Vulcan XH558

[Kitty]

As you know, i was one of the lucky ones to see this bird fly at an airshow this year.

A month later I attended another airshow she was due to fly at, but could not make it to due to technical difficulties. However the Vulcan tot eh Sky organisation was present, with 3 dedicated stalls to raise money for the cause. And this cused a lot of ill will from other restorers present....

The story goes a little something like this...

VTTS trust has raised a hell of a lot of money, and yet what is most visible is not a flying bird, but fancy new cars decked out in their slogans, and very expensive trailers.

When talking to people in the aircraft restoration game who have given lots of money to the trust, you find they are starting to cancel their bank transfers each month as they are horrified that VTTS are spending funds on advertising and trailers and cars and jaunts for the people involved, rather than on fixing the technical difficulties the Vulcan faces.

Also VTTS are issuing statements saying there is an ongoing problem with one of the engines. it is well known in aviation circles that there appears to be 5 spare engines, still boxed from Rolls Royce, in their hangar at Bruntingthorpe.

Now all of this is gossip, and whether it is true or not is neither here nor there.


What is at issue is that in the airshow/vintage aviation world these rumours are starting to spread, and having a detrimental effect on the funds for VTTS.

So the question is, what happens next? I don't know, she was amazing to see in the air again, but even before speaking to people at the next airshow, i was astounded to see 3 separate stalls, two cars and a purpose made trailer costing thousands of pounds from what is essentially a charity.

Is this normal?

[Antipodean Andy]

fancy new cars decked out in their slogans, and very expensive trailers.

I am disappointed to read this. Fair enough they need something to carry their gear around in but what is wrong with an older van nicely sign written. Better yet, an old RAF vehicle that fits with the aircraft.

I agree it was awesome to see her fly (gotta love the net) as it was a hard slog to get her right again and have to deal with all of the requisite paperwork. However, what appears to be blatant abuse of good people's money will not do them any favours.

There are people in restorations with buckets of money and there are people who work to a tight budget. Often, the end result is identical, it's just that one takes longer. It's the same in the old truck world that I'm a part of. The one binding thing with aircraft restorers though is their love for aviation and history. If they're donating funds that could otherwise be ploughed into their own projects, they'd certainly want to see that money go into the XH558 not "admin".

Having said that, with five new engines available but persisting engine problems, there must be a very good reason or there's a charity that is using people's good faith and feathering its members' nests and stroking their egos!

[Antipodean Andy]

Sorry, Kitty, to answer your question at the end there, it's not terribly normal. I've often found supporting members volunteer their own cars for events and put stickers on them etc (makes you wonder why the Vulcan guys didn't do this either). The fees for three stalls must have been excessive too.

My truck club has a club 6' x 4' trailer that is usually towed by a member's car or an attending truck.

[Kitty]

Wasn't just any old trailer either, was one of those fancy ones that folds out to create a stand.

I have to admit I stood and watched this trailer for a good 5 minutes, and the number of suits lingering in there, all of them very expensively dressed and obviously a part of the trust, it was giving a very bad outlook to people that may have donated. also their actual merchandise is downright rubbish, costing a lot of money.

If you go to the VTTS website they are currently running a campaign on the Downing Street website to keep the vulcan in the air.

Now that seems odd as they are the charity that set about getting her into the air, so why are they petitioning downing street?

[Kyt]

Something like this obviously needs financial support from some big players, but unfortunately that often seems to come with strings attached in this case.

The pity is that those who started the project for the love of the aircraft and seeing her restored may have been usurped by those who only see the financial benefits or consequences. I'm just glad that other aircraft aren't forced into the same situation - thoug many restoration projects have failed due to lack of funding

[Kyt]

Seems like their funding has been badly hit by the crunch

BBC NEWS | England | Leicestershire | Bumpy return for Vulcan 'dream'

"It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up" said Dr Robert Pleming, chief executive of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, of the aircraft's first public take-off.

"All the hospitality tents emptied, all the movers and shakers of the industry came out, the crowds at the fence must have been 20 deep.

"Everyone was silent, all you could hear was the roar of the engines and the clicking of cameras. And suddenly she was up."

The restored Vulcan bomber XH558 first flew in front of the public at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire in July 2008.

