Vulcan XL391 at Blackpool…

In this months issue of FP in the breifings it states that this Vulcan may be moved from Blackpool airport in the future to a ‘collector’ down south. Whilst I hope this is the case and that ‘391 can be saved, what are the logistics of moving this aircraft? The centre section alone is as wide as a house and the airframe in general is very badly corroded having been exposed to the sea air and having no maintenance since 1981. Some of the stbd control surfaces are missing and the jet pipes are corroded through as well as the undercarriage doors/fairings which have become exfoliated and beyond repair. In addition to this, the undercarriage units are very badly corroded and the shock absorbers are more or less ‘calcified’. In my opinion it would need a hell of a lot of work, fabrication/sourcing of new parts as well as expense to bring this to display condition. Regarding taxiing, forget it as the engines have not run since 1981 and have almost certainly seized. I visit this aircraft regularly and would love to see her restored but I would be very surprised if this was’nt just another ‘pie in the sky’ idea. XL391 seems to have been the victim of a lot of those…..

Any ideas you guys? Any more news on the plans for this aircraft? As it is at the moment, it is in really bad shape and something needs to be done…

I am off work this week; I will try and provide some pics if anyone is interested…

Paul.