Discussion
I was working at RIAT earlier this year looking after a Swiss aviation company & some of its clients, most of whom, including a display team, had heard of 558 but none of whom had ever seen her fly (same as me, apart from seeing her on YouTube) until the Friday of RIAT.
Having seen footage of her i knew what to expect - sort out of anyway - although they didnt.
So she fly's along the length of the runway, gets to the end, power goes on, the Vulcan howl is clearly audible, she goes up & at the top of the climb she does exactly what she did in your fifth photo. Almost flips over onto her back.
As she did that one of the Swiss display pilots said, simply, 'f
k. They've lost her' & he waited for her to role over & drop like a stone.
She didnt, of course, & when he realised that it was part of the display he was cheering & clapping like a lunatic!!!
He genuinely thought she was going to crash & said he didnt think such a massive aircraft could, or should, be flown like that.
On Saturday he had his camcorder out to film her as he simply couldnt get his head around the fact that such an old aircraft could be thrown around the sky in such a fashion.
Its a magical sight.
Having seen footage of her i knew what to expect - sort out of anyway - although they didnt.
So she fly's along the length of the runway, gets to the end, power goes on, the Vulcan howl is clearly audible, she goes up & at the top of the climb she does exactly what she did in your fifth photo. Almost flips over onto her back.
As she did that one of the Swiss display pilots said, simply, 'f
k. They've lost her' & he waited for her to role over & drop like a stone.She didnt, of course, & when he realised that it was part of the display he was cheering & clapping like a lunatic!!!
He genuinely thought she was going to crash & said he didnt think such a massive aircraft could, or should, be flown like that.
On Saturday he had his camcorder out to film her as he simply couldnt get his head around the fact that such an old aircraft could be thrown around the sky in such a fashion.
Its a magical sight.
magpie215 said:
Just seen the Vulcan route up the coast at Blackpool :-)
he is now routing east over the Pennines towards Elvington so keep your eyes peeled if you are in the area ;-)
he is now routing east over the Pennines towards Elvington so keep your eyes peeled if you are in the area ;-)
Poor quality photo, but it flew directly over us when we were stood in the yard. About 5 miles east of Elvington
Farmerlad said:
magpie215 said:
Just seen the Vulcan route up the coast at Blackpool :-)
he is now routing east over the Pennines towards Elvington so keep your eyes peeled if you are in the area ;-)
he is now routing east over the Pennines towards Elvington so keep your eyes peeled if you are in the area ;-)
Poor quality photo, but it flew directly over us when we were stood in the yard. About 5 miles east of Elvington
Uploaded some more pictures ... they should be publicly viewable.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.101510212...
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.101510212...
Got some more...
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
Wings & Wheels 2012 by Martin_Bennett, on Flickr
mike80 said:
Uploaded some more pictures ... they should be publicly viewable.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.101510212...
Some superb Vulcan piccies on that link, thanks for sharing them with us.http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.101510212...
Must try and convince the MD to get a new flag.Its my birthday on Saturday.................
& i just had an email from VTTS with details of the 3 hour flight that is planned for Saturday, weather permitting.
This awesome plane will be flying within 5 miles of home, a fly-by over Staverton!!!
What a birthday present!
SWMBO has just said, that 558 is 'just an old plane' but she doesnt understand things cars, planes, motorcycles or racing but i cant wait.
The route is hoped to be as follows:
Doncaster - Coventry Airport - Birmingham Airport - RAF Cosford - Gloucester (Staverton) - Filton - Cardiff Airport - St Athan - Ross On Wye (Memorial) & RAF Halton.
She is scheduled to depart Doncaster @ 3pm with details expected to be confirmed on Friday afternoon.
Just hope the weather stays dry & clear - it will be my 7 year old's first sight of this amazing plane as well.
& i just had an email from VTTS with details of the 3 hour flight that is planned for Saturday, weather permitting.
This awesome plane will be flying within 5 miles of home, a fly-by over Staverton!!!
What a birthday present!
SWMBO has just said, that 558 is 'just an old plane' but she doesnt understand things cars, planes, motorcycles or racing but i cant wait.
The route is hoped to be as follows:
Doncaster - Coventry Airport - Birmingham Airport - RAF Cosford - Gloucester (Staverton) - Filton - Cardiff Airport - St Athan - Ross On Wye (Memorial) & RAF Halton.
She is scheduled to depart Doncaster @ 3pm with details expected to be confirmed on Friday afternoon.
Just hope the weather stays dry & clear - it will be my 7 year old's first sight of this amazing plane as well.
I don't think the map shows up but at least you will be able to see if she goes near you and can keep an eye out.
This Saturday afternoon 29th September, providing weather conditions and aircraft serviceability allow, XH558 will take off on a 3-hour sortie to commemorate Sixty Glorious Years of the Avro Vulcan as she makes a tour of various airports near to sites that played a significant part in their development or service life.
We can only give approximate route timings from one point to another at this stage, as an exact take-off time will be subject to conditions on the day. Clearance from the relevant ATC units cannot be guaranteed until the aircraft is in the air talking to them, and will then be based on their own traffic movements at the time.
Our experienced Navigator, Andy Marson, has spent today talking to all the units concerned to give them an initial briefing and to seek approvals. The proposed flight plan will take into account feedback obtained today, but we have to remain flexible, as the final flight plan may well have to change on the day.
Although we hope to be able to tell you more on Friday, information on how the sortie is progressing will be made available on our official Twitter feed, providing actual route and expected timings. If you wish to see XH558 on Saturday, our advice at this stage is please plan to be near one of the listed locations from about 3pm watching our Twitter feed on your mobile.
