The History Channel has already broadcast a documentary on 558 which is being repeated next Friday night and Saturday morning apparently.
Discovery Wings was "replaced" by Discovery Turbo, but despite this supposedly covering a range of transport programmes it is 99% full of repeated car related shows - other than occasional repeats of Martin Shaw's aviation series, A Year in The Life (Blue Angels) and A Plane Is Born.
Talk about cheap broadcasting - look at the weekend schedule if you get the chance sometime - occasionally the whole weekend will be devoted to repeats of just one programme and this actually repeats itself during said weekend. Shocking!
She only has 3 (I think) cabin pressurisation cycles left in her if that's what you mean? Something to do with the main canopy seals and they cannot be replaced. So no flying above - what? - FL010? But that won't matter much on VFR anyway.
The service life is supposed to be 10 - 15 years, and then to Duxford Old Folks Home.
I agree that the take-off run looks impressive even by Vulcan standards. I guess that's what happens when you remove a lot of unnecessary equipment and keep the fuel load fairly low.
Right, when we starting a fund to get her painted in proper 1970-era camouflage with a nice black radome?!
This week will hopefully see a British Hat Trick
1. Return to the Sky for XH558
2. England to win the rugby World Cup.
3. Lewis Hamilton to win the F1 World Championship.
BEags - that’s what airsound was telling everyone at Brunters who would care to listen. And - going to be in Paris to try and help celebrate the achievement of item 2. Only problem is - am trying to change Eurostar booking so as not to be on a train when item 3 happens.
But back to Brunters - it was a uniquely inspirational moment when those four Olympi gave their unearthly howl as they spooled up. Then when the Grand Old Lady picked up her skirts and rotated off the runway like a teenager, the Rolls Royce roar was almost drowned out by the sound of beery tears coursing down a few hundred seamed old cheeks and pattering onto the concrete.
And as for that landing. Wow. At the informal press conference afterwards, airsound asked ‘who did the landing?’ The first response was ‘why do you want to know?’, at which the fabled titter ran round the crowd. But then Dave Thomas graciously pointed to Al McDicken, who was roundly applauded again.
It was a day in a lifetime. The first day of a completely new life.
Btw, my impression was that she took about 5000ft of runway, for take-off and for landing (run). Marginally overpowered perhaps?
She only has 3 (I think) cabin pressurisation cycles left in her if that's what you mean? Something to do with the main canopy seals and they cannot be replaced. So no flying above - what? - FL010? But that won't matter much on VFR anyway.
The service life is supposed to be 10 - 15 years, and then to Duxford Old Folks Home.
Although 558 does have a finite number of pressure cycles remaining, the figure is far higher than 3. The issue with the pressurisation cycles is the actual structure of the canopy rail itself, not the seal. Unfortunately, this is an item that is cannot be replaced without enormous modification.
Now on to the good news! XH558 will not be pressurised. The system has been disabled, as due to the height restrictions the CAA have imposed upon her of FL150 there is no need for pressurisation. This removes the need to worry about pressurisation cycles!!
On a personal front, it was absolutely amazing yesterday to see XH558 returning to the air, and made me feel enormously proud to have played my own small part in it all. It was almost like watching a baby take its first steps, and at times felt very surreal!!! However, the magnitude of it all is only just sinking in today!! Probably something to do with the copious amounts of "Celebratory Alcohol" that was consumed last night!!
Well done Flipflop and all your team. As you know, I've followed this saga for a long time, ever since 558 was withdrawn from RAF service, and even from the beginning I've remained optimistic and hopeful, even though it looked like being a lost cause so many times.
You all deserve congratulations not only for the work you've put in, but for your determination to succeed when it seemed like the odds were firmly stacked against you. I hope that the sponsorship now starts to flow and that we can enjoy seeing (and hearing) the monster back in the air again next year and beyond. At long last there's something worth heading to an air show for!
BEagle head, nail, hit.
Very well done guys and girls, absolutely excellent stuff, pity most other news channels didn't pick up on this one.
The very first Vulcan I remember was at the Odiham open day in the late seventies. My dad was commentating from the tower and this great big shadow fell over us, followed by a tremendous noise, and lots of children crying. Happy days. The only other noises that made me cry that day (from sheer fright) were the shackelton (what a horrible sound) and 'toom airfield attack, by the time the Harrier pitched up Dad had fortunately decided to borrow some ear defenders for his screaming kid...obviously cheaper than having to wash his sons shreddies!
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