heres an off the cuff question which no one so far as ever had the answer for. What was it that the Warton lads had fitted to or were doing to 693, that required her to be trimmed so differently to the operational ships:confused: She isn’t trimmed like that any mome either.

Chox – If you were a pilot in the FAA during Suez a Sea Venom was bloody useful. Similarily if you fought with the RAF in the type in the Middle East it was quite handy too. So in essence the Venom dropped more bombs ,fired more rockets and fired more cannon rounds then the Vulcan ever did. So to the people fighting in those conflicts it was far more significant.
On to the nuclear deterent line and you might find the Royal Navy with twenty plus years of Polaris dating back to the early 1970’s think that apart from length of time in service their deterent stood a greater chance of success and was in service for far longer in it’s primary role.
Adding on to this the various Valiants – Victors – Buccaneers – Tornados amongst others which were nuclear capable and the saviour of the free world wasn’t exactly the Vulcan.
As for your other points – again the Vulcan was bought for the nation. So you have as much chance of getting it to the U.S as you would of sailing HMS Victory out of the Solent.

Add to that the CAA requirements of CAP 632 as follows:

A UK Permit-to-Fly is only valid for flight in UK airspace in accordance with the
conditions on the Permit-to-Fly, unless an Exemption has been granted by the CAA to
fly abroad. Permit-to-Fly aircraft must not be operated outside UK airspace for more
than 3 calendar months in any calendar year, unless with the specific approval of the
CAA. Flight in the airspace of any other State in a Permit-to-Fly aircraft will also require
the specific permission, in writing, of that State since the aircraft does not hold an
ICAO recognised Certificate of Airworthiness

So in essence getting her to the U.S – maintaining her and keeping her airworthy isn’t an option – never was or would be.

The only option is explore what the ‘heads in the sand’ brigade thought would be ten to fifteen years away i.e what to do with it when the exciting flying bit was over.

not quite. That’s only if she was hopping back and forth, and that isn’t what Chox is suggesting. If, as Chox has suggested, 558 went to the states to be operate, CAP or CAA wouldnt come into it. She would fly under CAP, until out of British air space only.

I do agree though that the Vulcan was no more significant than Lightning, Hunter, Bucc, Shack etc. She was part of an effective defence package. IMO she stood out no more or less than other types from that point of view.

pie in the sky the US idea!. If any one on this forum has any direct experience of US classic jet market, you would realise what a wild idea it really is. The yanks are struggling to get a bean for home grown classic jets, that the public are affectionate about, let alone something like a Vulcan, which really means diddley to the average American.

From personnal experience I can tell you that attracting sponsorship for a British Cold war jet in the USA is impossibly difficult, especially in the current climate. About the only chance 558 would have over the pond, is with NTPS, but they would want the air frame and whole package outright with full ownership. That isn’t an attractive proposition for any organisation that has already invested a large commitment, to just give it away for chicken feed.

I think you will find staffing levels are already at a minimum for 558, to meet anti dets, maintenance and health and safety requirements. Just 5 engineers from what I understand. 5 is an adequate team, less would be too small.

good luck Nige, needless to say you will be legless as usual!:D