XH558 Will Miss End of Season Party
Would love to know what prestigious out side event this country has to offer us in the last few months of this year"
"The Autumn Airshow at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, which this year is taking place on Sunday 5th October, traditionally brings down the curtain on the season. It is always a joyous and celebratory occasion and Vulcan to the Sky had hoped to make it even more special this year by bringing XH558 to the party. Unfortunately this will not now be possible due to technical problems with her No 2 engine.
This year Vulcan to the Sky have succeeded in fulfilling their promise to bring XH558 back to the people. Making her long awaited return at Waddington in July the aircraft has toured the country; as far South as Jersey, North West to Southport, North to Leuchars in Scotland and East to Lowestoft; which was the jewel in the crown of the aircraft’s displays, with two days of glorious sunshine and record crowds. Eight days at Farnborough also gave both the aviation trade and the world’s media the opportunity to see the ‘Vulcan Effect’ at first hand. It is estimated that well over 1 million people have seen XH558 this summer and, as a result, attendances at airshows have increased in anticipation of seeing this icon of the skies by at least 20%, and that does not include all of those who parked by the roadside and looked skyward in awe and emotion.
Andrew Edmondson, Director of Engineering at Vulcan to the Sky said
“It has been absolutely terrific to see the reaction of the crowds watching the Vulcan flying at airshows. The sheer numbers of people who have turned up to see this much-loved and admired aircraft just shows how much XH558 is valued and remembered as a true hero of British aviation. The public seems to be taking the Vulcan to their hearts in the same way as Concorde was. Without the generosity of the public, and support from sponsors and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Vulcan would certainly have remained in early retirement. “
However, the dream of the Vulcan to the Sky team of continuing to showcase XH558 for the next decade is in real danger as Andrew explains:
“I just hope that now we will be able to continue to bring the aircraft to many more shows and enable the younger generation to see not only a superb example of British engineering but a living part of our history. XH558 is the only Vulcan in the world that can fly. But there is a big barrier that may prevent us from achieving our objective; without the support of commercial sponsorship, millions of people may be denied the experience of seeing this awesome aircraft in the air again!”
“After all of the hard work, dedication, commitment and effort that has been put in by all of the team, this would be devastating. By returning XH558 to flight after years of painstaking restoration, negotiation and fundraising, we have already achieved what was widely considered to be impossible and we have proved that we can fly and operate XH558 successfully. For this amazing project to falter due to a lack of funding would be agonising for all the team and our supporters. However we do hope that it will at least prove possible to display XH558 at one more prestigious event before she settles back into her hangar for winter servicing.”