VX927Moderators,
Can I please suggest that 558Pressoffice is removed from this forum? The purpose of this forum is for open discussion / debate. 558PressOffice refuses to take part in this, even refusing to answer questions posted directly to them, by the moderators. 558pressoffice is using the forum purely as a means of free advertising, and I believe that this goes against the rules of the forum. If they wish to use flypast as an advertising platform then I’m sure the good people at Key will be happy to talk to them.
VX927In reality, the only succesful private operator of military jet aircraft is Thunder City, but would they have any interest in such a huge aircraft as a Vulcan?
The only bonus would be that of having the extra seats available for joyrides, but then the rather big disadvantage is the extra operating costs involved for such a large aircraft, training up service personel and spares availability.Its an alternative to the states and probably a far more viable option given Thunder Citys enthusiasm for Military Aircraft.
Mmm, try saying that HHA at Scampton Hawker Hunter Aviation
VX927Instead of sending it off to the US, phone up Monino and swap it for a Bear. That would be a pretty impressive cold war reminder. 😀
Best wishes
Steve P
Very good!… I like that!
VX927Yorkie,
This thread may be of some help to you? It shows some photos I took only a couple of weeks ago…
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=88172&highlight=binbrook
VX927Thankfully not.
Bought privately by someone with links to the Museum at Boscombe and it has duly moved to their ‘pan’As good an outcome as could have been hoped for, as its not even been dismantled to move, other than one of the Nationals obtaining it.
Thats great. Thank you.
VX927I know it wouldn’t look pretty, but would it at least help keeping the elements out if you (insert ‘someone’) were to rivet over a sheet of aluminum with a bit o sealant around it. Like I said, it’s not pretty, but I a ‘proper’ fix sounds like a great deal of work. At least it would keep some of the weather out.
Does anyone have any photos that they could share of her arriving at Bruntingthorpe?
VX927Does anyone know what happened to her or where she went? Not under the scrapman’s knife I hope?
VX927Is that a B.1 stick?
Regards,
John.
Yes John, If the questions and answers at the be believed at the bottom of the page, then someone calling themselves ‘Vulcan Pilot’ confirms that it’s a B1 grip… Nice item.
VX927VX927Its on the website. Press office have done their job.
Please… give me a break.
The roll of a press office isn’t to put stuff on a web site… That’s the job of the web master.
If that really the case then why has someone come on here calling themselves 558PressOffice telling us about stuff going on. Dont you see, this is the problem. You think thats acceptable, but with only weeks to go before another ‘airline’ goes bust, you think putting it on the web site is good enough. Have I missed something?
Believe me, I’m no press expert, but I do work with a press office, and have limited involvement in press releases… They have not done their job simply by putting it on a web site.
VX927Good opportunity to see 558 ground running possibly last time??
Good to see that Peter is on the ball… I would have thought that this was the job of 558PressOffice, but thankfully a forum member is able to inform us all. Perhaps I wasn’t all that wrong when I said several pages ago that 558PressOffice doesn’t have a clue?
Isn’t it just soooooo frustrating.
God forbid please dont let any of them near another aviation project. 😡 😡 😡
VX927Again, I’m puzzled – why do people commenting on this thread think that the bearded one should feel any inclination to put his hand in his pocket to keep the tin-triangle in the air?… Let’s face it – it’s a noisy, polluting cold war BOMBER that has little or no interest to the masses – what connection does it have and what are the public relations benefits in any way, shape or form in aligning it with a modern day progressive airline?
VA can and have got far better value from their latest retro advertising campaign (which was very good in it’s own right ) that got referred to the Advertising Standards Agency for being ‘sexist’ – this has been commented upon ‘free and for nothing’ in the media for days now. In advertising terms that is very positive and good value for money – painting the tin triangle red and white with a big ‘V’ on the tail would just bring out the complainers who would scream ‘Branson and Virgin Atlantic glorifies war’…. That’s a real nice piece of positive advertising which would reverberate around the world, isn’t it?
Time to bring out the shotgun and put the whole sorry mess out of it’s misery – and try and salvage something positive from the debacle!
I largely agree with what you’re saying but Mr Branson must see some merit in it by virtue of the fact that he has put his mane to the latest letter. He certainly cant associate the vulcan with the negative points you raise… Dirty, noisy and polluting.
VX927LL, Normally I agree with your posts, but on this one, I’m afraid I cant.
Just remember that TVOC have done what they said they would do – return XH558 to airworthy status and fly her.
No, they said they would deliver an aircraft that would display for 10 years, not 10 dates. I dont think they would have had half the donations they have had if people know it was only for one year.
TVOC have managed to keep their heads above water so far.
