Last Vulcan flight
 

Some talk in the paper that the last flight maybe cancelled.

The Vulcan to the sky website is reporting fly pasts are being planned for the 11/12 October. Hope I can see it then.:O

From what I've read, the Police and VTTS fear that crowds may overwhelm the Vulcan's home airport and surrounding roads, which could force cancellation.


BBK,

Probably a typo, but the dates are 10/11 October. Good Luck! :ok:

I went to Old Warden yesterday and apart from the show being a sell out the fields and lanes around the airfield were lined with spectators. Don't know if it caused any problems but it demonstrated the draw the Vulcan has on people.

Needless to say, but it was a magnificent spectacle. I worked on them, as a young technician and never thought I'd see one flying some 55 yrs later!

Excuse my ignorance but where are the final flights taken place this weekend?

Thanks

lonkmu,

As far as I know, final details have not yet been released, but the following link gives some information:-

Vulcan To The Sky - Farewell Tour 10th/11th October

Also see:-

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/news/7...s-at-risk.html

I was in one of the fields and left straight after the Vulcan display. Local plod had closed access from G&M Growers down to Shuttleworth but it was open the other way. A little bit of chaos on the road from G&M to Sandy (Inconsiderate parkers) but apart from that it looked pretty smooth. There again, I only had to struggle back to Potton!

Spent 10 wonderful years servicing them. I can say wonderful now but I'm sure back in the day I used to curse them. I lost so much skin and shed a load of blood removing and refitting the hydraulic valves in the back of the nose wheel bay. Aaah, happy days.:)

Spekesoftly

Yes you're quite correct. Got my days mixed up. Thanks for the info.

Evanelpus, Goudie

Sadly I've never been in one but the late BBK senior was a techie on 230 OCU hence my interest and desire to say farewell the old girl.

regards

BBK

I was in a field at Old Warden too, yesterday. The noise of the engines really reverberated around the hills. It was a magnificent sight. I don't think the other flying creatures were too impressed though!

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...&1444059732329

It's a sorry state of affairs that people are getting windy about a few traffic jams and people stood about. This is truly the end of an era, there will be crowds, and there will be traffic. The powers that be should not be interfering with this and threatening to cancel the farewell.


Many many years ago when I pounded the beat, I was driving my jam butty along and I saw quite a gathering at the end of what was 24R at Manchester. I wound down my window and asked someone what was going on. I was told Concorde was coming in.

I parked up, moved a couple of cars on that had been parked stupidly and then just tried my best to keep everything moving without any issues.

I even managed to look skyward when the mighty Concorde arrived.

These things happen so rarely it should just be embraced.

In any other country, it would have been live on TV. What were the BBC showing? The Great British Bake Off :rolleyes:

From their website it's more a concern at Robin Hood where spectators could be blocking access for emergency services.

fortunately her turning circle is pretty big, so had great views over at Cranfield when she was doing shuttleworth

here she is with the arrows for the last time

I think that after Shoreham there are concerns about off airfield spectating.

By buying a ticket for an airshow you have accepted that there may be some increased risk by being there.

It is not clear that is the case for off airfield spectating and there is therefore a greater chance of a gaining a larger legal settlement in the event of a claim for compensation.

The effect of that would to be to increase insurance cover required by organisers- something I for one would not want to see.

According to VTTS website, this weekend's 'farewell Tour' (10 / 11 Oct) will NOT be 558's last ever flight.

True. But it is also not clear what case you have if watching between two police notices that say no viewing from here.

The concern here is more the effect on the local community around Robin Hood Airport of large numbers of people and vehicles blocking roads and hampering emergency services, rather than the likelihood of XH558 falling out of the sky on top of them.

The Mighty Delta winged craft overflew Stonyhurst College in the Ribble valley at almost silent mode with just barely a ripple of the famous stained glass windows, sadly I was inside at a meeting, with people who were not really interested in Old Bombers making the comments about it looking a little like it is past its sell by date....well that it may be, but I am mortified to have missed the Big V:sad:

I took a ride up to Salmesbury to watch the old girl sail past. It was quite magnificent. Very very quiet, and a lovely lazy right turn towards Warton and she was gone. Quite a contrast to the 'high energy' show she put on at Southport.

I was parked at KFC on the A577 on the south of the old airfield, and the road (double yellowed) was lined with cars parked everywhere. One Lancashire Traffic car meandered down the line and thankfully just carried on its way, obviously fully aware of the significance of today's event.

It will be a shame that she will no longer fly round these parts, but I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who have flown her, fixed her, and paid for her during the past few years.

Her passage over Woodford (ex) airfield was a tad restrained, as well. I wonder if she had the fuel to do much more than gentle fly-bys while still completing the sortie (being as it's all at low level the fuel consumption must be prodigious).

The following 'Howgozit' graph for the Vulcan shows a burn rate of about 10000 lb per hour at FL400 and about 12000 lb per hour at 250 KIAS at low level:


That was for XH561 on 18 Mar 1980; we had a 181000 lb TOW for a 4:15 flight at high level. Whereas XH558 is much lighter and burns a lot less fuel.

Thanks for that. It looks like 3 to 4 hours at low level is doable in a standard Vulcan, so should be easier for 558. But 558 was maneuvering a lot, with power changes, and one wonders how much 'slack' there'd be in the fuel burn to allow anything more than fairly restrained fly-bys at the waypoints. Certainly not enough for anything dramatic at EACH waypoint one presumes?

