No doubt! ... and thanks flipflop for the up-dates.
Now, I know I'll get electronically knocked on the head for this - but I have to ask. Whats the huge white antenna port side of the nose wheel doors. What was wrong with the original Woodford idea on the bomb aimer's blister? Much smarter. (Standing by for 'nit pickin old sod' etc.
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.
Hmmm - was this 1979? If so, I suddenly feel very, very old*!
I was also watching but I was on 230 sqn then. Now, if only I could remember who did the commentary......
*I was just as scared by the Vulcan, in about 1961 in Farnborough.
Yesterday, as 558 was flying, I sat under the Vulcan in the RAF museum, hoping that the test flight would go well. Glad I wasn't disappointed!
Last edited by ShyTorque : 19th October 2007 at 22:48.
The achievment of the Engineering Team in restoring the aeroplane back to flight was not just the nuts and bolts of the job, I think the most impressive part was the tenacity to keep going during the stages when the project was in the doldroms and finances were stretched, there was bad press and negative attiudes, it would have been easy to move on to more secure jobs to pay the morgage, take my hat off chaps, well done,
best regards,
om15
Absolutely excellent news and fair play to those who kept the faith and made it happen.
Does anyone know if she will be subject to a lot of limitations, or will she be doing the full show that we come to fixed so many to the spot in the 80s and 90s?
Top effort brings a tear to the eye, I can vividly remember those leather seats, always felt like a vintage sports car in the cockpit, lots of good breeding and no need to be flash about it.
Anything that needs to be said has already been said, so I'll say it again anyway. WELL DONE! A fantastic rffort from all involved from the pilots down to the folks that bought stuff off the internet to support the cause.
Can't wait for airshow season next year! (Oh and pictures of Tombstone if someone can manage that as well!)
Thank you to all for the kind words and support, but I can assure you that I was just as excited and keen to get XH558 in the air as you were. This has been FAR more than 'just a job' to myself and the rest of the team.
forget,
Don't quote me on this, as the aerials are not really my domain!
However, I believe that the large white blade aerial that now lives where the Rad Alt di-electric panels used to be, is the new UHF/VHF aerial. The fork shaped aerial that now adorns the Bomb Blister, is the new VOR aerial. There are several new aerials dotted across the airframe as part of her new avionics suite.
Interestingly, this new VOR aerial has forced a reduction of the Vne from its service limits, down to 330KIAS, with a normal operating speed of 300KIAS
As goes the future display format, well, I believe that it will be broadly similar to the previous display, but flown with a little more mechanical sympathy for the old girl's age! Theoretically, there is no physical reason why it could not be identical to the previous displays, however, a desire to preserve the engine cyclic usage and airframe fatigue life, will probably lead to a slightly gentler display.
However, this is of course just the way that I understand it, and ultimately, it will be entirely down to the Display Crew as to how 558 is displayed
Thanks Flip flop, I’m as pleased as anyone to see 558 airborne but I’m surprised at just how irritated I am by those add-on antennas. If they were your domain they wouldn’t have ended up there! Hard to believe that the people involved had so little sympathy for the appearance of the aircraft. The whole front end is spoilt.
I’ll offer to come over and fix it for free. Hang the VOR antenna from the old scanner mounts in the NBS radome. It’ll work fine and the VNE restriction is removed - if ever needed.
Stick a Vulcan standard VHF (+UHF?) antenna on the bomb-aimers blister – where it belongs. Job done.
Nit picking? No. It’s supposed to be an RAF Vulcan, not a Vulcan that’s been messed around with by hanging antennas wherever they happened to fit.
Does anyone know if the in-flight refuelling system is still serviceable?
Yes, I do
and
No, it's not
The IFR system on the XH558 has been disabled for many years, prior to her delivery at Bruntingthorpe. As XH558 will never again need to be filled to max, she will also never again need the In Flight Refuelling capability, so this system was never considered for repair.
That is not to say that 558 couldn't partake in a spot of 'Dry Prodding Action' However, whether the crew would deem that to be worth the risk to the newly restored, sole flying example of an Avro Vulcan, is another matter!!!
Can't say I'm too disturbed by the addition of a few aerials, but it would have been nice to see the ECM intake replaced. Still, it's a Vulcan and that's what matters! Anyway, can we start a fund now to repaint her in proper colours? The Dark Green is fine, just needs some Medium Sea Grey and some gloss white for underneath - and a black radome of course! Send your cans of Dulux to...
I keep looking at the Youtube vid of the first flight - that's a pretty impressive take-off run even by Vulcan standards!
Yup......o/a anti-flash white with pastel insignia
GeeRam,
I completely and utterly agree. Of all the colour schemes the Vulcan wore, in my eyes this was the finest.
Unfortunately, to get XH558 stripped and repainted, you would be looking at a six figure sum. This has been discussed many times, and sadly the end result is the same. Presently, there are neither the funds, nor the manhours required to repaint the aircraft.
Hopefully, from a purely selfish viewpoint, I too hope that the money can be found to refinish XH558 in the Anti Flash/Pastel scheme
Biggin 64, if I remember. It gets my vote I thought they looked great in white. I think the Valiant looks impressive too, although not much ground clearance compared to the Vulcan?
I have the originals if anyone wants them. What is the kit under the Vulcan's bomb bay?
Blurred - but looks familiar. I think it's nothing more than a pair of folding steps lying on their side. The Crew Chief will have taken them along in the bomb bay.
Linear Mode
