Avro Vulcan

From the Telegraph website -

The charity behind the last flying Avro Vulcan bomber has announced that 2013 will be the aircraft's final flying season.

The Vulcan to the Sky Trust restored XH558 in 2007 and it has since appeared at more than 60 air shows and events, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The charity estimates that more than ten million people have seen the aircraft, including three million when it flew as part of the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

However, it was announced today that the investment to keep XH558 airworthy beyond 2013 – the date of its current cleared flying life – is simply too great.

Dr. Robert Pleming, the Trust's chief executive, said: "All Vulcans have a finite safe flying life and XH558 is already significantly beyond the hours flown by any other aircraft of her type.

"At the end of next year, she will need a £200,000 modification to her wings to increase her flying life."

Although Dr Pleming recognised that supporters of the charity would to their upmost to fund this work, he conceded that this was no longer an option due to the complexity of the wing modification and the difficulty in sourcing parts.
Andrew Edmondson, engineering director for XH558, said of the wing modification: "It is a demanding procedure that can no longer call upon the original manufacturing jigs and there is no possibility of rectification if an error is made. We are not saying we cannot do it, just that it is risky so other factors must be taken into account."
There is also concern about the limited life of the Vulcan's jet engines. "From the start of the 2014 season, it is unlikely that we could accommodate any engine failures and that even without any technical problems, soon our set of engines would be out of life," said Edmondson.
"There are no more airworthy engines available, and refurbishment would be so difficult and costly that there is no possibility that it will happen."
The Trust also states that due to the number of suppliers that have closed since the aircraft's maiden flight in August 1952, it would be prohibitively expensive, or in some cases impossible, to remanufacture or refurbish parts.
"We know, for example, that the set-up costs to remanufacture a main wheel are more than £70,000. If the approved engineering drawings are no longer available, it can be practically impossible given any amount of money," said Edmonson.
In a letter to the Trust's supporters, Dr. Pleming wrote: "Next year [will] be the last opportunity anyone will have, anywhere in the world, to see a Vulcan in the air.
"The Vulcan to the Sky Trust's aspiration is that when XH558's flying life is over, she will become the centrepiece of a new project that will inspire and train new generations of youngsters to become engineers and technicians, helping to solve the UK's significant shortfall in the number of talented young people entering technical careers."
Michael Trotter, the Trust's director, said: "XH558 will be maintained in excellent running order and will continue to delight her supporters with fast taxi runs while developing further her role in education as the centrepiece of an exciting new type of inspirational engineering education centre."
Now a famous example of British engineering heritage, the Vulcan, with its distinctive delta wing, was designed to carry Britain's nuclear deterrent, codenamed "Blue Danube".
The plane only entered combat once, and not in its nuclear capacity, when it flew 8,000 miles to Port Stanley Airport on the Falkland Islands in 1982, dropping bombs that prevented Argentina operating its fighters. Two years later the Vulcans were withdrawn from service.

Is there any info on where she will be stationed when she is confined to Terra Firma?

The obvious place is Bruntingthorpe, adding to the spectacle of CWJ!

Hi Yellowpinkie.
This is what i posted up in the Bruntingthorpe thread where this question was asked as well -

They have a plan to make 558 the centrepiece of an education centre and also keep her in ground running condition. I expect this is planned to be at Doncaster Airport where she's now based. Hardly an ideal airfield for performing fast taxying though bearing in mind the airport will have to be closed down everytime she performs these. Especially the amount of time these old ex flying aircraft remain stationery at the end of the runway waiting to go. The Vulcan at Wellesbourne,Comet, Victor and Nimrod at Brunty take an age as did 558 when she was at Brunty previously. I'm not even sure if it would pay off in the long term at Doncaster...even Concorde eventually suffered with paying customers as a one aircraft exhibit.

The only thing that puts me off her coming back to Brunty is the lack of a Hangar to permanently store her in, aside from that let's have her back!!!! (with Elvington as a second choice!!)

It seems almost everyone on the various forums i've read all agree that she should come back to Brunty and that would be the best place for her (with education centre or not). If only the VTTS people would take notice.

Steve

..........IF the Walton family want her back at Brunters obviously.

stevie;113040 wrote:

.......
It seems almost everyone on the various forums i've read all agree that she should come back to Brunty and that would be the best place for her (with education centre or not)........
Steve

Provision of an Educational 'facility' is a requirement of the HLF grant they were given......taxi runs aren't.
Can't really see why Bruntingthorpe would be the 'best' place for the airframe to reside.

I'm just telling you what i've read on various forums. The general opinion seems to be that most people would like to see her retired to Bruntingthorpe.

stevie;113043 wrote:

I'm just telling you what i've read on various forums. The general opinion seems to be that most people would like to see her retired to Bruntingthorpe.

It's 100% Doncaster.

I would have thought that the decision should be made not only where people would like to see her stored but also on the hanger costs, £137k does seem excessive, however I don't know the going rate for a hanger?

Hmmm, Doncaster would seem a daft place to have it...but then what location has a nice empty hangar and a decent runway?

At least at Brunty it's got all the other CWJ stablemates and the potential for some cover at some time in the future, possibly. The education centre (seems to me like a sweetener like building a sports pavilion for the council in exchange for 5000 houses on greenbelt land) surely would be better at Bruntingthorpe too - in the middle of the country and would have the benefit of the motor industry related activities that go on there too. If Fifth Gear doing donuts can be classed as motor industry related activities.

Which brings my stream of consciousness to Dunsfold...we'd get to see her in the background on select Sunday nights on BBC2 or every hour on Dave re-runs...

I agree with you Yellowpinkie, although public access into Brunty is currently restricted to Sundays and Open Days.
It's obviously going to be Doncaster. Despite what everyone is debating on the net. I think even Sean Maffett, 558's commentator mentioned it back in July at RIAT during her display. I'm just worried that they'll not be able to make it pay in the long time future. Interest is bound to wither just like it did for Concorde at Flinton. As Jerry mentioned, the Hangar's not exactly cheap.
I do think it's important that they do keep her in a ground running condition (i think that's the plan anyway) regardless if it's not a HLF grant requirement though. It's not like we haven't got plenty of static Vulcans already especially if she's going to be part of an education centre.