JSF

Fully understand your affection, however, if you had read anything on the Vulcan ending flying, and understood what it meant, then you would know that it is not about politics and power. It is about a tired old aircraft that no longer has the support of the Design Organisations - essential to be allowed to continue flying. The reasons for the Design Organisations positions have been made very clear and discussed at length on this forum.
As for that last bit of your post, pathetic.

Hope the weather has been as good as it has been over Cambridgeshire for today's flight.

S-D

I was travelling on that aircraft and we were told that Vulcan was heading back to Doncaster due to it's fuel state. Fair one really as EMA was the last point on yesterdays trip. Gutted I can't be there today.

Well I got a pic of sorts ... Wellshurst Golf Club (Southern most WP) 14:01 Local.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b6xzyy8.jpg

Image Credit : Self

Just approaching Brizzol...14:40, hope to catch her at East Mids after yesterday's stealth fly past of Derbvegas. :ok:

Just sighted from a hilltop just south of Bath, very much the same aspect as in Coff's photo - now if only our friends, the S****s had asked to lunch, we would have had a ringside seat!:ok:

Farewell, My Lovely......:sad::sad:

Jack

Goodbye Vulcan....from St.Athan Camp. :(

So Dragartist, No 1 Son and No2 daughter head off to Grafham. Car park brimming. We make our way to the vantage point. It turned into a bit of an impromptu reunion with colleagues from years past. I took a few pics on my Kodak instamatic not worthy of posting. but the memories will live on for a while. I did not imagine this machine would have such a national following. I hope they can put her safely to bed and wrapped up in the warm and dry for all to see in the years to come. Well done to all those involved in showing her off this past few weeks.

THANKS FOR THE FLYPAST!
 

....although I only heard the sound and caught a fleeting glimpse of a wing tip as '558 departed to the east about 20 min ahead of the original TOT here. :( I'd just got off the phone and was walking to the Stanton Harcourt Road bridge over the A40, so that's the only glimpse I managed.

Judging by the number of people standing on the bridge, people from all walks of life came to see the Farewell Tour here in British West Oxfordshire - '558 has a LOT of followers!

Magnificent fly past @ Staverton Airport
 

Great sight and sound- a couple of minutes early but the approx 2000 watching greatly enjoyed it. Shame it is for the last time!!

XH 558 - Wellsbourne @ 15:45
Unfortunately road works on the way only allowed me the view as CoffmanStarter's photo :(

Next time :ok:

Good job it is not a war mission - 15 minutes early at Wellesbourne (OK, hat, coat)

Over the big base in Oxon 20 minutes ago.............

Followed by a C130J landing with an engine shut down.....is that a crazy metaphor for the state of today's Air Force?:ugh:

A post full of thank yous!!


First of all thank you for everyone who answered my query about the take off time today.

I was at North Weald this afternoon, along with at least another 1,000 car loads of people, to watch the fly past. We weren't disappointed!! If any of the crew read this, or anyone who can pass a message on to them, many thanks for their efforts today - it was greatly appreciated by everyone there, young and old.

Secondly a big thank you to North Weald airport. Plenty of marshallers on site to direct traffic, good car parking arrangements, and all free of charge!

A bit gutted they missed Oundle by a good 5 miles! :(

No. That was a training sortie doing a practice asymmetric landing. Normal stuff. No metaphor.

Old Sarum
 

1435 or so At Old Sarum. Old Sarum Castle was heaving on all the earth walls facing the airfield with the Great British Public (plus anyone else who could appreciate it) bidding farewell. Made it more special as the Old Girl put on the coals as she approached from Middle Wallop (wot no rotor blades?!?) banked to the right over the airfield and shot off towards Warminster. Topped off by seeing so many people waiting patiently for the fleeting moments of grace, thunder and the sound of freedom.

There was a famous tale about a Vulcan visiting the US and approaching US airspace at some height way above what B52s could manage, and asked for FL53 or something. Air trafic said you can have FL53 if you can get up there.
Vulcan replied decending from FL55.

NDW
At least you knew you wouldn't be getting a flypast.

I on the other hand expected to see XH558 twice today. I was reassured by looking at and studying the flight plan this morning from the Vulcan to the sky team. Once in my 'plane spotter' spot near the second Severn bridge I settled down for the 45 minutes until the aircraft arrived, and all the time was following the flight route on the official Twitter.

In the end I didn't get to really see the aircraft as it decided to orbit the northern part of Bristol and then instead of following the published flight path up the Severn estuary and flying over the second Severn bridge it turned left and the only view was at least 3.5-4 miles away. It's a fair comment to say that the several hundred spotters near me were very unimpressed. Many of these people had donated their £5 just for today's flight only to be told the aircraft was now going to Cardiff.......a town not on today's flight route.

