I wouldn’t expect to see her in the same place next year sadly Bex.

She’s pretty much a skeleton of a Vulcan now, having been quite thouroughly stripped to provide XH558 with spares. Unfortunately, her fate was sealed quite a long time ago, and it is simply a matter of time before she succumbs to the scrapman’s torch.

Flipflopman

David,

Would it be too much to ask you to use a little common sense here?

Do you really think that the entire flight, and everything around it, is going to be conducted under a ‘David Copperfield’ cloak of secrecy?

Do you think that we, the engineers are going to be signing confidentiality clauses, and denying all knowledge of working Vulcan bombers?

Have a word with yourself. Most of the reasons for the First Flight date being kept quiet, have been raised in this thread. Seriously, have you ever been to Bruntingthorpe and travelled on the surrounding roads? How long do you think they would take to become blocked? Do you imagine that only one or two people would wish to drive to Brunty to see 558 take to the skies? How well do you think that kind of a situation would go down with the local residents? What if things go U/S on the day, that’s an awful lot of angry people who’ve lost a days wages. Should you decide to come down, off your own back however, well that’ another matter entirely, and I think that as everyone else has pointed out, as soon as that entrance hatch shuts and 558 lines up, everyone will know about it one way or another.

The list goes on and on and on, without even broaching the safety aspect, but after another 16 hour day, I really haven’t got the energy to be entering a totally pointless argument, with someone who would appear to be letting his own personal bitterness, get in the way of completely legitimate and glaringly obvious reasons for TVOC’s silence on the issue.

For pitys sake, dry your eyes princess.

Flipflopman

Whilst it nowhere approaches the level of rectification that TVOC have had to carry out, the VRT does have a ongoing programme to address corrosion on XL426 – something that is being intensified as we carry out the work needed to put 426 back in taxiing condition.

Rich

And a fantastic job of it the VRT team have done also.

Having been lucky enough to visit the 426 boys, and also been allowed to play with their engines (Trevor touched the No 2 last, honest!!) I can testify to the commitment and fantastic job that the VRT boys do. My comments were in no way a slight to 426’s condition, simply that storing an aircraft outside, is always going to bring about an uphill struggle to keep them alive, and obviously, things suffer along the way. The VRT do indeed do a fantastic job of maintaining XL426 however, especially considering she lives outside 365 days a year!!

Flipflopman

And with the utmost respect,

Outside of the bubble of hardcore aviation enthusiasts, what percentage of the general public would like to see a reproduction Stirling built? How many do you think would recognise a Stirling? How much historical significance would you attach to the reproduction, non moving Stirling, rather than a living, breathing, shining example of Cold War heritage?

Don’t forget that an enormous amount of the cash raised for XH558 has been raised, not by the small band of Aviation Purists, but by the general public, who saw, and were impressed by the Vulcan, during her Cold War years, and who want to see her in the skies again.

It is the peoples money, and they have given towards it, and raised it, as they saw fit. All the ‘What if’s’ and ‘We could have had’ means nothing, if the people putting the money in, do not wish to see an another example of A. N. Other’s favourite aircraft. People have put their money where their mouths are, all of this conjecture and speculation is completely pointless in my opinion.

Flipflopman

Blimey,

There isn’t half some rubbish being peddled out about 558 again!

Mosschops,

No, XH558 is not awaiting “4 dials” before she soars into the sky again. That one is a new one on me! We are still awaiting a number of parts from the OEMs, but dials they are certainly not.

TwinOtter23,

I think you may have your wires crossed here, with some statements made at the AGM. Many months ago, at the start of the project, it was discovered, upon inspection, that the CAU (Cold Air Unit) of the Cabin Conditioning system was missing its turbine blades. This was a problem, as Honeywell, who are the OEM for the CAU, could not offer us any back up. We also had no spares stock, or so we thought. A few weeks later, while digging through our stores, a large 6′ x 6′ crate was unearthed, that contained a brand spanking new Cabin Conditioning ‘crate’ in amazing condition. This was tested, and in perfect working order. This is now fitted to 558. We are not short of one, nor have been for years.

Bex,

It’s not quite as simple as just ‘sprucing’ her up a bit for flight. Taxi condition aircraft are a million miles away from Flightworthy aircraft, whose condition has to satisfy the CAA. Many of the aircraft components are ‘lifed’, which for flight means they all have to be overhauled, or replaced. The aircraft has to be stripped, inspected, rectified and rebuilt. This is an enormous task. XM655 and XL426, while in fabulous condition, and taxiworthy, have both suffered enormously from their life outside, suffering heavily from corrosion, leaky fuel tanks, unserviceable components etc…. Although slightly better, XH558’s condition wasn’t a million miles away from these typical examples, and of course, all this has to be rectified.

It appears that some people are overlooking the fact that should the first flight become public knowledge, TVOC would require a level of insurance cover, and display authority from the CAA which would not only be prohibitive, but not at all likely. Add to this safety concerns, emergency services access in the event of a crash, or other accident, the list goes on. There would be tens of thousands of people clamouring to get to Bruntingthorpe to see first flight. Shockingly, we are not the only people who want to see XH558 take to the skies again!!

Flipflopman

It was in fact XH558’s first sip of fuel in 7 years.

It went surprisingly well, with only a few minor seeps, and no ‘gushers’. All sorted with an extra tweak on the unions. Transfer/flow/hi level functionals will be taking place this coming week, then it’s on to the Hyds.

Oxy system is complete and tested, Bleed Air is being tested currently, Pneumatics are complete and tested, 28v DC, 115v AC, 200v AC Electrical power is now available and tested.

All in all, very close to the end now!

Flipflopman

Hi mate,

Before the doom-mongers jump in here, as a TVOC engineer, I can tell you quite categorically that XH558 will definitely not be getting airborne at the Bruntingthorpe open day, nor ever has been due to appear. Aside from the fact that she is clearly not ready yet, even if 558 was sat in the hangar 100% serviceable, there does not exist the necessary insurance cover or display authority required by the CAA. This is just another of the unfounded rumours currently doing the rounds.

For more accurate and up to date info, visit http://www.tvoc.co.uk particularly the forum section, which is updated almost daily by the engineering staff.

As an aside, yes, most of the display solos have been cancelled this year, but “replaced” by the RAF role demo, though it remains to be seen how popular this is!!

Hope this helps

Flipflopman