The world’s last flying Avro Vulcan to fly at the Farnborough International Air Show this weekend
The world’s last airworthy Avro Vulcan will take to the skies once again at the famous Farnborough International Air Show. XH558 returned to flight earlier this year, following a remarkable modification to her wings that was funded entirely by her supporters. More than £400,000 was raised to give the iconic all-British jet a further two years flying by extending the life of her airframe.
“We are absolutely delighted that the Vulcan is returning to the Farnborough International Air Show once again, where I am sure she will receive a tremendously warm welcome,” says Dr Robert Pleming, chief executive of Vulcan to the Sky Trust. “It is particularly gratifying for us to be able to bring the Vulcan back to the iconic location where the prototype made such a spectacular public debut so many years ago.”
Avro Vulcan’s association with the show started more than sixty years ago when the prototype aircraft stunned audiences with a surprise appearance in 1952. Sadly, due to XH558 approaching the end of her flying life, this year’s Farnborough Air Show (which is held every two years), could be the last at which a Vulcan will fly.
Vulcan history at Farnborough
It is sixty two years since the prototype Vulcan’s first dramatic appearance at the famous Farnborough event, when just three days after the first flight, test pilot Roly Falk made a solo sortie to Farnborough where he stunned the world’s aviation industry with the snow-white aircraft’s dramatic delta-profile and impressive agility, performing an almost vertical bank in front of the crowds.
“People who were there at the time have said that the Vulcan almost literally took their breath away,” said Dr Pleming. “The aircraft was so new that it was referred to as ‘Avro prototype 698’ although the press were speculating that it would be called Ottawa!” In 1955 Falk returned and, to emphasise that the giant bomber handled like a jet fighter, performed a now legendary barrel roll.
Help needed to fund Summer Flying
While growing commercial income makes a contribution to the £2.2 million annual budget for operating XH558, she is still very much dependent on support from the British public. To fund the summer flying activities, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust has launched a new raffle with ‘money can’t buy’ prizes that include a flight alongside XH558 in a Spitfire. There are also a range of other incentives and unique Vulcan memorabilia for those who support the last flying Vulcan. More information can be found at the following website: http://www.vulcanxh558raffle.co.uk/
Please visit the ‘Vulcan Village’ on the Saturday and Sunday of the show to see our wide range of merchandise and to meet with members of the Vulcan to the Sky team, including the aircrew. We will also be offering tours under the wings of the aircraft. More information can be found on the charity’s website; www.vulcantothesky.org including details about the aircraft’s list of summer engagements. There is also a popular Facebook community at www.facebook.com/VulcanXH558 and a Twitter feed at #XH558.
Press enquiries and interviews
Interviews can be arranged with Chief Executive Dr Robert Pleming, Black Buck 1 Martin Withers DFC and other members of the Vulcan team.
Richard Gotch at Market Engineering
+44 (0) 1295 277050 / +44 (0)7831 569732
richard.gotch@m-eng.com
Richard Clarke at Vulcan To The Sky Trust (regional and aviation press)
+44 (0) 7541 133683
richc63@ymail.com
Pictures
A wide selection of high-resolution images can be downloaded from www.autopresspoint.com or contact leanne.barton@m-eng.com to have them emailed.
Why is the Vulcan Important?
The Avro Vulcan is an iconic example of British aerospace engineering at its world-beating best. The design brief was issued by the MoD in 1946 and the aircraft flew for the first time on August 30th1952, just eleven years after the first flight of its predecessor, the Avro Lancaster. Its impressive list of technical achievements includes being the first successful large delta wing aircraft (leading directly to Concorde), innovations such as electrically-powered flying controls, one of the first applications of anti-lock brakes, and a speed and agility that was so close to a jet fighter’s that it was given a fighter-style control column in place of the traditional bomber pilot’s yoke.
Success as a Cold War peacekeeper meant that the Vulcan might have flown its entire service life without ever entering combat if it hadn’t been for the Falklands Conflict in 1982. During a marathon 8,000 mile flight supported by eleven Victor tankers, Squadron Leader Martin Withers and his crew released the bombs over Port Stanley Airport that prevented Argentina operating its Mirage III fighters from the island and initiated the campaign that recaptured the Falklands. Two years later, the last Vulcans were withdrawn from service. Squadron Leader Withers earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in this action.
Today, only one Vulcan is left flying: XH558, owned by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, a Registered Charity. Returned to the air in 2007 following one of the world’s most challenging restoration programmes, she has become an air show phenomenon. “People forget that air shows attract seven million people annually. As a spectator activity, that’s second only to football,” says Dr Pleming. “An appearance by the Vulcan builds even on this remarkable level, typically increasing attendance by 20-40 percent. Air show organisers talk about ‘the Vulcan Effect’ and have described the aircraft as a national treasure.”
Squadron Leader Martin Withers DFC is a passionate supporter of the educational role of the aircraft. “Part of our mission is to ensure that young people learn about the knife-edge fear of the Cold War,” he explains. “If I had been ordered to press the button that releases the nuclear payload over our enemy, there would almost certainly have been no Britain left to fly home to. The Vulcan is the most powerful symbol of a remarkable period in global history that we must never forget”
Withers is also passionate about the aircraft’s growing role in technical education. “This is one of the most significant steps forward in aerospace technology ever, and it is thoroughly British. The Vulcan fires young people with a passion to develop and build world-beating technologies. And we can help give them those skills through training that call upon the extraordinary knowledge, rigour and precision needed to restore and maintain the UK’s only flying ‘complex’ heritage aircraft to world-class safety standards.”
When the combination of age and complexity of the aircraft eventually prevents further renewal of her Permit to Fly, it is hoped that she will form the heart of a new type of engineering education initiative; and inspirational engineering, education and Experience centre.
Experience the Vulcan at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNDZvpScfIw
Help to keep her flying at: http://www.vulcantothesky.org/donate.html
Join the Facebook community at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vulcan-XH558/170427449654925
Sign-up for the new weekly eNewsletter at: http://www.vulcantothesky.org/newsletter-sign-up.html