Following the Twitter account it seemed that lots of people were voicing their opinions (far worse than could be put online were other comments in my earshot). The official Twitter account then said that the aircraft was coming back to the Severn Bridges. There were signs of relief, which soon changed to anger again when the aircraft was spotted around a mile to the north of the bridge and only visible for four to five seconds.

I wonder how many of the 300-400 pekoe around me thought that they had paid £5 to help to see a point point accurate Cold War bomber, and not the Severn estuary with the tide out.

Sky sports

That was bad, they only missed me by four miles.

Miss Distance
 

Great view from 80ft beneath the tin triangle on the overshoot @ Staverton

Did a wide orbit of Waddo a few minutes late by my reckoning. Stunningly clear day, saw it through the binos virtually as it departed Donny. There was an ouburst of applause from the public who had gathered on the A15 as it departed.

Took Grandson to Jet Age Museum at Staverton. Got good view of the fly past, but took 75 minutes to get out of the car park afterwards.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...82_800x600.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...81_800x600.jpg

Fine Sight.
 

From a field near Burgess Hill. 14:07http://www.shgc.org.uk/files/Last%20View.JPG

Izod

Did your grandson get to go in the Vulcan cockpit there.
I really like the jet age museum and was surprised at just how long I stayed in such a small museum. :)

There was too long a queue for the Vulcan cockpit today, we have been there before on a quiet day and had a long time in it. The in-cockpit staff member was surprised when I pulled the centre console back to show my grandson the autopilot controls - he didn't know there was a centre console there.

Today, Grandson had to be content with the Gnat and Hunter cockpits. Personally, my favorite exhibit is the Gamecock.

"my favourite exhibit is the Gamecock."

:ok:

Nice pics Izod :ok:

There s something very very magical or special when standing between the gamecock and meteor IMHO

Just turning from one to the other and observing the differences such as: the gamecocks external fuel taps mounted inline in external rubber tubing; the meteors fully enclosed blow mounded canopy etc. What I find it odd that there had to be at least a few long service personnel who worked on or served with both types in operational service.

Dickie Haine started off flying Furys in the thirties and flew F4's at Edwards.

In my own service career I knew Arthur Vine who was a Mustang pilot during the war and finished up as an instructor on the Phantom. (his son amusingly being a Shackleton pilot at the same time...)

Izod, I am sure the cockpit is a sub-scale replica. There are lots of small Vulcans around the place :)

I would love to strap on the life jacket, parachute and dinghy pack and see how long it would take me to get from the radar seat down the nose or out the door.

It is not a sub-scale replica but the original front end of XM569. It has not weathered particularly well inside but has recently had a new lick of exterior paint to smarten her up.

Darvan, your sense of humour switch needs adjusting.

I'd love to see how long it took for you to strap on a life jacket, parachute and dinghy pack...:)

Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Quote:
Please note: today is not the planned final flight.
Do we know when that flight will actually be?


Well they have 2 slots down for it, but one wonders if the second is there to make the potential crowds miss it and get around that problem by retiring her after the first ?


Saw her today but didn't bother fighting the traffic nor taking pictures after the farce of yesterday.

I had the pleasure of seeing her with the Reds at the Southport airshow, yesterday or today was not going beat that display so for me that was the last flight.

The displays back when the aeroplane was still in RAF service were the best. No need to worry about engine or airframe life as VTTS have had to; the Vulcan, free of such limits, and exuberantly flown, was just something else!

And of course rules about displaying aeroplanes were less onerous back than as well.

We live a few miles south of Woodford, the birthplace of all Vulcans, so these iconic aeroplanes have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. It will be a sad day when 558 flies for the last time.

BTW, considering the public interest in these last flights, TV news seems to have given it scant coverage. Bluddy arti farty media types probably strive to deliberately ignore a cold war icon, and probably eschew what is today simply a lovely flying machine as well.

None of the crews involved at the time were concerned with the effect they were making on the ground, but my abiding memory of the Vulcans was seeing (and feeling) the Waddington wing doing a survival scramble. I was at Cranwell at the time and on my way to Lincoln and driving past Waddington. There were several aircraft taxiing towards the runway, as one started to roll, the previous one was halfway down the runway and the one before that was just lifting off. Previous aircraft were climbing steeply on divergent tracks. Magnificent.

When I was in short trousers they used to start the Finningley open day like that. I can still feel it now.

When seeing that as a youngster how can you not want to be involved in aviation in some way or another? It's almost sledgehammered into your soul.

She is back in the air again!

Airborne from Doncaster at 10:59L

IIRC, She still has a sortie with the Blades and a two seat Spitfire or two (VTTS Raffle prizes). Then there is the "TBN Final ever flight"...