I dont think TVOC have ever had their head above the water… they’ve just had big lungs. Now they need to come for a breath and they cant / wont get there.
perhaps this shortfall is due almost solely to the massive recession we now find ourselves in. Ironically, a recession was a factor in 558’s original retirement!
The recession will be used as a timely excuse for the lack of sponsorship, but the reality is that the sponsors were long gone even before the recession. Another string of lies we were told. Funny, of all the things that stood in front of TVOC / 558, sponsorship was always the one thing that was secured. We were told we just had to wait until they got permission from the CAA to fly, then we were told they just had to fly, then get the permit… And now… NOTHING! The ‘Vulcan effect’ cant be that strong after all!
I think that one day Dr Robert Pleming will be remembered as the man who managed to get a complex category aircraft flying in this country.
No way… Certainly not in the aviation world. he’ll be remembered as the man behind the Vulcan fiasco. I think he’s outfight failed, I really do. The engineers got that aircraft flying… His job was to manage it, and he’s not been able to do that. The aircraft has always been on the wrong side of the drag curve, and that is down to management.
The major sponsor is always just around the corner – discussions with big companies can take years (I know from experience!) and even then things will not go as planned or hoped.
So they keep telling us!:confused:
Finally, since the operating company is a public company, the full accounts will be available upon request…. somewhere….
Yes… SOMEWHERE again:confused: Many people have asked, but no one ever gets to see them.
By the way…. can anyone donate £30 million for a new aviation heritage centre in the North East please?…. 😀
If I had it, then I would gladly give it to you! – Just dont tell me that you’re going to use it to restore a Vulcan!
VX927Accounts show that in previous years when we were being told that the project had run out of money, in fact hundreds of thousands of pounds were carried over from one year to the next… I wonder what the real financial state of TVOC is?
How much money did BA raise when they auctioned off surplus Concorde parts?… I know I’ve suggested it before, but why dont they look at doing that with scrap / US / time ex parts? I dont mean E-bay, but rather go for some high publicity auction. At the end of the day, they’re going to have to get rid of the stuff one way or another!!!!!!
VX927I see that once again they are talking about selling her to America. Is this just scare mongering, or is it a real possibility? Personally, I dont think that the Americans will want her, and I also thought that the lottery help meant that she had to stay in the UK.
Bring her to Scampton, lets make a museum there, and put the old girl out of her misery.
This has been taken from TVOC’s web site…
The Vulcan Effect
Over last summer Vulcan XH558 made a triumphant return to air displays around the UK. She was the star of the show wherever she appeared, generating such a strong reaction from her 1.5million audience that the media were moved to call it the Vulcan Effect.
What has truly surprised and pleased is the reaction of youngsters seeing the Vulcan for the first time. There are very few sights and sounds with the power to stimulate and inspire the young, but the Vulcan in flight is indisputably one of them.
That was last summer. Unfortunately the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) has to announce today that the prospects of seeing the Vulcan fly again in 2009 are currently looking very poor.
Grim future for the Vulcan team
VTST is running out of cash. The current conditions – an economic “Perfect Storm” – are making corporate sponsorship increasingly difficult to secure, and recessionary fears are understandably limiting the flow of charitable donations.
The Trust has just enough money to pay the wages bill at the end of the month. As the result, last Monday, VTST had to put all of its employees on one month’s notice.
Whilst huge numbers of people saw the Vulcan display last summer, by contrast, hardly anyone appears to know of XH558’s plight now.
Only the further generosity of the public can now save the Vulcan. £1million is needed to keep going this year, and secure the financial footing for the future.
Pledges are the way forward
Just before Christmas, VTST started a Pledge campaign, looking for promises of donations which could be called in once the target had been reached. The response has been good, today reaching £260,000. At least £150,000 can be added from other sources to this amount.
We are hoping that the public will want to see the amazing Vulcan fly again this year. The public need to help us by pledging now, either through our website http://www.vulcantothesky.org or by phone to our office on 0116 247 8145. Even the smallest pledge helps, because it is people in their thousands who make the difference.
The very real danger is that we won’t get near enough to our target of £1million by the end of the month. If we don’t, the Trust will be destined to rapidly go into administration, which would inevitably lead to the sale of the aircraft, probably to an American buyer. What a terrible waste of all the money, effort and heartache which went into restoring XH558 back to flight.
It’s quite remarkable that £50million can be raised for a Titian that will be seen by only a few thousand people a year, but that we are struggling to raise a fiftieth of that amount for another stirringly beautiful British creation that will be seen by millions every year.
Immediate action is required if this great British icon is to continue honouring the past and inspiring the future. Apart from pledging donations, supporters are also encouraged to sign the petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/vulcan-XH558/
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