WH904I assume Mike’s comment above is intended to rile, but of course the Vulcan is a very significant aeroplane, having been at the heart of the UK’s deterrent force for many years and having also performed the tactical strike, conventional attack, maritime radar reconnaissance and tanker roles. The Victor is certainly an impressive machine but it proved to be far less versatile than the Vulcan. True, it soldiered-on longer than the Vulcan but this was simply because it had been converted to the tanker role and there was nothing to replace it for some time. The reason it was converted to the tanker role in the first place was because the aircraft was unsuitable for any further use as a bomber, because its wing structure was entirely unsuitable for the low level role. It is of course lamentable that so few Victors have survived, but at least a Mk.1 example survives at Duxford, whereas the only remaining Mk.1 Vulcan was destroyed at Cosford. The real shame is that only one Valiant survived.
XM607 is indeed in a pretty sorry state. Even if it does receive some further attention it seems likely that it will be dumped eventually, when the OC-of-the-day decides that he has no interest in a rotting Vulcan carcass being on his station. It seems to be of little interest to RAF Waddington as anything other than an amusing trinket, whereas a museum would undoubtedly have lavished much more care on it. The whole sorry saga started when the aircraft was retained at Waddington following retirement. When the display park was abandoned (and the accompanying Victor destroyed), I think that was the clearest signal that Waddington didn’t really want XM607 any more. Given its important place in history (having flown the longest bombing mission in the history or British aerial warfare) and it’s huge interest to enthusiasts (having been the RAF display aircraft for quite some time) it really should have been under cover from the moment it was retired. Quite why another far-less significant Black Buck aircraft went to Cosford is a complete mystery.
I suppose the only possible positive outcome for XM607 would be if Waddington had the good sense to tow it across the A15 to the WAVE and place it in a fenced area there, enabling volunteers to look after it a little more than at present. I don’t suppose it would enable the airframe to survive forever but I’m sure it would be a better outcome than simply leaving it virtually abandoned on the airfield. I’ve seen various claims from RAF Waddington that the aircraft is still being cared for, but (as has been said in posts above) it is very much a cosmetic business. The aircraft is in a pretty sorry state. It’s no way to treat such a unique machine.
WH904Actually it says no “planned” flight – make of that what you will.
WH904I think I did four in all but I would recommend Key Publishing’s Aeroplane Icons special on the Vulcan, written by myself, which is just as good as any book – but cheaper 🙂
Think the Key Publishing shop is out of stock at present, but you can download it from Pocketmags :-
WH904Whilst retracing XH558’s history above, it prompts me to note how amusing it is that XH558’s forthcoming final flight will in fact be its third final flight! 🙂
WH904Maybe you could explain to him that the viewer doesn’t have to be treated like an idiot with the attention span of a goldfish. I suppose the problem is that the majority of viewers are idiots with the attention spans of goldfish 😉
WH904XH558 wasn’t involved in the Falklands conflict, but it was one of the aircraft converted to tanker configuration during 1982. Prior to that, XH558 had been a B.Mk.2(MRR) since the 1970s, equipped for maritime radar reconnaissance with 27 Squadron. As part of that unit’s responsibilities, it was modified to carry air sampling pods and XH558 was still fitted with these when it was converted to tanker configuration at Woodford. It continued to fly with the tanker modification and sampling pods into 1983 before the pods were removed. It was withdrawn in 1984 along with all the other tankers, and it was flown to Marham for use as a fire/rescue trainer. The RAF kept XL426 for display flying and retained XH560 as a reserve but when plans were made to use XH560 as the primary air display aircraft (when XL426 was retired), the books showed that XH560 had few hours left, but documentation showed that XH558 had many more hours available. So XH560 was flown to Marham and withdrawn, while XH558 was flown out again for use as a display machine. The rest, as they say, is history 🙂
The 607 book is indeed a nice read. I would have enjoyed it more if the author had perhaps acknowledged where some of his information came from (like from some of my Vulcan books), but still a nice read 😉
WH904No point in arguing with the same people over the same points – I think I’ve expressed my view clearly so if some people disagree that’s fine, it matters not.
For those who are actually interested, I see that Robin Hood Airport mistakenly issued a request for passengers using the airport this coming Sunday to arrive in good time, because the Vulcan would be making its last flight. The message then disappeared, as did a Notam which seemed to confirm that the aircraft would certainly be flying. I guess we can take this to mean that Sunday may well be the last flight, but whether we get a definitive comment from VTTS remains to be seen. I’m guessing we probably will – five minutes after it has landed.
