XH-558 (last flying Vulcan) to be grounded for life... :(

knucklehead6

Looks like this year is the last chance to see a Vulcan in the air.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/20/vulcan_xh588_swansong_grounded_end_year/

gumbo1

Sad times, I was really looking forward to seeing it last year at sky fest in Dublin City but it didn't make it due to a leaky fuel bladder!

Tenger

Was always going to happen. I donated about 18 months ago, (before FlightFest) at that point they thought 2014 would be there last season. I thoguht FlightFest would be my only chance to see her.
But the fundraising drive got them enough to cover the expenses of 2015......sadly the issue of replacement parts has them stymied.
Im going to RIAT this year, mostly to see XH-558.

billy few mates

The shortage of spare parts didn't stymie them in 1982....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vulcan-607-Rowland-White/dp/0552152293

A fantastic read by the way....

Tenger

billy few mates wrote: »

The shortage of spare parts didn't stymie them in 1982....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vulcan-607-Rowland-White/dp/0552152293

A fantastic read by the way....

Seconded

Chris_5339762

I'm hoping this is just a ploy to get another last minute backer. It is amazing machine to hear live though... only seen it twice but the roar off it is incredible.

Lemming

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

I'm hoping this is just a ploy to get another last minute backer. It is amazing machine to hear live though... only seen it twice but the roar off it is incredible.

Nope, the three technical support companies (BAE, Rolls, and someone else I can't remember) have all withdrawn said support due to the age of the parts. That means the civil licence will expire at the end of the current flying season without the abililty to be renewed. The final flight is this Saturday coming (30th October 2015) although it's only to be a quick fifteen minutes up in the air to - as the crew have said - "say goodbye to the sky".

I've had the privelege of watching the Vulcan perform once and the roar is - as you say - incredible. Sound just.... breaks. And due to having mates live out near Doncaster, I've frequently been treated to the sight of the plane overhead or heard the roar of the engines and it's sad to know it'll never happen again.

arubex

The Vulcan isn't a certificated type so it flies on a Permit to Fly, which is an exemption to the normal certification process.

It could technically continue flying because the point of a PtF is that no-one is recognised as the type authority. Hence all maintenance is conducted in line with best practice to the CAA's satisfaction; BAE don't have a say in the matter beyond giving their opinion.

RR and BAE have been very helpful but plenty of ex-mil types continue on a PtF without such support.

XH558 has reached its end for other reasons.

Irish Steve

arubex wrote: »

The Vulcan isn't a certificated type so it flies on a Permit to Fly, which is an exemption to the normal certification process.

It could technically continue flying because the point of a PtF is that no-one is recognised as the type authority. Hence all maintenance is conducted in line with best practice to the CAA's satisfaction; BAE don't have a say in the matter beyond giving their opinion.

RR and BAE have been very helpful but plenty of ex-mil types continue on a PtF without such support.

XH558 has reached its end for other reasons.

The issue with the Vulcan is that it is very much a "complex type", and there are specific issues with the Vulcan in relation to things like powered flight controls and systems redundancy that make it a very different proposition when compared to some of the other military types that are operated in a similar manner. To see some of the specific details, and the reasons, have a look at the Vulcan trust web page, where they go into a lot more detail about the specific issues that have led the companies involved in keeping it in the air for as long as they have now changing their positions.

The PTF can't be renewed for a complex type without the support of these organisations.

Tenger

Here's the link to the VTTS page where they explain why 2015 is their last season:
http://www.vulcantothesky.org/history/post-flight/end-of-flight-2.html


I'm now raging as I've spent the last hour looking through my hard drive and laptop tryng to find where I stored my video of the Vulcan this summer. Its there somewhere. (silly camera stores them seperately on SD card....took my 2 weeks to figure that part out in August!!!!)


In an interesting aside John Sharman, who is the chairman of VTTS was Chairman of the EI Board and temporary acting CEO of Aer Lingus until the arrival of Herr Mueller

jasT1981

And today, it all comes to an end. The final flight of Vulcan XH558 is to take place within the next 30 minutes and will be streamed live.. Crew are in aircraft ready to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcKqkq27ffk&utm_content=bufferc0ac9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

smurfjed

I saw this last month during its farewell flight, very impressive sight, sad to see it grounded.

jasT1981

Got to see her three times post restoration. Newcastle 2013 & 2014 and Portrush a few weeks ago. Sad to see it come to an end. However VTTS are looking at restoring other aircraft to flight now.

jimbis

And that's it, she's parked up for the final time. A lot of emotional faces on the Tarmac.

Never got to see it fly myself .

robclay26

Didn't do much of a show for its last flight, seen her in Newcastle, a serious machine

Irish Steve

Never saw 558 in the air in recent years, but many years ago, a Vulcan was a regular attender at the Exeter Air day, and the RAF crews were very good at showing it to the best advantage, the final departure was always a run in at speed and flight idle, then full power climb out, shaking everything in sight. Same as Concorde, you didn't hear it, you FELT it. Unforgettable.