But, it could be permanently grounded if the project does not raise another £1m by the end of January.

"This whole project has run on the power of a dream" said Andrew Edmonson, the project's engineering director.

The restoration, based at Bruntingthorpe in Leicestershire, went roughly double over budget. The operational phase, actually taking to the air, has running costs of about £1.6m per year - insurance alone costs £180,000.

Top secret

The main source of income was supposed to be corporate sponsorship but the economic downturn is causing problems with that.

Dr Pleming said: "The whole scene has changed now, in that heritage is not seen as such good news by companies, you know 'Why are we doing this? This is old technology. We don't need to be wasting money on this.'

He added: "Marketing budgets have come into very strict review and have been trimmed right down and that has really hurt us.

"It's a real problem, almost a perfect storm in terms of funding the project."

Despite delays caused by a sticking undercarriage flap, engine problems and faulty brakes, Mr Edmonson said, the aircraft had been "reasonably reliable".

"One of the main problems we had was with the electrics. It was all cutting edge, top secret stuff in the 1950s but it didn't like the modern power systems.

"We kept trying to connect it up at airbases and it kept blowing fuses. That became an art in itself."

Technological leap

Another issue was the sheer size of the aircraft - 97ft 1ins (29.59 m) from nose to tail, 99ft 5isn (30.3 m) wing tip to tip.

"We would be assured (the airfield) had a space for us," said Mr Edmonson. "But there was often a bit of an awkward pause when the local ground crews saw her.

"Then it was a case of finding out if the space was big enough, or if they had a tractor powerful enough to move her."

While the pilots apparently find the aircraft a pleasure to fly, the vintage machine has a few peculiarities.

"It doesn't like the wet," Mr Edmonson said. "It seems to get in everywhere. On one take off, the engineer reported seeing water pouring out of the wings."

But with all the effort, expense and stress, was the first year in the air worth it?

Dr Pleming's response goes back to that first flight at Waddington when it joined the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster.

"That first flight with the Lancaster was really important because there was only 11 years separating the first flight of the Lancaster in 1941 and the first flight of the Vulcan in 1952.

"That is one of the big reasons I got involved because people forget what a huge achievement it was, what a huge leap in technology.

"From the old Lancaster with piston engines, with straight wings, chugging along at 200 mph (322km/h) to this amazing new concept, the tailless Delta wing with its jet engines, electric controls and countermeasures, just a completely new generation of aircraft."

"It is as awesome today as it was then."

[Kitty]

Aah yes was discussing this with an aviation enthusiast the other day, who has friends who are majorly into the Vulcan and all have given money.

All are now withdrawing their financial support because of the way the trust has publicly shown it is frittering it away on jollies, new cars, people in suits etc. It looks to the supporters as if leass and less of their donations is actually going to the bird and her crews.

Very sad but they need to look at why people are not donating and why the monthly bank transfers dried up. Lose the hangers on that I saw at Duxford. Very sad as I adored seeing her fly, but its the suits that are keeping her grounded.

[Gage]

This is very sad news but not suprising. I also saw the Vulcan fly at Waddington airshow and it was fantastic. I hope they can get back to focusing on what matters and get her in the air again.

[Kyt]

Military matters: news in brief - Times Online

Brighter prospects for Vulcan

The result of a pledge campaign to secure £1 million to keep the Vulcan XH558 flying was announced yesterday. Over 9,821 supporters pledged £956,835 to save the last survivor of the RAF’s Cold War V-bomber force, which means that there is now a good prospect of seeing Vulcan fly this year. Roger Pleming, the chairman of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, said: “XH558 will fly because the public want it to. Never has one aircraft owed so much to so many.”

[Kitty]

Amazing what a guilt campaign in the papers can do.

I have it on very good authority from someone at the council who runs Southport Airshow that the Vulcan was due to fly there on both days last year. She didn't fly on the Saturday and do her display due to 'technical problems'.

The problems were that those in charge of the charity had allegedly spent the £12K the council had put up for her fuel on other things, so she had no fuel whatseover to fly for the airshow it had been paid to appear at.

She only flew on the Sunday because a businessman put up another £12K for her fuel.

So how many of the new supporters will keep supporting her when they spend fuel money on jollies?