WH904Actually XH558 wasn’t flown particularly aggressively when it was still with the RAF. The take-off angle was sometimes a little steeper but that’s about all. The only difference was that the aircraft was a lot closer to the spectators. The spirited Vulcan displays ended by 1984 after Joe L’Estrange stopped display flying. He was the champion of truly impressive Vulcan display flying. Still, if you saw Kevin Rumen’s display at Fairford (Saturday) this year, I think you pretty-much saw the most impressive Vulcan display since the days of Farnborough in the late 1950s 🙂
WH904Thunderbird – the various points you mention have been discussed before. In shirt, the difference is that PA474 isn’t funded by donations or HLF money.
Trumper – it’s not about the raffle prize, it’s about the way in which the flight was kept secret until ten minutes or so before take-off (the Twitter posts were not an hour before take-off, contrary to comments made above). There is/was no need for this. Why couldn’t the flight have been announced? We knew about it last week. If raffle winners need to be flown then fine, they could have done this at any stage while the aircraft was on other flights. A specific flight wasn’t necessary. The cost of today’s flight (which has just finished) obviously must have cost a huge amount more than the raffle raised. Madness! But if the flight really had to be made (which I don’t accept) then there’s certainly no reason why it has to be done in secret.
I guess I look at this issue from a very different angle to some of the people who post comments here. But I know my views aren’t unique, in fact I rarely speak to anyone who doesn’t have a similar view to mine. XH558 has been funded by donations and Lottery money. VTTS have no plausible reason as to why a long flight should be made just to entertain winners of a raffle. Not with other people’s money. But to then deliberately keep the flight almost completely secret just insults people still further. But there we are, nothing ever changes, not does my view of these people. As I’ve said before, they act in a manner that most people would find utterly objectionable was it not for the fact that people’s affection for the Vulcan prompts people to ignore what goes on. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so offensive – they’ll be begging for money again in ten minutes.
WH904Think the problem is that there aren’t all that many photographs of XH558 from the early days. There are plenty from 1982 onwards and a few from the ‘seventies, but not very much from the early days. VTTS have quite a few photos though – they sometimes post them on their web pages.
WH904The commentary was just awful. Why does avery TV show have to be stuffed-full with faux tension and jeopardy when everyone knows it’s complete garbage? I wonder why they’re incapable of treating views like adults.
Couldn’t help wondering why all the lovely in-cockpit footage was kept so short. Every time a nice sequence started, we had to flash back to the view from the ground or the commentator, etc. This always seems to happen. For some reason, film editors seem to think we’re incapable of watching an in-cockpit view for more than ten seconds at a time It’s very annoying.
WH904Today’s flight has just got underway. As predicted days ago, but not mentioned by VTTS until ten minutes before take-off. I suppose I’m a bad person for criticising VTTS yet again but there we go – another flight just to take some raffle winners for a joyride with the Blades. All very nice for them but somehow I don’t imagine the raffle covers the cost of the fuel that will be used today. But either way, there is of course no reason why the flight couldn’t have been publicised. As ever, VTTS self-interest prevails. It’s fortunate that some people who were/are aware of plans are prepared to tell us, even if the “People’s Vulcan” folks are not 😉
WH904WP840 you’re probably right. I think everyone would agree that it’s the obvious answer. Whether it will ever happen though is anybody’s guess. I think it fair to say that most of us don’t think the latest efforts to get a Concorde flying will result in success but I guess nothing’s completely impossible 🙂
WH904Charlie/Trumper Please don’t feel obliged to comment on everything I post. I know you don’t like me or anything I say. Point is, I don’t care, nor does anybody else. If you want this thread to consist of nothing but pointless posts about how people have seen XH558 and how nice it was, then good luck to you. It interests nobody, and doesn’t add anything to the point of this thread which was the Vulcan’s last flight. Anyway, I’ll await the inevitable responses with bated indifference 😉
WH904Just a thought, now that RAF and RN Rescue Sea Kings are no more it would be good if one of each were preserved in flying condition
I agree, although I guess most spectators wouldn’t be very excited. It’s rather like so many of the previous posts – wish lists of people’s favourite aircraft. I could run a list of mine, but I thought we were talking about aircraft that might be the “next big thing” – not just spouting about aeroplanes we happen to like! If that was the case I’d be arguing for a Varsity! 🙂
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