I understand that on Saturday 558 cut it short at EMA and headed home due fuel state, so presumably, despite a gentle sortie, there wasn't an awful lot of fuel left at the end.

Taken at Farnborough yesterday.
Light went to crap shortly before arrval!

:(

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/592/2...7eddaf4a_h.jpgIMG_6252 by Jim Pritchard, on Flickr

Have we finally seen the last of the Dear old Vulcan? or is some fiendish plan being hatched to do something else with her??

Final flight later this month, not yet announced as far as I know. Probably local to Doncaster so maybe they'll chuck her around a bit as fuel endurance won't be an issue!

After that she'll be grounded but will do occasional taxy runs (not taxi runs unfortunately!).

A rumour
 

Since this is Rumour Network, the rumour is that it has something to do with BAe Warton, being on the ground for the staff to look at, then back to Doncaster I presume. To take place second half of the month.

One presumes that BAe are paying for it.............not a rumour, just a thought.

From scudpilot:
"Taken at Farnborough yesterday.
Light went to crap shortly before arrval!"

Interesting to compare with one taken in clear air near Burgess Hill (see Military thread). Can endorse your complaint about the haze. We were on the hillock called Caesar's Camp, about 2.5 miles SW of Farnborough aerodrome, and she descended into it when approaching from Dunsfold. I think it was pollution brought from London on the north-easterly wind. Disappointing, but at least you got a different shot from the others!

Prob 90 a temperature inversion due the prevailing high pressure, Chris. All the atmospheric crud gets trapped below the inversion as it cuts off vertical air movement. As you descend into it (pass through the inversion layer) viz can go from virtually unlimited to a few km.

Shaggy Sheep Driver:
"As you descend into it (pass through the inversion layer) viz can go from virtually unlimited to a few km."

Aaah, yes, those were the days... :sad:

On Radio 4 yesterday, they had the mating call of a Vulcan on the Today Programme around 2:39:15 BBC Radio 4 - Today, 13/10/2015

Daily Telegraph today:

Stunning photographs of Vulcan bomber XH558 flying over Beachy Head - Telegraph

Now I know what to do when I grow up . . .

Final flight
 

So the D Day looms, why 30th and not 31st?


Any info regarding if it is actually going to happen, the e-letter last Thursday still mentioned a final flight but they are leaving it late......

There is to be another flight before or on 30th but it's top secret. Seemingly the top copper of South Yorkshire has threatened to close Doncaster Airport if roads are blocked there. Some people.........harrumph.

Final flight update
 

Final Flight Confirmed

Following the positive negotiations with the airport that we announced on Friday, a final flight has been confirmed but with substantial restrictions. To absolutely guarantee that there is no disruption to their operations from the crowds that are expected, their primary requirement is that the flight takes place at very short notice.

We have agreed to this with regret because we believe it is important to have a symbolic end to flying, which is professionally recorded and made available to you as video and stills, but understanding the disappointment that it will rightly bring to all those who have generously supported XH558 and would like to see the final touch-down.

As discussed previously, any delays to commercial flights due to congestion around the airport will be extremely expensive for them and they will have no choice but to pass those costs on to the Trust, which would have a dramatic impact on the future of XH558. It is for this reason that our original plans for an event around the final flight had to be cancelled with apologies to all those who deserve to be there. Thank you again for understanding this difficult position.

We have used almost all the available flying hours taking her to you, across the UK this year, flying more than 50% longer than in any previous year, with many thanks to Marshall Aerospace, the Civil Aviation Authority, and K M Dastur, our aviation insurance brokers, for agreeing this extension.

After such a fabulous year, we have only a handful of minutes left, so the final flight will be around 15 minutes with no display, simply saying Farewell to the Skies.

We are still negotiating exactly how much notice can be provided, requesting a reasonable relaxation of the original very strict requirement. Do please keep a close eye on our social media – Facebook Vulcan XH558 and Twitter @XH558 (repeated on our website) – for updates and for details of how to see the flight live, online.

I worked on the bits of V bombers that turned them from simply being an aircraft into a weapon. Thankfully it never came to that.

I think some Argentinean ground workers might disagree with that statement!

Final flight of 15 minutes' duration just announced & will be shown live on http://planestv.com/live/369 looks like about 14:40 UK time.

Link went down and missed the landing - recording of landing shown a few minutes later.

Oh purrleeze. 'Operations' from RobinDoncasterFinningleyHoodMaidMarian International are pitifully few. For example, between 08:00-18:00 tomorrow they have a mere 3 (yes, three) scheduled arrivals and 4 scheduled departures.....

If the chief rozzer of the area thinks that Vulcan-twitchers might somehow delay such a handful of CAT flights, he must be even more stupid than the rest of his species....:mad:

youtube coverage was rubbish. Looked like one circuit only, and they missed the landing.

Something called 'periscope' shows what must be a go-around (as on youtube the t/o was followed by an over-the-vertical wing over) and this didn't do that so presumably wasn't the t/o. Then a touch and go. Then the final landing.

Anyone know what this aeroplane actually did on its last flight?

SSD,

periscope is an app that allows anyone to stream live video from their smart phone, provided of course that they have a good WiFi connection.

As I said on another thread, the live coverage was pathetic.