Well, I have to say that I both agree and disagree with the comments made so far.
The first thing Grimweasel, There is no way that the RAF should reduce the BOB flight funding to pay for a private venture that is sure to make one individual a LOT of money should it ever happen. It doesn’t matter how many spit’s there are flying in the sky’s today, the RAF has made it it’s business to preserve a handful for them to demonstrate / display to the British public and we must respect them for that. I’d sooner see the Red Arrows funding reduced (And I live at Scampton!) – No, just think that with all the revenue that the Red Arrows bring to Bae, they could help with the funding!
Anyway, if this Vulcan thing is going to be so big, why do you think they are struggling with money issues? It’s just a thought. I remember though where there was a time that all we heard from brunthingthorpe was that there was plenty of money, it was the CAA who were standing in the way. Now it seems like it’s a possibility, there’s no money! The other thing we all heard about was how the Americans were going to help fund it in order to get some flight testing time out of the aircraft… what happened to that? Oh, and then there’s always the story about how if they cant raise the money here, then it will be sold to an American who will fly it over there and it will be lost forever. I think that’s wrong too. The Vulcan was taken to Bruntingthorpe for preservation. If it cant fly, then that’s no reason to sell it. I wonder if it was really bought for preservation, or just as a mechanism to make a lot of money.
And what happened to all the money that was raised from the Air shows that used to be at Bruntingthorpe? Brunthingthorpe was supposed to be the next Duxford…. It’s not looking good so far!
Sorry, just very cynical about it all. Still, I do agree with you on the lottery side! They had out money to some awful seemingly awful plans but wont help others. Still, in their defence, they have helped out with a lot of aviation related things. I’m sure there is something in the grant ‘rules’ that money cant be given to projects to restore ‘working’ vehicles.