Vulcan XH558 - Test flight today?????

[ALTSEL]

The local East Midlands BBC breakfast news report that at last the Bruntingthorpe based Vulcan Will get airborne today for Avionics tests and land at RAF Cottesmore.

Does anybody know the planned time for this flight to depart Bruntingthorpe?I missed the maiden flight last October and certainly don't want to miss this one!

thanks


ALTSEL

pm if need be.

[anartificialhorizon]

Good to hear.

They obviously raised the cash for the test flight etc following the recent appeal....?

[Acklington]

http://www.tvoc.co.uk/

If you check on the webcams it was pushed out about 1 hour ago

[Whiskey Papa]

Live Vulcan web cam shows XH558 being rolled out of hanger 8:53am 14 April

http://cams.tvoc.co.uk/index.php?sect=1

[Arkroyal]

I beleive it's at 1pm bst

[boristhemini]

Any more news yet? Hangar is still empty.

[boristhemini]

She's up apparently! :D

[VAFFPAX]

Fabulous! Would've loved to see her fly. The Vulcan and the Vampyre were my most favourite warbirds after the SR-71.

S.

[central99]

Howdie folks.

Just back from Brunty -
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/markrskinner/air/vulcan14408030.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/markrskinner/air/vulcan14408053.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/markrskinner/air/vulcan14408054.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/markrskinner/air/vulcan14408055.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/markrskinner/air/vulcan14408056.jpg

[ALTSEL]

Drat! missed her again - will have to look forward to the Airshow season instead.

[Jamie-Southend]

Rumours of a Mayday in flight ? Anyone know anymore ? All down OK.:confused:

[central99]

Radio Leicester reported a safe landing despite a small fire!:eek:

[ALTSEL]

wow - " a small fire" ?? any fire is a realy big issue. good to hear they are back on the deck.

well done to the crew.

[S'land]

BBC news reporting it as a false alarm, possibly due to faulty wiring.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/7347277.stm

[ZH875]

Seeing as it is a while since she last flew, probably the old problem of damp in the firewire. Nothing new for the leckies.

Here's hoping for the successful issue of a full permit to fly in the very near future.:ok:

[spekesoftly]

Glad to hear it was a false alarm, and all's well. Just out of interest, anyone know if XH558 is fitted with live ejector seats for P1 and P2 ?

I believe a number of ex-mil warbirds are, and others have had the seats de-activated.

[5 Greens]

I hear she is flying again today. Anyone know what time she is returning to Bruntingthorpe?

[jimgriff]

The P1 and P2 seats are live!

[boristhemini]

Was live on Beeb24 on departure from Cottesmore. (Twas a lovely sound!!!) Flypast forum bods say arrival at Brunty live on Beeb24 between 3ish and 4ish.

[ALTSEL]

Brilliant! - thats what lottery cash and grit can do!! Role on the Airshow season.

[Paul Bunyard]

Hi all 1st time post on here, not my normal photographic Subject matter I had a meeting in Nottingham at Lunch and couldn't resist the urge to "nip" over to Cottesmore as I missed the 1st test flight at Brunty and I only live 7 Miles away !.

Enjoy the piccys I have posted more on my website http://www.wildaboutimages.co.uk (http://www.wildaboutimages.co.uk/) just follow the link to recent images.

http://www.wildaboutimages.co.uk/Items06/IMG_3524a.jpg



http://www.wildaboutimages.co.uk/Items06/JX4O2642a.jpg

Thanks Paul

:)

[Cricket23]

Having looked on their website, they don't seem to publish when the test flights are going to be. Does anyone know how to get hold of this info as it would be nice to see her fly first hand rather than on the tele?

C23

[Dirty Mach]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7351628.stm

this is fantastic news...

[LowNSlow]

Only the BBC would title the piece "Symbol of destruction takes to the air" instead of "Tribute to the British aero industry takes to the skies after marathon restoration". Tossers.

[frostbite]

Typical of the ignorant and biased trash we have learned to expect from the modern day BBC.

[rotornut]

A beautiful airplane. One the Argentinians will remember!

[baires1]

rotorNUT: only an idiot like u can make such comment.

[digidave]

Great to see the Vulcan flying again, but very strange article - read a bit like it had been written by two people.

[wingman863]

To be fair, argentina did invade british territory and was then subject to the sort of thing the Vulcan was designed for. As such, they are unlikely to forget it or the sea harrier. He made a fair comment.

