Sorry
Beagle, I didn't know you'd mentioned the CAA before. Think my views on the CAA are well documented. It's fine to say that they have been very helpful but that's rather like the way in which the Inland Revenue is extremeny helpful in parting you from your hard-earned cash. They can claim to be as helpful as they like but it's no secret that the CAA is probably the root cause of so many restoration projects never achievening success - and also partly to blame for the gradual decline in viable air show venues. Their excessive rules and regulations are probably applauded by modern-thinking "health and safety" obsessives but they go way too far. I don't want to bore anybody with long discussions of all the ridiculous regulations that they impose - most have been raised on Pprune somewhere or other, but I'm sure you know where I'm coming from!
There's good reason to ensure the safety of any aircraft that might be floating around over our gardens but the CAA patently don't know when enough is enough. The Vulcan would have undoubtedly flown much sooner and at reduced expense had it not been undertaken in the UK (or other similar European countries). It's interesting to note that the guys at Coventry are now attempting to get their Shackleton back into the air but when Mr Collett has already given-up in despair after trying to simply bring-back his Shackleton from the US - which was already airworthy, you have to put the blame firmly on the CAA's doorstep (Mike certainly did and he should know) and assume that the CAA will succeed in keeping the second Shackleton firmly grounded too.
PS
Slim - the idea of painting sponsorship markings on the aircraft is probably the chief reason why no major sponsorship has been forthcoming. TVOC evidently have no appetite for covering the aircraft in corporate liveries or logos and HLF would doubtless be unimpressed too, as it would contradict the terms of their donation - the aircraft is supposedly being used as a touring exhibit to show youngsters a representative of the Cold War V-Force. Consequently, anything other than camouflage would be rather ill-advised. Good thing too I think - heaven forbid that XH558 ended-up like the poor Sea Vixen did for so long! Mind you, one wonders whether XH558's current paint scheme is appropriate, given that no operational V-Bomber ever wore colours like that... but that's another story!
