Southend’s Vulcan is being overhauled bit by bit to return it back to fast taxiing status.

They’re also giving it a much needed repaint, so hopefully it should be good for a few years yet.

Spotted a rare old Sea Vixen displaying over Bournemouth beach this morning. 😎

mishaps can happen wlook what nearly ahppened with the Victor ?.

A mishap that was avoidable!

But I wonder what the repercussions would have been if he’d taken it round for a circuit rather than get it back on the ground within the confines of the airfield? An end to the Cold War Jets days perhaps? Huge fines? Who knows?

Sad, yes – but in poor taste? It’s only a lump of metal after all, and it’s not as if anyone died…

Bang on. Not like it was the only example of the type flying either.

Because I was at Yeovilton:D seeing the Vulcan and Sea Vixen in formation was enough for me 😀

Yep, me too! 😀 Have to say that Yeovilton was the dogs danglies if you prefer noisy fast jets like I do. 😎

First time seeing the AN2 though, and the Swordfish for more years than I can remember.

It was just a suggestion. I understand that criticism of the Vulcan and its operations are unwelcome but, as I said it was only a thought.

Sorry, I hadn’t realised that you were actually being critical so apologies for missing that.

No need to get so defensive though. I doubt anyone here could say with any certainty that the Vulcan could be looked after by another company cheaper than it already is. As I mentioned, Marshalls are the engineering authority so it all has to go through them anyway.
I could only guess the VttS engineers that do the work now are the most cost effective way of keeping the aircraft running, but as I said, if you’re really that interested then do some research and tell us what you find. 🙂

One solution then would be to have the Vulcan operated by someone already operating aircraft and who already employ engineers.:)

Marshalls are the engineering authority and everything has to be agreed with them regarding maintenance I believe. The engineering team at VttS have gone on courses and gained the credentials to allow them to maintain the Vulcan in accordance with what Marshalls and the CAA set down.

Don’t know what VttS engineers earn, but I’ve heard it’s a lot less than they could get elsewhere. Seems to be more a labour of love for most of them and they don’t mind working the odd hours and weekends when they do the shows. I don’t think VttS would get that level of support by using another company tbh, and if they did then it would probably cost them more than they pay their own engineers now.

It begs the question though. If costs, fuel burn and engine life considerations are a premium, why do the spiral climb with airbrakes open, wouldn’t reducing the thrust be far more beneficial?

Wouldn’t reducing the thrust mean less noise, which in turn means less of a spectacle for the public to enjoy? One of the criticisms of the display has been it’s too sedate, so I for one welcome a more powerful and dynamic display.
Any fuel burned would be paid for by the airshow as part of the display costs, so not really a factor in that regard.

Back to the here and now, it seems they’re working on changing the engine CMFS to try and fix the problems they’re having. Fingers crossed. 🙂

No 2 Engine CMFS being changed now. Testing later, so if all well, plan is to depart Friday morning to Yeovilton. Further update later today