The XH558 Discussion Thread (merged)

It appears that 558 is once again on a very slippery slope. the fund fell £30,000 short of target in december, and has still yet to reach the initial target of £200,000.

…………it might be too late for that!

Oh gawd… here we go again…. cough up your hard earned dosh… or the tin-triangle gets it!

Decision time next week?

“Dear Supporters,

It was my intention to update you with the Appeal situation later today, but in light of finalising several options, it will be better for me to make an announcement very early next week.

Thank you for your continued support in the meantime.

Kind Regards,

Robert Pleming.”

Richard Branson has bought it, is going to paint it white and will use it to advertise his own V(irgin) Force……..

Muahahahahaha…..

…………it might be too late for that!

Who knows maybe its some good news:rolleyes:

Plenty of deckchairs and windbreaks could be fitted to the wing – maybe even enough room for deck quoits….

to be perfectly honest, how many passengers could you fit in 558? unless you installed a few rows of airline seats in her bomb bay :diablo:

Oh gawd… here we go again…. cough up your hard earned dosh… or the tin-triangle gets it!

Unfortunately thats the way it is, and always was from day 1. Some of the main things that could help that aircraft be closer to self sufficent are impossible becuase of the CAA’s imposed rules. Carrying passengers on joyrides for example. My sources have told me such seats would go for around £10,000 each. £10000 x 2 seats x 25+ events over a season would add up pretty quickly methinks.

XL569 wrote:

Some of the main things that could help that aircraft be closer to self sufficent are impossible becuase of the CAA’s imposed rules. Carrying passengers on joyrides for example.

It is not as you put it “the CAA’s imposed rules”, it is the law. The Vulcan operates on a Permit To Fly, if you want to carry paying passengers you require a Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA). To obtain a CofA for the aircraft is impractical, end of story.

exmpa

to be perfectly honest, how many passengers could you fit in 558? unless you installed a few rows of airline seats in her bomb bay :diablo:

This could work, They could take your money once, Then take you up over the coast somewhere and say if you don’t pay again we will open the bomb doors.
This would surely double the funds:D.

Am I being the devil’s advocate by saying:

Would a Vulcan flight actually be worth the money?:dev2:

I love the thing dearly, and still cling to the hope of seeing it fly (I have had a string of bad luck vis-a vis airshows), but I don’t actually think a ride would be that great. It has novelty value, sure, but wouldn’t it be highly uncomfortable, dark, lacking in visibility, horrendously noisy, cramped and hot?

The analogy I always think of is like being locked in a matt black tumble dryer…

I’d rather be watching its serene grace from the ground, and cough up the money there!

It’s been parked on the ground for quite some time now, how much of the Winter mantainence/inspectiosn etc has been accomplished or are they waiting until the end of May before starting it. Are they currently standing around with their collective thumbs up their keesters like they did last year?

preliminary work has started but as with last year the lack of funds are what holds things up.

Stick it on e bay everything sells there!

Let the Americans buy it at least they will fly it you never know it may pop back over here at some time.

I don’t believe it’s really 140,000…
BUT IF IT IS….
What does that come to per flight hour? 😀

christ!! id pay THEM to let me fly her!!!

The figure I heard was £140.000, but that was last year, he might have had a pay rise since then:diablo: but I must stress it was only hearsay.

I after seeing the pie chart as to the cashflow through staff wages etc, especially considering Marshalls do the engineering? so one assumes the Marshalls section of the pie chart included their staff wages. I decided I would never donate again to the cash cow as long as DR Phleming was in charge, with that and the fiasco of running out of check.

I also believe the Aircrew are Paid! to fly it and not a insignificant amount either, last year rumours had a figure that was been bandied about that the Chief Pilot was on nearly or over £100,000, if that is indeed true it is a gross amount considering a lot of Historical Aircraft are flown by unpaid volunteers, especially as the engineers and helpers are on the whole working for free or very little, if this is indeed correct that one wage is a lot of rattling of tins for a charitable venture to collect before you even look at putting it in the air…….

Seems to be top heavy with staff wages at the cost of what it should be about……… I cannot think of any other, bar the BBMF and Navy Historic Flight where the crews are paid….

I welcome a response from those in the know or from the Trust, Is this true about the wages? If the rumours prove unfounded then I will gladly remove this post, though that is what I heard at one of the shows I visited. Rumours are rumours, but there is often no smoke without fire……

Which ones specifically are untrue?