The other time I saw a Vulcan in flight, I ended up looking down at it, I was flying a radio control slope soarer glider on the Blackdown Hills near Wellington in Somerset, and recognised the unmistakable sound of a Vulcan in a hurry, looked around, and it was flying along the contours down in the valley below me, took a moment to find it due to the camouflage colour scheme. Sight and sound to remember, though I had to keep looking away to avoid losing control of the machine I was flying.

While it would be so good to still see this sort of aircraft in the air, the practical reality of keeping them there is becoming increasingly complex, as the people that really understood the aircraft from working on it are not only retired, in some cases, they've passed on, so the skill set is becoming increasingly rare, and unfortunately, the Vulcan is a LOT more complex that things like the Lancaster, or the B29, or many of the other older warbirds that are still flying, despite it not being that much younger than those aircraft.

The developments that resulted in the success of the V bombers were very significant, but with that success comes the issue of keeping them safe, there were no powered controls on things like the Lanc, but on the Vulcan, if the powered controls failed, then there was the very real scenario of a bail out for the crew, and the possibility of the aircraft then crashing uncontrollably. It was by no means "fly by wire", that was still a distant dream when Vulcan was designed, but the control systems didn't have a direct manual link like their predecessors, so if the systems failed, you were in very deep trouble. That's a risk that's becoming statistically more likely due to the age of the technology, and at some stage, it's no longer acceptable. In the same vein, while it sounds crazy, it's easier to rebuild a Merlin engine for a Lanc/Spitfire etc than it it to overhaul an Olympus jet engine for a Vulcan, and I think they'd run out of "spare" engines from stock, and the engines in the airframe were being "managed" to get to the end of the season without running out of cycles. Yes, it was that close.

So, 558 will be missed, but it's contributed to a valid heritage, and the Vulcan trust will still be operating, albeit not with a flyable airframe, seeking to encourage people to get involved with the aviation industry.

Hopefully, before too long, there will be another old aircraft back in the air, the Shackleton Trust at Coventry are working towards getting their Mk 2 Shackleton back in the air after a long absence. If they can get "the Growler" back in the air, that will be as much of an attraction as it's forerunner, the Lancaster, so hopefully, they will be successful with the project.

Tenger

robclay26 wrote: »

Didn't do much of a show for its last flight, seen her in Newcastle, a serious machine

The last flight was never going to be a "show display". She has performed great shows over the last 6-8 years. Her farewell tour was last weekend across the UK.
This was very much a last chance for a take-off and landing, it was for the members of the trust...almost like a wake to XH558.


P.S. my vids still missing in action so here's a link to a professional version of my vid. (thanks to Lucan spotter for the location advice on the day)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elyWH5NKoZE

Irish Steve

There may well also have been restrictions on what they could do as a follow on from the hunter crash at Shoreham.

A Dub in Glasgo

My pic from Farnborough last year

_Tombstone_

First and only time to see it was Portrush this year, it was completely forgettable I thought.

I was looking at my phone before it finished it's routine.

Tenger

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

First and only time to see it was Portrush this year, it was completely forgettable I thought.

I was looking at my phone before it finished it's routine.

You have no soul!!!!


Not sure what display it did in Portrush...but to see this huge aircraft bank at low level and later to feel the noise of those engines is pretty unforgettable.

Was Portrush a sedate flat display?

_Tombstone_

Tenger wrote: »

You have no soul!!!!


Not sure what display it did in Portrush...but to see this huge aircraft bank at low level and later to feel the noise of those engines is pretty unforgettable.

Was Portrush a sedate flat display?

If it went any slower it would have fell into the sea.

Nice paint job but it may aswell not have bothered turning up on the day for all it did.

Irish Steve

Portrush was not long after the crash at Shoreham, and everyone was still working out what they were, or were not, allowed to do, which made it a lot harder to plan displays. The other issue is that "display" flights that required significant engine power changes were having to be limited towards the end of operations in order to ensure that they actually made the end of the season, due to a significant restriction (shortage) of remaining engine cycles, apparently, the Olympus engines were lifed in a different manner to "commercial" engines, so if they used a number of flight idle to full power cycles, which used to be common in display flying, that used up a number of cycles per flight, which they couldn't afford if they were to complete the season.

Blue Punto

IMG_0222 by Niall Moran, on Flickr

IMG_0271 by Niall Moran, on Flickr

IMG_0274 by Niall Moran, on Flickr

IMG_0834 by Niall Moran, on Flickr

Farewell Salute by Niall Moran, on Flickr

Blue Punto

IMG_0749 by Niall Moran, on Flickr

_Tombstone_

BeardySi

Tenger wrote: »

You have no soul!!!!


Not sure what display it did in Portrush...but to see this huge aircraft bank at low level and later to feel the noise of those engines is pretty unforgettable.

Was Portrush a sedate flat display?

It was reasonably low energy and slow, I thought it was a great last look at the old girl myself. The only time they opened the throttles was to depart and I'll admit I was surprised that they didn't do at least one fast and loud pass...

Her extremely low approach hugging the causeway coast was a great treat, but unless you were looking for it your wouldn't have spotted it.

b318isp

And a few my memories: