vulcan on BBC news 24

[Snapper]

the Vulcan is live on BBC News 24 now....

[recoil]

the Vulcan is live on BBC News 24 now....

 

Thanks mate

[recoil]

I rember seein Vulcan bomber At RAF St Athan air show

[Snapper]

Back on again now for take off by the look of it. I've been sidelined cos we've got Boris Johnson in the office.

[Bazz]

been visiting mum, did it make it into the air. I remeber in the early 70's seeing one for the first time. Camping with mate in Weardalem looking south over the valley top and all of a sudden this BL***Y great big thing appears in the sky, a sight I'll never forget.

 

Bazz.

[Snapper]

Yes It Did!

[Marmite!!]

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7350939.stm :-D

[AlienFTM]

Interesting parachute: LOTS of holes (concentric circles) to spill the air. Early parachutes had no such holes (their correct name escapes me) and as the parachute and payload descended, the build-up of air inside the parachute caused it to oscillate and air spilled from first one side and then the other.

 

Then some bright spark cut a hole in the top to allow the excess air to escape and control the oscillations.

 

When I did my free-fall course we used "Double-L"s which had two L-shapes cut out of the back of the parachute (one of the L's was back-to-front so that they were a mirror image). The air being propelled out of these holes gave the parachute a small forward vector making steering away from obstacles easier and made landing into the wind easier (because it's less cack-handed than landing backwards).

[No Signals]

Donkeys years ago as a callow youth I went to Hawker Siddeley at Brough applying for an apprenticeship in something or other. It would be around 1968 I think. Half way through the interview a bloke runs in to the office where I am having a quite good interview with some office man and says 'they're coming' and dashes off. ' Come on with me' the suit says and next minute we are dashing out through a maze of corridors then in to a hanger and next minute we are out on the apron in front of it with probably the whole of the factory staff. 'They're an hour early' he tells me '..er.. what are' says I 'the Vulcans, we make them so we are getting a bit of a show!'. Not many minutes of straining eyes and then suddenly out of the blue over the Humber come low and not so steady four Vulcans in close formation, right across in front of the factory, but then it got better as no sooner were they over us than another four came out of the blue and another and another!!! In total there were 32 aircraft made the pass. I have to say it could have been 16 coming around twice but it didnt seem that way. To be there was to remember. As we went back inside the guy told me that this was the first time ever that so many Vulcans had been in the air in one formation. Maybe it was the only time ever? An hour later as I was waiting on the railway station platform I suddenly heard the boom of engines again, so I legged it up to the top of the pedestrain bridge as one after another from all points of the compass they came back. Criss - crossing over the factory. Tremendous. I heard a rumour once that a film exists of this flight but I've never come across a copy.

[GPWdriver]

Well done to the Vulcan team. A superb achievement and at least some people still value the tremendous heritage of this country.

 

As a kid in the 70's, if a Vulcan came over everyone stopped and looked. I was lucky that in my corner of Leicestershire, Vulcans, Hunters, Argosies, Britannias and GR1 Harriers were the order of the day.

 

I still remember the day that Dad phoned Wittering to complain about two Harriers that had gone "head to head" over the town. Mum was convinced we would all be in a Gulag by teatime........

 

But Vulcans.....aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. Although to be fair, the Handley Page Victor was a markedly superior aircraft. 35,000lb of free fall iron versus 21,000lb on the Vulcan (alternatively, 1 bucket of sunshine each - if you are playing for real). The Victor could also go supersonic in a shallow dive. I believe the Victor is still the largest all British aircraft to have broken the sound barrier.

 

Bob

[AlienFTM]

The Victor could also go supersonic in a shallow dive. I believe the Victor is still the largest all British aircraft to have broken the sound barrier.

 

Bob

 

Which worked against it after the Falklands War when we struggled to maintain an airbridge until Stanley airport was upgraded to support the garrison.

 

To get one Hercules'worth of payload into Stanley, it went like this.

 

A Hercules tanker took off from Ascension, fully laden, chased by the Herc carrying payload. Then a Victor tanker took off to chase the Hercules tanker and mid-air refuel it. The Herc tanker then flew to a point where it could refuel the payload Herc sufficiently to make Stanley and return to this point on the return journey. The two tankers refuelled and returned to Ascension.

 

The payload Herc landed at Stanley, did its business and set off home. The two tankers repeated the refuelling sequence to get the payload Herc back to Ascension. I have a vague idea the Navy parked a ship on permanent patrol beneath each refuelling point for years until Stanley could handle direct flights from Ascension, to catch any aircraft that night miss a refuelling session.

 

"What does this have to do with the speed of a Victor?" I hear you ask.

 

The stall speed of a Victor in level flight was higher than the maximum speed of a Herc. Refuelling a Herc from a Victor had to be carried out in a dive so that the Herc could squeeze out a few more knots and the Victor could keep from stalling.

 

It was like Op Black Buck every day (week?) but more complicated.

 

All those airmiles. Is it any wonder the Victors were immediately scrapped after the airbridge finished?

[GPWdriver]

The Victors were not scrapped after the airbridge finished. Although the operation had taken its toll on the airframes, Victors would continue to serve until October 1993. Not bad considering most had been delivered in 1960-62.

 

57 disbanded and its aircraft were pooled into 55 Sqn. Victors participated in Op. Granby and had a 100% mission success rate I believe.

 

As with most RAF aircraft, the Victor did things that it was never designed to do and did it well. 31 years of operational service by the B2/K2 fleet is pretty good going and very good value for the taxpayer.

[Adam Elsdon]

Had a flight on a 55sqn Victor out of Muharraq in Bahrain, before the squadron returned to the UK and was disbanded.

We flew a racetrack course for quite some time as i recall, next to the Iraq border, then the on-board electrics went, and then the backup didnt work, so they deployed an emergency back-up which was basically a propellor running a dynamo pushed into the airflow! and limped back to Bahrain.

 

And they used to leak an alarming amount of fuel onto the pan, a very worried Bahrain defence force guard knocked on our comms shack door one night, gesticulating wildly pointing at the plane, it looked like somebody had left a few taps running AVTUR all over the place, called the squadron lineys who sent someone out with a few oil drums to catch the fuel, it was expansion pushing it out of the tanks.

In hindsight it was probably the right time to get rid of them!

[GPWdriver]

Overflowing fuel is a problem for any aircraft that has been fully tanked. As Adam says, if the aircraft were fuelled during the night or when the outside temperature was low, the subsequent rise in air temp would cause expansion and overflow. Speedbird 747's at Gatwick used to taxi out dribbling fuel from the wingtip vents. We always wondered what the PAX must have made of it. Used to leave a lovely trail on the taxiway.

 

The Victor had two ram air turbines dorsally mounted. If memory is correct, they used to deploy when engine power went below 80%. I can imagine the fun as the AEO tried to get all the electrics back online. Then to find out that the Artouste APU wasn't working as well.... If you can't take a joke......

[ArtistsRifles]

Going back to the Vulcan - the flight was reported on Australian TV whilst we were down there. The reporters were much impressed with the effort that had gone into getting XH558 airworthy again - and distinctly less so with the bunch of left-wing loonies who were demanding the Govt seize it and scrap it because they thought it was a symbol of mass destruction and thus had no place in the modern apologist world.

The Australian reporters comments on that little lu-lu cannot be reproduced here!!!

[gjamo]

If you have Google Earth check out these coordinates.

 

51 34' 22.23" N

 

0 42' 18.63" E

 

Enjoy,

 

Graeme

[GPWdriver]

Chaps and chapesses,

 

I can go one better. This afternoon, as I was chewing the cud with the window cleaner, we heard a mighty roar......

 

Turning towards us was the Vulcan, on final approach to Cambridge Airport.:banana:

 

What was strange was that although over 15 years had passed since I last saw her, it all felt very normal. But what a beast...........

 

All hail the V force.:yay:

 

Bob

[Guest catweazle (Banned Member)]

I was at a show at the time the last one flew,think it was in hertfordshire .cant remember much else about it,but was a rare old site even then.hows the jeep coming on.?

[gritineye]

If you have Google Earth check out these coordinates.

 

51 34' 22.23" N

 

0 42' 18.63" E

 

Enjoy,

 

Graeme

 

Thanks for that Graeme, any idea what the vehicle is parked in it's shadow?

It has a look of a Scammell, but I'm not too sure.

[Phil P]

Not quite on BBC News but Sunday 7th September 2008 I was out cleaning the play things at 16-15 when I heard this strange sound, though vaguely familiar. Was it the Police helicopter or air ambulance both of which 'buzz' the workshop? No, in the distance and flying directly at me across the field was a dark bat shaped object. Hairs stud up on the back of my neck. It was the Vulcan. Hellfire it was low and I mean low. 500 feet at most. When the shadow of an aircraft passes across the ground it is low. it crossed the M54/M6 junction 10A near us and off towards Brownhills. What a sight. Jees the hairs are up again just recalling it. Good to see the 'Big tin triangle' flying again. Well done to all those involved. I know one of the team is from Wednesbury and was a Vulcan guy in the RAF.

[Snapper]

Going back to the Vulcan - the flight was reported on Australian TV whilst we were down there. The reporters were much impressed with the effort that had gone into getting XH558 airworthy again - and distinctly less so with the bunch of left-wing loonies who were demanding the Govt seize it and scrap it because they thought it was a symbol of mass destruction and thus had no place in the modern apologist world.

The Australian reporters comments on that little lu-lu cannot be reproduced here!!!

 

It's always interesting how extremist politicians of any rank or hue always want certain aspects of history expunged rather than consigned to education. Bomb doors open.....

[Guest catweazle (Banned Member)]

I was at a show gawd knows how many years ago,it was late in the year old walden i think,it flew around and departed never to fly again till now.It is an amazing aircraft,i think it was the only thing we had that could fly to the Falklands non stop.

[Papav66]

I can recommend a great book to read, Vulcan 607 about their mission to the Flaklands, whoops!

 

Was also fortunate to see it flying low over a village in the Cotswolds on Sunday, made my day.

[Guest catweazle (Banned Member)]

I can recommend a great book to read, Vulcan 607 about their mission to the Flaklands, whoops!

 

Was also fortunate to see it flying low over a village in the Cotswolds on Sunday, made my day.

Blimey its getting about a bit ,hope they dont wear it out before i get a look.:rofl:

[Papav66]

Yes Cat you will have to be quick especially after reading this msg on their site: http://www.tvoc.co.uk/

 

Message from the Chief Executive, VTST,

9th September 2008

 

In contrast to the stunning successes of XH558’s airshow appearances in July, August was a month of disappointments.

 

We suffered three unrelated technical problems – a brake pipe failure, fuse failures during start-up and the failure of a gear door retraction jack attachment bracket – which caused XH558 to miss five airshows over three weekends: Cowes, Sywell, Dunsfold, Bournemouth and Shoreham. This was obviously hugely disappointing for expectant audiences and airshow organizers, for which we can only apologise.

 

The work at RAF Brize Norton to fix the gear door problem was extended by the need to source a refurbished retraction jack, because the old one was found to have been damaged by the failure. Given our inability to afford a series of shake-down flights, these problems should rightly be put down to the teething troubles to be expected in the first few months of operation of a complex restored aircraft, whose last flight was fifteen years ago.

 

We are hugely indebted to Group Captain Ager, the Station Commander at RAF Brize Norton, and his staff for their support, enthusiasm and hospitality during our stay. I would also like to congratulate publicly the combined VTST and MA engineering team, and in particular “Taff” Stone, our Crew Chief, for contributions above and beyond the call of duty, in working to ensure that XH558 is serviceable when needed.