And as for the 'symbol of destruction' - it is a symbol of destruction! It's a bomber! You know, the type that drops bombs to blow things up... OK, it does have a slightly negative prang to it but it's not unfair. When they go on to say how public donations and lottery funds got it flying again along with the generally positive tone, it does make it quite balanced.

[Landing Drinks]

Well done to all those who have worked tirelessly to bring the Vulcan back into Service.. A real tribute to many many aspects of all that is British...

I hope it makes it on to the show circuits this year.. ?

Shame the BBC only saw fit to put such a derogatory comment up in support of such a splendid effort...

Well dones lads, I wish I could get across to see her in the sky again.

Does anyone know when and where she will be visiable in the air "soon"...:ok:

[Plane Speaker]

Having had, and continuing to have, the pleasure of working with one of the Vulcan aircrew for some years now I have become an avid watcher of 558's restoration programme, so much so that I was lucky enough to be at Bruntingthorpe last year for it's first flight following restoration. I knew with as much advance notice as this type of activity presents that the aircraft would be flying this week and scanned the BBC News broadcasts for images. Nothing what so ever where I live, thought it did make the 07.00 radio 2 news. Why oh why can't good news stories such as this get the airing they deserve across national TV?
I do though fear that this will turn out to be very British in it's outcome, whereby it fails at the final hurdle by not securing sufficient sponsorship. Many people will mutter "Well it was a good idea and at least we tried......shame though" and then realise it'll be too late to try again.

[JimmyTAP]

That's odd. I watched live coverage of yesterday's take-off on BBC News 24. Wasn't that dreadful.

[wasaspacecadet]

The coverage of XH558 on Wednesday by News 24 was comprehensive. They even managed to be at Bruntingthorpe for its arrival after a truncated flight.

And while the news website headline is open to interpretation - it was designed to drop nuclear weapons.

Credit where credit is due and all that.

WASC

[Empty Cruise]

...one the Argntineans will remember?

Oh, yeah - that would be that 12-aircraft-mission to get 13 bombs off-target 8K miles from home - and one bomb on the perimeter of the target.

Yeah, we all remember that one ;)

No-one remembers the SHAR INS-guided bomb runs, but then again, they didn't require 60% of all UK AAR assets commited, and they actually hit something :O

[Cater]

This is the best aircraft news this month after all the flak re T5 at LHR thank goodness there is still people who put there hearts into projects like this and what a wonderful result
Well done to all concerned

[idl1975]

I was actually quite surprised by the amount of coverage given to it on "prime time" news. Lots of footage of the flight and no vox pops or random 'expert' asked biased or stupid questions, as seems par for the course these days. I'm sure it can't hurt on the donations front.

And I have to agree with previous posters about the "symbol of destruction" language - after all, it wasn't designed to drop flowers and little paper hearts on people. Symbol of destruction could refer accurately to either the bomber or the nukes.

[kms901]

The coverage I saw was very smpathetic. On the lunchtime mainstream news, then News 24 for quite some time, including a long hold waiting for it to get airborne. All those interviewed were knowledgeable and positive, and there was no commentary at all during take off roll and climbout. It even got a mention on the weather forecast. And no mention of how many hospital beds/teachers salaries/hip operations could have been provided from thesame amount of money.

[Wycombe]

Plane Speaker,

In defence of the Beeb (in this case), I thought their coverage of XH558 yesterday was surprisingly good, as others have said. What I heard and saw was:

- Edmonson was interviewed by Nicky Campbell on Radio 5 at Breakfast Time.
- During Breakfast on BBC1/News24, there were several live pieces from Robert Hall at Cottesmore.
- Further pieces throughout the day on News24, including an interview with Pleming, coverage of the take-off (with no talking so we could hear that lovely noise!), and a cut from coverage of Zimbabwe being discussed at the UN so we could see the (earlier than expected) landing at Bruntingthorpe live!

Perhaps you were watching Sky News :yuk: Well done BBC :ok: (especially for not wheeling out Learmount, Yates, Tusa, Beaver, Moody, Nichol or any of the other usual "aviation/military" talking heads)

[spiney]

Symbol of destruction?... hmm... Avro Lanc destroyed a lot more than the Avro Vulc ever did... I get the sentiment but I doubt it'll quench the public's enthusiasm for the beautiful beast once she gets on the display circuit. Being a child of the 60's I can well remember some fantastic Vulcan displays at Lossiemouth - ground shaking with the noise and max rate climb showing that unique delta profile... horsing in off the Firth, low pass over the golf course blowing away anyone foolish enough to be playing... climbing slightly to clear the perimeter fence (OK, I exaggerate a little..)... can smell it right now and it's as vivid today as it was 40 years ago.

