Our header picture today comes courtesy of Shaun Thomas and was taken as XH558 touched down at
RIAT (RAF Fairford) earlier this year. See the RIAT DVD trailer hereSome might already know through our webpages and social media feeds, that unfortunately on Wednesday we had to make the announcement of a decision to cancel all further flight planning this season.
This was on the basis of a report we received earlier in the day on the condition of the leaking No.5 tank from specialists FPT Industries in Portsmouth.
One of the leak points highlighted
Given that more than one leak and other signs of deterioration were found, and that the tank is itself over 30 years old, we had concluded that, if repaired, the tank would remain vulnerable to further leaks.We have therefore decided that repair of the tank would not prove economical and, if reinstalled on the aircraft, could prove to be unreliable.
There is no airworthy spare available; so we have accordingly commissioned a new tank to be manufactured immediately.
With an estimated 16 week lead time for manufacture, it will not be possible to return the aircraft to flight again in 2013. XH558 has therefore sadly made her last public appearance this year.
We now wish to concentrate on ensuring we are able to secure sufficient funding to return XH558 to the air for another two seasons.
Please await further news in these official newsletters and VTST Press Releases.
Chairman of the Trustees, John Sharman, has asked us to include this message:
This is clearly very disappointing news for everyone who enjoys watching XH558’s wonderful displays and especially for those who were looking forward to her visiting their local airshows this autumn. She has proven extremely reliable this year, not missing any events due to technical issues, but she is an elderly aircraft and components do age. So although feeling the disappointment of all her supporters to whom I apologise sincerely and profusely (especially to those who have been incredibly generous in time and money to keep her flying), I am also very grateful to our engineers for finding this fault in its early stages. For everyone at Vulcan to the Sky Trust, and I am sure for all of XH558’s supporters too, safety must be our first priority.
We are very much looking forward to next year now and hope you will join the Vulcan team and myself in redoubling our energies to fund and complete the work needed to fly in 2014 and 2015. The Trustees and I remain committed to maintaining XH558 in the excellent condition necessary to meet the wishes of her many supporters who wish to see her in flight.
With best wishes for the weekend,
John Sharman
They’d be better getting ready the plinth to park it on. Prepare for the incoming begging season starting early.
By: exmpa - 15th September 2013 at 09:28
100% MEL if it’s fitted it has to be serviceable plus the outer tanks form part of the trimming facility.
The transfer pumps operate between 1 and 7 tanks, 5 tank has nothing to do with the “trimming facility”. The APU tank vents into 4 tank 4 group so there are no issues there. The potential problem of having an empty aft tank in an outer group is that more fuel will have to remain in 7 tank for CofG maintenance. This implies less fuel in 1 tank (or 2 tank) of that group. No 1 and 2 tanks are essential loads,i.e.they are still available after electrical load shedding therefore a good place to have fuel.
It’s possibly a collector tank that the engines feed from.
No such animal, it’s tank to engine or via the cross-feed line.
The Minimum Equipment List (MEL) issue is that the Vulcan does not have one. There is no list of allowable deficiencies, if it’s fitted it must be serviceable. To despatch with a tank inoperative would entail manual control of the fuel system and a similar procedure to a sequence timer failure. Doable, but not desirable.
exmpa
exmpa
By: paul178 - 14th September 2013 at 23:15
So where is it at the moment and for the next 16 weeks or so?
By: trumper - 14th September 2013 at 22:16
Well said Efiste2 and Panzer john,there are too many people on here who seem peed off because it got airworthy,what a weird way of thinking.May she have a few more airworthy years and her engines howl.People who won’t admit to her pulling power live in denial.
By: PanzerJohn - 14th September 2013 at 22:09
It’s a bit of bad luck, hopefully it will be repaired for next year. I’ll keep sending my fivers.Those who seem to take pleasure in this occurance..shame on you..this has been a magnificent project…nothing like it anywhere else in the world…if you don’t like it don’t give..but please stop carping from the sidelines.