 

The Vulcan’s enforced absence from these five airshows did however lose VTST over £50,000 in appearance fees and merchandise profits, as well as being costly as regards the extra technical support required, thus hitting us hard financially at a time when we can ill afford it. In addition, big opportunities have been lost to attract new supporters with their donations and subscriptions.

 

September started with better news, with XH558 displaying for RAF Wyton’s 90th Anniversary and Sunset Ceremony, and at the Duxford and Southport Airshows. XH558’s reception at Southport was particularly ecstatic! Sadly, XH558 was unable to make the Sunday at Duxford, due to the weather en route.

 

(As many of you will know, XH558 now operates under civil regulations, and is limited to “Visual Meteorological Conditions”, which effectively mean a minimum cloudbase of 2,000 feet, and minimum visibility of 5km (3miles)).

 

As mentioned in previous messages, to deliver on our promise of flying for about fifty hours per year and providing a range of educational activities, we need to continue to raise about £1.6million per year gross, averaging out at £135,000 per month.

 

Given the resurgence in Cold War themes internationally, it has never been a more important time to remind everyone of the strong lines that must be held during such periods of tension. We believe that XH558 has an important role in telling this story.

 

In educating people about the history of the original Cold War, we can contribute to understanding, and helping avoid the same mistakes and misconceptions being made again.

 

We have been trying to convert our success in attracting huge audiences at airshows into the funding needed to keep XH558 flying by securing commercial sponsorship. This has been the focus of significant efforts, but, as other charities are finding, the economic conditions for marketing and sponsorship are currently the worst they could be.

 

We understand that the reticence of potential sponsors may also be based on three ill-founded concerns: perception of risk of accident (effectively negligible), a carbon footprint (we will be carbon neutral), and military connotations (something of which we all should be proud).

 

Despite the acclaimed success of the Vulcan at airshows this summer, sadly I have to let you know that, by a significant margin, insufficient sponsorship funding has been found to secure the aircraft’s future.

 

Our appeal to supporters for monthly donations has continued to provide a source of some optimism, with the total now amounting to over £10,000 per month. This regular monthly income is really important, because if it continues to grow, it could provide the basis for a happier future for XH558 in today’s difficult economic conditions.

 

If you haven’t already, please start a monthly standing order – even £2 per month with Gift Aid amounts to £30 per year.

 

I’m also delighted to report that the Vulcan to the Sky Club can now boast of over 6,800 members, more than double the number a year ago. The Club has a target of reaching a membership total of 10,000 this year.

 

We are fully aware of our promise to hold a special Supporters’ Day for those who have stuck with us through thick and thin. Due to the generous support of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, it is our current hope to hold the event there over a weekend in May next year, including a special display by XH558.

 

The whole VTST team continues to do all we can to ensure that XH558 keeps flying. If each of you reading this message brings us one new supporter, XH558 could be on the way to a more secure future.

 

If funds, aircraft serviceability and the weather allow, XH558’s last display this year is planned to be at the Duxford airshow on 5th October.

 

XH558’s flying career could also still be saved if a few high-profile people came forward with offers of help.

 

However, to be realistic, it looks as if the door may now be closing on the future of the Vulcan in flight. I think that anyone wishing to see a Vulcan in flight should do so as soon as possible.

 

If we don’t achieve a significant change of circumstances soon, we won’t be able to carry out our role of ‘Honouring the Past, Inspiring the Future’, providing the once-seen, never-forgotten sight of XH558 in flight to a new generation; stimulating interest in design and engineering; and telling people about an important period in our Nation’s history

 

With the public’s help, the triumphant return of the Vulcan this summer became the not-to-be-missed spectacle of the season. I sincerely hope that 2008 will not also turn out to be her swansong.

 

Dr Robert Pleming