Many congratulations to the restoration team.

[fireflybob]

Far from being a symbol of destruction I would have thought the Vulcan actually kept us safe from being destroyed during the "Cold War"!

Great to see it flying again and top marks to all that have helped to make it happen.

[wingman863]

Through mutually assured destruction. If they nuked us, we'd nuke them.

I hate the way things are injected with such unnecessary sentiment. The vulcan is very very cool and getting it back into the sky is a great acheivment, but all this 'best of british' stuff does make me feel a tad ill. :yuk:

[LordGrumpy]

As is always the case, headlines to
North
East
West
South
Are often written or presented by people without real depth of knowledge or faith to the project. That will grate on those who are better informed.

Good news.
Is that Vulcan did maintain the peace during the cold war, when some might have been a little trigger happy.
It does represent modest pride; to those that have a been a part of that enterprise.
Last but no means least, it is an active symbol for those characteristics that should never be forgotten. Pride Duty Determination and tolerance + care for those that kept these Islands safe.

Lest We Forget

[rodthesod]

'Symbol of Destruction'

What's wrong with that? One 100 megaton bomb that it was designed to deliver over MEDIUM range would probably have destroyed more than all the conventional bombs previously dropped put together. I don't think much of the Beeb these days, having to suffer BBC Prime scheduling, but I thought the article was pretty well balanced. The Vulcan was not designed for anything like the very long range Port Stanley raid and there were no current bombing crews by that time. Nevertheless they did hit the target as planned and denied the runway's use to the enemy - a fantastic operational and logistic achievement.
I joined the RAF hoping to fly TSR2 but it was cancelled by traitors during my training. I was prepared, and expected to have to fight for my country but maybe I was lucky there was just the 'cold' war in my time. I hated my time on the V-Force but the aircraft was superb and I am proud to have flown it and been part of the winning free-fall bombing crew when we 'waxed' the B52s of SAC. I'm grateful to all those who have in any way contributed to the restoration and hope to be there to see it fly one day.

rts

[papazulu]

Oh, yeah - that would be that 12-aircraft-mission to get 13 bombs off-target 8K miles from home - and one bomb on the perimeter of the target.

Yeah, we all remember that one

...and perhaps the tax-bill, gift of the "old witch" :E

PZ :ok:

[Xeque]

Ahh Empty Cruise and PapaZulu - you losers!
It doesn't matter that the bombs missed!! The main thing was that we were prepared to do it and we did!
The great missing 'thing' in Britain today is that wonderful "How dare you, you unspeakable foreign person!" attitude. All the years of 'Nu Laybor' have sapped the British spirit to the point where we are rapidly becoming the world's 'nobody's'
How sad. How true.

[VAFFPAX]

Turns out that a colleague of mine has some indirect relation to the Vulcan (and indeed the Vampyre and the Mosquito). His father used to spanner on them (i.e. he was an engineer). I've begged him to ask his father to dig out all his old photos from those days...

:)

S.

[2Planks]

EmptyCruise - I believe you miss the big picture - whilst the sea jets did a great job in the tactical scenario the fact that UK PLC could do what it did and therefore could have done the same to the Argentinian mainland had a significant impact on the decision makers in Buenos Aires. Not banging the RAF drum loudly here - just saying that UK Forces needed (as we still do) a range of complimentary systems to defeat whichever enemy decides to appear on the radar.

[Sallyann1234]

Ahh Empty Cruise and PapaZulu - you losers!
It doesn't matter that the bombs missed!! The main thing was that we were prepared to do it and we did!
Yes! And the story of that mission is well worth reading:
'Vulcan 607' by Rowland White.

[Herod]

Great to see the old beast airborne again. If the airshow circuit this year proves a success, I wonder if there is any chance she will be repainted in the "correct" colour scheme, i.e. anti-flash white.

[mea culpa]

In general terms, doesn't this merely go to show that the wording of a headline is all important? Since many people will not read an accompanying article the headline has significant power to influence and even if the article adds so-called balance, it is too late for many?

