Vulcan XH558 spirited display at RIAT

Think I upset one poster on UKAR – I don’t think I’ve changed my view though as their thread on this subject seems to contain more than a few posts that have lost touch with reality (but then this is common to many threads!). I guess it’s true that talking about retiring XH558 to Bruntingthorpe or Elvington or Coventry is a tad premature when they don’t seem to have even been asked but then that was partly my point. As far as I know, they have never even been asked which makes the “Academy” plan all the more absurd. I would imagine that all three places would gladly welcome XH558 given the opportunity, but it clearly isn’t going to happen. There’s not been so much as one word to suggest that VTTS have considered anything other than their own plan. It’s a tad galling when we’ve been told for so long that it’s the “people’s aeroplane” and yet the “people” don’t seem to be getting consulted in any way. It’s a very sad business.

I went along to see today’s take-off and as usual the airport was virtually dead – it is undeniably under-utilised and like many people I have to wonder what it’s long-term future will hold. In many respects XH558 looks rather like a spirit from the past moving amongst the deserted airfield. I also ventured further north to Elvington to see today’s display – a delight as always but a very restrained and gentle affair compared to the magnificent performance delivered by Kevin Rumens at Fairford.

Still no news of the final flight either. I imagine it’s going to be quite a day and it will be interesting (if not worrying) to see how the event is handled at Finningley. How will the local Police handle what will surely be an astonishing number of spectators? More to the point, does this mean that nobody is actually going to be within a reasonable distance to see/photograph the final historic touch-down? What a waste that will be if such a huge moment in Britain’s aviation history can hardly even be seen 🙁

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The UKAR thread seems to drift into the realms of fantasy far too many times, so I haven’t read much there that adds much to the situation. I guess that thread does illustrate that there’s no clear view amongst enthusiasts so I think we can be sure that VTTS will simply forge ahead with its plans regardless of whether anyone points-out the absurdity of the whole idea or not. The UKAR thread does raise one interesting point though – what is going to happen when the final flight occurs? If it really is going to become a “must see” event, I do wonder how VTTS, the Airport and the Police will want to handle it. I can imagine that there must be a few people within VTTS who would like to make the final flight a private affair for their preferred friends, although I doubt if even they would have the nerve to try and make the flight without telling the wider public – there would probably be a lynch mob heading to Finningley the next day! I imagine there will be a growing pressure for concrete information on the final flight when we get into next month?

Ive just posted this to UKAR too.

The fast taxiing element of her retirement will be used as a money spinner for them.

Can you really see the Airport Authorities allowing a few thousand Vulcan fans airside next to the runway to watch 558 put through her paces, paying or non paying? No chance. You’ll be watching from the fence. The logistics of getting people in, organised in position and out afterwards would take ages, detracting from the main purpose for the existence of the place: an airport.

I think it’s more realistic that VTTS will charge a much smaller group decent money to see her taxi, maybe as part of a whole days ‘experience’, watching her started up etc.

It’s pretty-much what I said many posts back. Once it stops flying XH558 becomes just another Vulcan. All the hype will disappear. This is why it is such a bad idea to retire the aircraft at Finningley. There simply will not be enough visitors to make it worthwhile and it will be of no relevance to the “academy.” We know it and I suspect VTTS know it too.

Does it’s history make a difference, and make it more attractive to visit? Can the same be said about XM135 at Duxford?

Why bizarre? Every static museum aircraft is a piece of history by definition almost. So whether she resides at Doncaster, Elvington, Bruntingthorpe, Coventry or anywhere else offered on the thread is of little consequence to me.

She was a static Vulcan before her return to flight – the notion that you will cease to care is frankly a bizarre thought . Surely the aircraft is a piece of history
whether its flying or not ?

Mike is right. We can speculate all we like and throw advice hourly to VTTS, but next month 558 will be grounded at Finningley and there’s to stay.

And frankly I don’t care. Courtesy of me and thousands of others I have revelled in her return to flight but once her wings are clipped she will be just another static Vulcan.

Coventry is another place where it would be parked on leased ground. In the long term Coventry airport isn’t a guaranteed survivor.

Airplanes? Aren’t they what those awful colonials call Aeroplanes? I know Cornwall is one of the far Western outposts, somewhere beyond Windsor, but I didn’t think it was that far West Mr K!

Whooooops, apologies there!, spent to much of my aviation career working with American manufacturers and their aircraft and equipment!

Of course all of this is irrelevant. In about 6 weeks time it will make its final landing at Doncaster, and the only way it is ever going anywhere after that is in a large number of skips.

I don’t think it’s an issue – it never was, until certain museums started claiming that it was. Why would it matter if two Vulcans were at one location?

I have this mental image of some random enthusiast planning a trip to Coventry sometime in the future… “hmm, looks like an interesting place to visit… oh no, wait, they have two Vulcans! That’s it then, I’m not going…” 🙂

To the average visitor none of that really matters. It still comes down to the question, why would you need two Vulcans at Coventry Airport, regardless of which particular group’s auspices they come under?

Rest assured I don’t muddle the two and it’s good to note that the MAM Vulcan already has excellent public access!

I might be talking with someone from MAM this afternoon and perhaps VTTS – depending on what mood I’m in I may test the water!! 😉

please do not muddle up the Midland Air Museum with classic air force.They may both be at Coventry airport but are seperated and not just by geographical distance.

Airplanes? Aren’t they what those awful colonials call Aeroplanes? I know Cornwall is one of the far Western outposts, somewhere beyond Windsor, but I didn’t think it was that far West Mr K!

Interesting tangent, but when I mentioned Coventry I didn’t suggest that the aircraft would be hangared. Even if it was to share some space outdoors next to the Shackleton it would be in a better “retirement home” than Finningley. The public can access Coventry easily, they are far more likely to be afforded access to the runway to watch a high-speed run (and if not, there’s a good view to be had from the perimeter road), and of course visitors would be able to see the Shackleton, CAF aircraft and MAM collection at the same time. So on every point it would be a far better place to retire the Vulcan, and of course there’s always an opportunity to raise money for some sort of hangar to house it (and maybe the Shackleton too).

What a shame that VTTS haven’t considered this. But then if they did, there wouldn’t be any further connection with Finningley beyond this autumn. I wonder why VTTS don’t want to sever this link? Anybody could be forgiven for thinking that they have personal motivations for keeping the base in business…

Given how the Classic Air Force at Newquay closed down fairly soon after opening leaving some great airplanes with an uncertain future, I’d hope that CVT or any other options are closely scrutinised before decisions are made.

:confused: There’s already a Vulcan at Coventry.

Interesting tangent, but when I mentioned Coventry I didn’t suggest that the aircraft would be hangared. Even if it was to share some space outdoors next to the Shackleton it would be in a better “retirement home” than Finningley. The public can access Coventry easily, they are far more likely to be afforded access to the runway to watch a high-speed run (and if not, there’s a good view to be had from the perimeter road), and of course visitors would be able to see the Shackleton, CAF aircraft and MAM collection at the same time. So on every point it would be a far better place to retire the Vulcan, and of course there’s always an opportunity to raise money for some sort of hangar to house it (and maybe the Shackleton too).

What a shame that VTTS haven’t considered this. But then if they did, there wouldn’t be any further connection with Finningley beyond this autumn. I wonder why VTTS don’t want to sever this link? Anybody could be forgiven for thinking that they have personal motivations for keeping the base in business…

It would be no good having 558 at Coventry she won’t fit into any of the hangers there, the Shack is a tight squeeze but a Vulcans fin won’t go in.

I’d have thought that the weight of the Vulcan would preclude hanging it from anything?