Airshow could be Vulcan swansong

I can think of a lot better things to spend money on rather than keeping these old killing machines flying.
 
Seedy_r0m said:
Got my ticket already, just need to work out if I'm using the park 'n' ride, train, driving in myself, or cadging a lift with my mates :)



It wasn't a disaster depending on your viewpoint.

They used steel bombs rather than iron.
Iron ones would explode on impact, Steel bombs tend to dig in to the ground before exploding, hence bursting upwards to create more of a crater.

One bomb hit the runway, another two hit each side of the runway, thus splitting it in half so that the Argie fast jets couldn't use it.

Why would you want to completely destroy a runway, when you would be using it shortly afterwards?
The mission was to disable it for the short term rather than obliterate it, hence the diagonal pass on the bombing run.

They had to send three? Yeah, and the rest LoL.
Try adding a standby & also the eleven Victor tankers for in-flight fuelling :)

Have a read at Victor 607 by Rowland White, 'tis a good read.
Click to expand...

no i aint read the book. incidentally the damage was only "temporary" the strip was in use the next day!
but as a kid, they flew over, and around my home (lake district). one once scared the daylights out of me, on one fellside motorcycle trip. it appeared right in front of me as i did, my own impression of Barry Sheen (badly i might add). i could see the pilots, and count every rivet. i was still left in a pall of black smoke, as the filthy machine passed on.

i do understand peoples affection for it (well i dont really). but if we want a plane to fly, long after it was expected too. should it not have done something that makes it worthy of saving? especially as it is so, unreliable, inefficient and filthy.

we don't have English Electric Lightnings flying now, in the UK. and that was a plane that worked, indeed spawned a whole generation of planes. even the Gloster Whittle, or the Metior do not fly, now. one started the Jet age and one, at least, proved itself in battle.
sure it looks pretty, but that's all. so keep a few for display, and junk the rest.
 
i saw it fly at waddington last year and soon after i joined the vulcan to the sky club , to help keep it flying. then this year at waddington it did not fly , waddington was saying it had a tech prob but the fact is, the big boys at the vulcan to the sky club forgot to apply for its civil airshow licence, it was able to fly but not at airshows, there was thousands of people very un happy at waddington this year as it was the highlight of the show. in my eyes ,if the big wigs carnt sort the licence out when its dew how can they expect people to support it. i keep getting emails asking if im going to renew but theres no chance.
 
when i was out and about at the weekend seen it flying over with the blades aerobatic team on its way back from silverstone , and as stated elsewere the sound was truly amazing , managed to scramble to get camera to get a pic before it dissapeared out of sight
 
I remember back in the 70s I was doing some work at waddington air base, at that time was the base for the vulcan spending my lunch breaks looking skyward at these monsters thinking how the hell is that turning without falling out of the sky.
They were a spectacular sight.
 
The weathers looking dandy for Saturday Seedy mate :)

Sunny Intervals
Max: 17°C 63°F
Vis: Excellent

Considering the weather observation station is Leuchars, I think we'll definitely hear this bird fly on Saturday :Clap:
 
Was thinking of going but the wife has too work and she needs the car so thats me fooked lol.
 
I'm all set, my car park ticket arrived this morning :)

If the weather holds up, it should be an absolute belter.

Last year there were 19 separate weather reports completed by the Met Observer in the hope that a window would open up for the Vulcan to fly.

Hopefully we'll get some of THIS.
 
I have more or less had an airshow today, and its still going on at the moment.

There appears to be a few F15' knocking around Lincolnshore (Wainfleet up to Mablethorpe)
They are noisy feckers....The strange thing is those are USAF planes and not flown by the RAF. I seen a few Typhoons yesterday out training.
 
I called Bruntingthorpe earlier, they couldn't tell me the route, or the time it will be flying up, but they did say that it was fully serviceable and the only thing at the mo' which would stop the display would be the weather.

Some really great pic's of last years outing HERE.
 
For those that are interested, the airshow at Leuchars on Saturday was absolutely marvellous, and a complete contrast to last years outing.

The weather was around the 19deg mark, there were between 45 - 50,000 visitors, and about 10,000 cars depending on which publication you read.

The highlights for me were the Tornado, Typhoon, Spitfire, Lancaster & of course the Vulcan.

YES, I know the Vulcan is a dirty, smelly, antiquated dinosaur of a crate which is expensive, relies on public money and serves no purpose (similar to the royals), but this is a magnificent machine and should be allowed to dust off her wings once in a while to rise majestically above it's adoring public.

It seems a shame that the Vulcan To The Skies team have to resort to what is basically begging in order for the old bird to stay airborne.

I'm torn between the two camps...

It is very expensive to maintain the aircraft, and ground crew required to keep this beauty airborne (there are a hella lotta people & vehicles involved in keeping it airborne).

On the other hand, it is a sheer indulgence, there is no real need for it in this day and age, it serves no real purpose other than to remind people what puts the "Great" in Great Britain, it was a fantastic piece of engineering.

Once you have heard the Vulcan howl, the sound will never leave you ([ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1B5fuMi-cM"]You tube[/ame]). For an aircraft this size to punch the skies this easily is truly amazing and a beauty to behold.

Call me a boring old fart, or a romantic, but I can assure you this...

I wasn't the only one of the 50k visitors on Saturday to remain transfixed to the spot with their jaw slightly open and a tear in their eye while XH558 danced gracefully in front of it's adoring audience.

It wasn't really a tear...it was bloody dust OK??? LoL

---------------------------

Another bonus...I met Baaheeduk uk again for a short blether :)
 
Pleasure to meet up with you again Seedy! I'm burnt to a crisp :)

Hope you didn't get stuck in traffic? I had no probs on the train and had the luxury of having a couple of cold ciders during the show :)

See you again next year!
 
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