag out a Concord airframe and lets have "Concord to the skies", should be able to pay for it's self too with paying passengers, yes I was at Waddo yesterday with Group Captain Beefsteak and I didn't miss the Vulcan at all.Each Vulcan is different so very expensive to maintain, not having many if any interchangeable parts with the other Vulcans but Concord was built to exacting standards and drawings so parts from other airframes should fit. ( might even get the French on board to help out)

Rog

[firbeck 859]

Putting a Concorde back in the air is a lovely idea Rog, but Richard Branson couldn't get them certified when he wanted to keep them going after their retirement, so I think there's no chance, besides, the CAA will not allow any privately operated jets to be certified if they have reheat, thats why there are no Lightnings, Phantoms or Jaguars in flyable condition in this country, in South Africa, it's another matter and a Lightning is being restored to fly in the States, here, no way.

The row over the fact that the Vulcan didn't fly at Waddo seems to be causing a lot of grief on some of the aviation forums, the general opinion seems to be that the TVOC management messed things up big time again. My brother, a very experienced airshow visitor, went to Waddington and was not impressed, he's quite convinced that the 'powers that be' kept the Vulcans non flying situation quiet in order that the attendance figures were kept high, who knows. He was also not happy with the lack of military noisy jets, as he put it, the USAF sent two F-15's, why not put one of them up in the air. Lot's of excuses, about military commitments, but I gather that the only warplanes in Afghanistan are two squadrons of Harriers, besides, the RAF managed to put up lots of hardware for the benefit of the Queen during the Trooping the Colour flypast including 6 Typhoons and 8 Tornados.

You go to Coningsby and see wall to wall Typhoons and other military jets all day, as Ian found out when he went to Lakenheath and watched massed take offs by Eagles, it's a similar story at Mildenhall and Marham and I see Chinooks, Apaches, Merlins and Lynx's flying over here constantly everyday. Waddington was billed as the RAF's premier airshow, but from what I hear it seemed to rely too much on civilian operated aircraft, people like to see the noisy, service stuff, you may as well spend any day sitting at Conno or Lakenheath instead, they have a decent cafe, so what more do you want.

It also looks like that there could be problems at Legends, it would appear that there are CAA permit to fly issues as well with the TFC fighter fleet, oh dear, it doesn't look good.

[plantfit 7,580]

I think you're right about folks wanting noisy stuff at air shows, however we had a great time even watching the quiet stuff including the gliders. As for keeping the non flying Vulcan quiet in order to attract a bigger crowd, not true as it's problem was announced on Lincs FM as early as 08.00hrs on the Saturday.

As for the yanks not flying at the show don't forget it was Independence day on Saturday (a public holiday for the yanks) and they were probably too full of Budweiser and burgers to fly a kite on Sunday. Still I think RAF Waddington put on a decent show and they are starting to come close to the Nottstalgia Aviation Days so who knows what the future holds for them

Rog

The last bit was tongue in cheek but keep your eyes open for the next aviation day announcement towards the end of August

[Beefsteak 305]

The simple problem re the none flying F-15s etc is that their dedicated display team are in the US at the moment, they don't have the money to put a European team together.

I did notice the distinct lack of C-130s to say how many we have over here still !!! just a fly through would have been nice, as they managed with a Tri Star.

I am busy processing my Waddo efforts at the moment (Might just have them done in time for RIAT !!) I unfortunately had it on ISO 400 so if any thing is enlarged it goes all grainy!! keep your eyes peeled in the 'Reds' section for a treat.