Vulcan memories
I watched Vulcans over my primary school in the 60s, returning to Woodford from test flights carrying the Blue Steel weapon.
At a Woodford airshow ( 66 or 67?) a Vulcan performed a RATO departure. With a good headwind, all was silent along the crowd line (right up close to the runway with just a rope barrier and a patrolling policeman to keep us in check) but one watched the rippling air as he rushed towards us the, BANG!; the loudest noise I had heard as the beast darkened the sky.
Late 60s, Again heading back to Woodford, the Olympus engine strapped to the bomb bay for the airborne trials on the future Concorde powerplant, during which trials the testbed shut down all 4 internal engines and flew out over the Irish Sea.
74 or 75, NAS Portland, a retiring Vulcan pilot taking a final trip around UK asked for a GCA to overshoot. We all rushed out of the tower to witness the final stages. Like the proverbial giant bat he swept in over Chesil Beach, lifted one wing to avoid taking the SPN-35 with him, touched the main gear down in a puff of smoke before screaming away over Weymouth. A pre-warned Naval Airman rushed onto the runway, a pot in hand, and painted a white edging to the rubber streak to mark the day Britain's biggest bomber "landed" at our shortest military runway.
Thanks for the memories