By: charliehunt - 14th September 2013 at 22:09
Excellent post efiste2 – I totally agree.
By: AlanR - 14th September 2013 at 21:53
Well said ! :eagerness:
By: efiste2 - 14th September 2013 at 21:41
According to the Vulcan engineers it would comprimise safety to fly with the tank drained, even with the weight re-distributed….
As for the doom mongers who are pleased the Vulcan is grounded or “DEAD” without dragging all the old posts back up about it diverting money away from other projects etc etc. in my humble opinion I dont think there is any other aircraft with the exception of the BBMF or maybe a lightning, that would draw anywhere near amount of attention that the Vulcan gets, and I think the airshow gates have proved it. Of course I am on about GENERAL PUBLIC attention, and not enthusiasts. Carfest North for example, hosted not far away from my home I took my nephew to see XH558 at a car park near to the event, I was amazed to see around 20 other people do the same thing at the same location, all of course had come to see a “VULCAN BOMBER”. on its approach to the show ground 558 was circling the local town, where many people saw it and took notice of it, knowing exactly what it was……and this generated a lot of talk around the town, and a piece in the local paper.
Dont get me wrong I would love to see other projects get the same funding or attention, such as a STIRLING etc, but without the GENERAL PUBLICS intrest i think any other project would never leave the ground….It draws parallel to the FLYING SCOTSMAN locomotive, many real enthusiasts dont want to see that rebuilt, preffering to see money spent on lesser known projects, but again the general public think Scotsman is THE Steam Train..
Back to 558 and I for one hope that she does see another season or two, and I for one will be chipping in with some of my hard earned cash, if you choose not to then thats entirely your right, but dont wish her grounded, even if she does have her wings clipped I beleive it wont divert the general publics pound into other aircraft, so all that happens is we loose an iconic aircraft from the sky, and not get another one to replace it….
By: John Green - 14th September 2013 at 12:54
Don’t take my question too literally David. It’s making a point.
By: David Burke - 14th September 2013 at 12:47
Doesn’t sound like a striking deal to me ! Jerry is selling aircraft -he has a saleable Mosquito probably in the region of 8-10 million Dollars worth -why having shown zero interest in acquiring a V- bomber in the past would he even bother to answer the email asking the question!
By: John Green - 14th September 2013 at 12:05
What about offering it to Jerry Yagen in exchange for the Mosquito ? If nothing else, the offer might elicit a response that not only defines the value of the Vulcan but also the lack of clarity behind the original decision to preserve it.
By: Arabella-Cox - 14th September 2013 at 07:46
Why not seal the tank and use the others. Not like it flys a huge distance?
100% MEL if it’s fitted it has to be serviceable plus the outer tanks form part of the trimming facility.
By: TonyT - 14th September 2013 at 02:03
Possibly CoG reasons?
It’s possibly a collector tank that the engines feed from.
I’ll accept offers of £150 to come and watch me run a puddle jumper 😀
By: DaveF68 - 13th September 2013 at 23:25
Why not seal the tank and use the others. Not like it flys a huge distance?
Possibly CoG reasons?
By: Mr Merry - 13th September 2013 at 20:46
Why not seal the tank and use the others. Not like it flys a huge distance?
But I get what Tony is saying with the begging, it seems none stop.
Last airworthy Vulcan, yes, but even VTTS admits they can’t keep it flying for much longer, ground it and give to Brunty or Elvington. It’s just a money pit.
By: Hurn - 13th September 2013 at 20:34
Well if it gets grounded at least it means I’ll have a few extra quid in my pocket each month to spend on more beers instead. :very_drunk:
By: charliehunt - 13th September 2013 at 20:28
I hope they achieve their aim of flying it to 2015. If not I’ve enjoyed all of her appearances over the last few years and I hope she will find a suitable home for her retirement.
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September 13, 2013 at 6:59 pm