Falling circulation is perhaps the biggest issue that these specialist titles face, and the ever-increasing average age of the consumer.

I recently had lunch with an Aeroplane ‘staffer’ and he observed that it might have seven years viability left. Maybe it was the beer talking….;)

Pick the bones out of of this…….

Accounts published by the Charities Commision.

2008
Staff Employed: 23
Wages & Salaries: 329,233
Social Security: 39,235
Pension: 0

2009
Staff Employed: 17
Wages & Salaries: 642,680
Social Security: 59,263
Pension: 2,474

Average salary 2008: 14,300
Average Salary 2009: 37,800

The following is copied from the VTTS site.

“We are undertaking a poll to support our latest Appeal, just in case we are not successful and wish to canvas public opinion on the potential future of Vulcan XH558.

Please consider:

A. Whilst she is still airworthy (ie soon), XH558 makes one final flight to a museum site in the UK and is then grounded forever. This keeps XH558 in the UK, which as a national heritage asset, and the oldest complete Vulcan in existence, is an appropriate thing to do.

or:

B. XH558 is flown to another country – probably quite long distance away – where there is sufficient funding available to keep her flying. XH558 will be lost to the UK but will be kept flying.

Vote Here: Please only select one option to give a balanced view:

Results will be published in our newsletter next week.”

AIIB report here.

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/Hunting%20Percival%20P56%20Provost%20T1,%20G-AWVF%2010-10.pdf

Quite probably the Americans are happier to operate their own Cold War bomber, even older than the Vulcan. They still operate nearly seventy of them, and are planned to remain in service for another 30 years !

The B-52, of course.

I think it is a thoughtful and creative installation, and it is probably very striking to experience. Derelict machinery and abandoned places have a resonance and aura to those with the sensitivity to perceive it.

Observe how visitors linger by the shattered Hurricane remains, rusting and half buried in the sand, at the RAF Museum at Hendon, whilst strolling past an immaculate restored example with barely a glance.

These Anson airframes have a value, but they are not rare, and are coming to no harm here. It is not as though they have been welded together into some giant sculpture. In time, this display will be dismantled, and no harm done.

Much more of a threat, in my opinion, are the closed-minds that suppose it is not ‘art’ unless it is a Constable painting pasted on a box of chocolates. In the UK, many of the aviation museums have exhausted their creative juices, once they have parked their aeroplanes out on the grass. That is not to say they do a bad job, but naturally their skills and interests tend more towards engineering.

If you hear somebody talking Japanese, do you suppose it is just random honking and grunting, just because you personally have not acquired the capacity to understand it ?

What were the two aircraft used in the Blackadder Goes Forth episode, Private Plane?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65RGPD9F-ZI

They were Se5/Stampes, and the footage quite possibly out-takes from Aces High, as the airframes had lost their ‘make-up’ long before Blackadder was produced.

This aeroplane has had 3 years to catch a commercial sponsor, and has not done so yet, and every season become a bit less attractive, as its novelty value fades, whilst operating costs mount.

It is unquestionably a spectacular performer, though it tends to be operated cautiously, which is understandable. However, it is not particularly significant compared to a Lancaster for instance, and the non-enthusiast public are broadly indifferent to the Vulcan and its fate. It is not realistic to expect a cost-slashing govt to fund this enterprise. It may have a stay of execution ( again) but I just don’t see how the Vulcan can have a flying future.

I think those who have got it back in the skies have acheived great things and confounded their doubters, and in the balance of things, the money spent isn’t the big issue , it is a minute sum compared to funds squandered on failed and cancelled government projects.

However, in terms of value for money, something like the Tornado steam locomotive seems to offer much more, being both spectacular, nostalgic, accessible to the public ( ie ride on the train ) and most importantly, can have a viable self-funded future, and can still be expected to ‘perform’ in 10-20 years.

Perhaps Red Bull can postpone the inevitable for one more season.

A few of us here have a bit of a connection to old ‘Fox Whiskey’.

The forum has some background info.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=78040&highlight=g-anfw