[WhatsaLizad?]

"Symbol of destruction takes to the air"

I thought they were speaking of the BBC on air coverage. Not sure why they'd title a bit about themselves over a fine story of a beautiful return to flight.:E


Great show. I have fond memories of the Vulcans visiting the Dayton Ohio airshow in the late 1970's.

[Polikarpov]

There's a lengthy thread on this in the Mil forum (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=284250&page=48); worth taking a look, especially at the last ten pages or so which contain some cracking photographs from the last couple of flights (esp. #955).

:ok:

[stevef]

Quote from the article:
"She was the first aircraft to be built by the British firm Avro since the Lancaster bomber."

What about the York, Lincoln, Shackleton, Ashton and Tudor...

[cwatters]

Vulcan clips posted on youtube this week..

http://tinyurl.com/3rddeq

[brakedwell]

How about the Avro 707 A, B & C. Admittedly they could be described as mini Vulcans.

http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=250

["Taylor"]

Great to see her finally back in the air! I've been watching this project with great interest, hopefully she'll fly at RIAT this year. Lets hope somebody can make it happen in the future with Concorde...just a shame they don't do it now, instead of waiting for it to corrode, pushing up the expense of a restoration. :ugh:

Taylor.

[Airbubba]

I remember sitting in a Vulcan cockpit a while back in Sigonella. Seems like it had headrests and lambskin (ala Boeing) seats. Was it based at Akrotiri perhaps?

Isn't one still a gate guard at Goose Bay?

If the Concode flies again the BBC will probably call it a symbol of environmental destruction and ozone depletion...

[eastern wiseguy]

Pprune calling shoey.......

[West Coast]

It doesn't matter that the bombs missed!!

Really, not even a little?

[crewmeal]

If Raymond Baxter was still alive he would have paid tribute to such a wonderful aircraft in a way that the BBC would have shown it live on all news bulletins. The event would have been covered professionally and with such dignity that it would have gone down in aviation history as a mark of respect

[S'land]

Don't care what the BBC called it, I am still green with envy that I could not be there to see her fly yesterday.

Mind you, I think that the first time I was close to one taking off it did cause some destruction. The vibration/sensation from her engines shook a filling in one of my teeth loose!

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

GobonaStick. I came to the same conclusion that they meant that. That said, the Type 707, by convention post dates the Type 698 but did first fly on 4 SEP '49 compared to the Type 698 (Vulcan) first flight on 30 AUG '52; so brakedwell has a point. On the subject of totally new designs since the Type 683 (Lancaster), although later in the numbering series, the Type 701 (Athena) first flew on 12 JUN '48.

Lovely to see 558 in the air again.

[llondel]

I stuck in a complaint on the BBC website about the title given to the piece. If you showed most people a picture of a Vulcan and asked what they thought, you'd get a lot of "It's an aircraft" type responses, quite a few who'd identify it as a Vulcan or even a V-Bomber, but I don't know how many would consider it a symbol of destruction.

I'm always impressed by the pictures of a Vulcan on the ground surrounded by people and vehicles. The airborne pictures don't really make it clear just how :mad: big it is.

Well done the team, and I hope it gets to do the airshows this year.

[linken]

I spent many years on Bomber Command Vulcan squadrons. I even fitted all the electronics prior to the trip to new Zealand in 1956, sadly the aircraft crashed at Heathrow on its return.

If anyone remembers Ken Gibson, send me an email, especially Dave Hewitt, Scampton 1960 - 1962.

[email protected]

Ken

[Dan D'air]

Quality phots mate and one of the most professional websites I have ever seen. Come back soon, please!!!

[papazulu]

All the years of 'Nu Laybor' have sapped the British spirit to the point where we are rapidly becoming the world's 'nobody's'

You mean the Empire and all that jazz? Still fancy riding horses wearing a red jacket and a white colonial helmet? :p

I believe hooligans & Ibiza's holiday-makers with the football-team shirt replica have hijacked the stage nowdays...:E

The main thing was that we were prepared to do it and we did!

Well spotted, I ALMOST missed that...!

The great missing 'thing' in Britain today is that wonderful "How dare you, you unspeakable foreign person!" attitude.

I believe there are couple of far more urgent items on PM's agenda.

Well done to the VTTS team! Can't wait to see her airborne again.


PZ, a former DAS-(foreign person) volunteer :ok: