Best Vulcan

sting

Hendon’s Vulcan might look good on the out side but it has **** all inside, no engines, cockpit stripped no hydralic lines no fuel system no electrics it is just a shell so can we count it as the best preserved vulcan?

Does Duxford control the humidity/heat in their hangars? I know it can get pretty cold in them in the colder months?

Originally posted by Steve Bond
I also vote for the Hendon Vulcan as the one which will last the longest. The Duxford machine was not outside for very long, but that is no guarantee of its future well-being – some senior people at Hendon have openly criticised the enviromental conditions under which Duxford aircraft are kept when compared with their own.

I would take what Hendon staff say about Duxford staff and aircraft with a pinch of salt if I were you…

A

Have received this from Bruce Woodruff re 318:

“I was not part of the team that re-assembled her, but they were not ever so careful during the dismantling process. Not only were corners cut, but also cable pipes control runs etc. the so called “transportation joints” in the airframe structure were not designed to be taken apart, and so were “persuaded” to part company.”

What are most of the major components make of in the Vulcan airframe? are they more corrision prone than say your average
WWII airframe….

kev35 well said – I too agree that, regrettably, XH558 or any other Vulcan will never fly, (at the risk of upsetting all those good folk who have expended so much energy trying to achieve that goal).

I also vote for the Hendon Vulcan as the one which will last the longest. The Duxford machine was not outside for very long, but that is no guarantee of its future well-being – some senior people at Hendon have openly criticised the enviromental conditions under which Duxford aircraft are kept when compared with their own.

The long-term viability of taxying Vulcans is also a concern. Not only will the ravages of time and exposure to the elements take their inevitable toll, but the pool of skilled expertise will also run dry without some kind of serious attempt at handing-down knowledge to the next generation.

The preservation of aircraft (and any other artefact come to that), needs to be viewed in the long-term – i.e. a hundred years plus, not just how well things may last in our own lifetimes.

How many years did Duxford’s Vulcan (XJ824) spend outside before settling into the Superhangar?

Welded the wings back on!

Thats something I would like to have seen!

Welding aluminium isnt like welding steel; the type of alloy used in structural applications does not allow for welding – it simply doesnt work!

In any case, those aircraft undercover, whatever may have happened to them are always going to be in better condition. So Hendons aeroplane would get my vote – I bet that its in better structural condition than most of the survivors these days!

The Duxford a/c may be just as good – at least it hasnt been dismantled. As for XH558 replacing it, well its got to get there first….

Being the optimist that I am, sadly, I don’t believe a Vulcan will ever take to the skies again. As for those that are able to ground run or do fast taxis, are the resources, both financial and logistical, sustainable? I’m fortunate, I have great memories of seeing the last airworty Vulcan in the air, and a four ship scramble back in the 1970’s. I just can’t see it happening again. Not when even the aviation press are questioning aerobatics at airshows.

I seriously question the merits of applying to the Lottery Heritage Fund again to support what I consider to be a lost cause while rarer airframes continue to rot. And it’s not only airframes, it’s the archaeology, the paper ephemera, people’s memories, the Memorialisation of those whose sacrifice ensured there would be a Vulcan, that is in danger of being lost now.

Now comes a rare moment….. I actually agree with David Burke that the longest surviving Vulcan will be the one in Hendon.

I’ll climb back down into me hole now, just give me a minute to get me tin ‘at.

Regards,

kev35

Hi

Maybe XJ823 could be one to watch if they get it undercover as I was told they want to.

Wont fly but could be run again with work.Same for XM612 at Norwich.

The Hendon Vulcan WAS unfortunately cut for transport,about a third of each wing being cut off and then welded together again on arrival at Hendon.You can still see the seems of the weld on the aircraft today.I don’t know why this would’ve been done because as Alamo says it’s possible to dismantle a Vulcan into fairly managable chunks.

With the greatest respect for the team at Southend, it’s not 426. Having seen it close up, someone has gouged great areas of corrosion out of the lower surfaces of the wings, and then it’s been painted over the top.

Mechanically, she’s good, but the airframe is too far gone to be considered as a restoration to flight project.

I know that what I’ve said will upset some, but I’m only reporting on what I have seen with my own eyes.

318 at Hendon was not ‘cut up’. Vulcan structures were built at Chadderton and they were transported by road to Woodford for final assembly. 318 was dismantled and reassembled likewise. Any other Vulcan could be thus transported.

I have no idea of how carefully 318 was dismantled and reassembled but I reckon it would be a much better prospect than any other airframe.

At the end of the day, it is far better to have one aircraft well-preserved than two or more rotting away.

I have a sequence of photos by Bruce Woodruff of 318 being dismantled at Scampton:

http://www.avrovulcan.org.uk/XL318_dismantling/index.htm

Sample:

Hi David

I agree with you 100% but that is what they want to do.

Give them some parts and let them restore 824 if they genuinely want a Vulcan that can be run up.

Don’t scrap 824 please.

Keep 558 at Brunty after its flying time is up ( and make sure 426 is able to take over ).

I cannot see any justification for Duxford to scrap a Vulcan only to replace it with another – plus the Bruntinthorpe machine would have to get there under it’s own steam – that seems to be a problem at present .

Hi

I think the Duxford example (XJ824) will have its future decided in some part by what happens to XH558.

If 558 ends up at Duxford then 824 will end up being scrapped.

Sad but thats how these things go.

I think the question is which has the best long term survival chance – the machine at Hendon along with the Bruntingthorpe and Duxford examples. They might not be very exciting to you
but I can assure you barring Britain turning into a desert they will
survive longer than a machine outside.
As a matter of interest how did they manage to put the Hendon machine back together if it was cut up?
Surely the machine was taken apart by ‘crash and smash’ and reassembled by them ?

Hi David

I don’t think that a Vulcan that has been cut up can be considered the best example even if it is inside.

XL426 at Southend is very well looked after.

The machine at Hendon beacuse it isn’t in the elements.