Incidentally Saracen, regarding the whole sponsorship saga, my view is that the whole notion of gaining major sponsorship was a non-starter right from the beginning. I know Pleming insisted it could (and would) happen but his pronouncements have been seen to be worthless. I don't buy the notion that sponsors were ever lining-up to finance the aircraft. The credit crunch is merely a convenient excuse.
I accept that donations (and major ones) were always a possibility but sponsorship? Nope. It's not about recognising TVOC's professionalism (or lack of it), it's about recognising a valuable sponsorship asset. The Vulcan never was one, simple as that. It's fine for plane spotters to get excited about seeing 558 at an air show but a major company couldn't possibly care less. Why would they have the slightest interest in promoting their company to an air show audience? More to the point, how would a company get any return on their investment at all? They can't (thank heavens) paint their company colours on the aircraft, so what can they expect in return for their money? A "sponsored by..." comment from Sean Maffet over an air show PA system? Big deal! The whole idea is ludicrous.
There was always the hope that some big players might finance the aircraft as a one-off goodwill donation - one person did of course. But it's pretty clear that there ain't any more on the horizon. This is why I keep banging-on about HLF. What other straw is there to cling to? Surely, nobody seriously believes that individual donations from enthusiasts is going to keep the aircraft flying?