Follow our Twitter feed online here, or follow us from your mobile device if you are out and about at one of the locations. Our hash tag ID is simply: #XH558
We would stress that to comply with the conditions under which we operate, this flight will consist purely of approaches and fly-pasts - no displays are planned.
Approximate timings to be confirmed on Friday with actual route times via our official Twitter feed.
1. Doncaster
- Bitteswell
2. Coventry Airport
3. Birmingham Airport
4. RAF Cosford
5. Gloucester (Staverton)
- Cheltenham
6. Filton
7. Cardiff Airport
8. St. Athan
9. Ross-on-Wye (Memorial)
10. RAF Halton
Image
The three hours flying planned for Saturday equates to a sortie cost of about £22.000, a figure we hoped to cover by individual fuel sponsorship via text donations plus some corporate support, as we will not be receiving any appearance fees. Any shortfall will need to come from our sparse cash resources, vital funds that are currently earmarked for commencing the Winter Service.
However our good friend and benefactor, Eddie Forrester of Aerobytes, has committed a sizeable donation in respect of Saturday's Vulcan Diamond Jubilee tour. This will cover some of our costs, whilst enabling a significant flyby at the memorial service of one Captain Peter Williams, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Eddie explains, "Back in 2001, Aerobytes was a small, unproven company running out of cash & about to go under. It was Peter Williams alone who saw the potential of the Aerobytes system & took a leap of faith by giving us our first ever order. Excel Airways thus became our first client & the rest is history. Without Peter's timely intervention back in 2001, there would have been no Aerobytes, no Aerobytes sponsorship of the Vulcan and therefore (quite probably) no flying Vulcan. The flyby from XH558 is therefore of particular relevance and a fitting tribute for a very special person and a valued friend."
As we write, we are thus still some £10,000 short on the remaining funding, as shown by the fuel gauge below. To avoid money being diverted away from our Winter Service, we must aim to raise this figure between now and during Saturday's flight to make sure the cash position remains positive.
The proposal to expose XH558 at new locations, most of them well away from the usual display circuit but connected with the Vulcan's development and operation in RAF service, is aimed to gain good media and press coverage, so it's our intention to press on with our plans - in the knowledge that the publicity from this last sortie of 2012 should more than compensate for any cash shortfall in the longer term.
This is now how you can now get personally involved, by helping to 'top up' our Fuel Gauge meter, with as little as a £3 donation to make up that £10,000 shortfall. Simply click on the meter below to find out how you can help
This Saturday afternoon 29th September, providing weather conditions and aircraft serviceability allow, XH558 will take off on a 3-hour sortie to commemorate Sixty Glorious Years of the Avro Vulcan as she makes a tour of various airports near to sites that played a significant part in their development or service life.
We can only give approximate route timings from one point to another at this stage, as an exact take-off time will be subject to conditions on the day. Clearance from the relevant ATC units cannot be guaranteed until the aircraft is in the air talking to them, and will then be based on their own traffic movements at the time.
Our experienced Navigator, Andy Marson, has spent today talking to all the units concerned to give them an initial briefing and to seek approvals. The proposed flight plan will take into account feedback obtained today, but we have to remain flexible, as the final flight plan may well have to change on the day.
Although we hope to be able to tell you more on Friday, information on how the sortie is progressing will be made available on our official Twitter feed, providing actual route and expected timings. If you wish to see XH558 on Saturday, our advice at this stage is please plan to be near one of the listed locations from about 3pm watching our Twitter feed on your mobile.
Follow our Twitter feed online here, or follow us from your mobile device if you are out and about at one of the locations. Our hash tag ID is simply: #XH558
We would stress that to comply with the conditions under which we operate, this flight will consist purely of approaches and fly-pasts - no displays are planned.
Approximate timings to be confirmed on Friday with actual route times via our official Twitter feed.
1. Doncaster
- Bitteswell
2. Coventry Airport
3. Birmingham Airport
4. RAF Cosford
5. Gloucester (Staverton)
- Cheltenham
6. Filton
7. Cardiff Airport
8. St. Athan
9. Ross-on-Wye (Memorial)
10. RAF Halton
Image
The three hours flying planned for Saturday equates to a sortie cost of about £22.000, a figure we hoped to cover by individual fuel sponsorship via text donations plus some corporate support, as we will not be receiving any appearance fees. Any shortfall will need to come from our sparse cash resources, vital funds that are currently earmarked for commencing the Winter Service.
However our good friend and benefactor, Eddie Forrester of Aerobytes, has committed a sizeable donation in respect of Saturday's Vulcan Diamond Jubilee tour. This will cover some of our costs, whilst enabling a significant flyby at the memorial service of one Captain Peter Williams, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Eddie explains, "Back in 2001, Aerobytes was a small, unproven company running out of cash & about to go under. It was Peter Williams alone who saw the potential of the Aerobytes system & took a leap of faith by giving us our first ever order. Excel Airways thus became our first client & the rest is history. Without Peter's timely intervention back in 2001, there would have been no Aerobytes, no Aerobytes sponsorship of the Vulcan and therefore (quite probably) no flying Vulcan. The flyby from XH558 is therefore of particular relevance and a fitting tribute for a very special person and a valued friend."
As we write, we are thus still some £10,000 short on the remaining funding, as shown by the fuel gauge below. To avoid money being diverted away from our Winter Service, we must aim to raise this figure between now and during Saturday's flight to make sure the cash position remains positive.
The proposal to expose XH558 at new locations, most of them well away from the usual display circuit but connected with the Vulcan's development and operation in RAF service, is aimed to gain good media and press coverage, so it's our intention to press on with our plans - in the knowledge that the publicity from this last sortie of 2012 should more than compensate for any cash shortfall in the longer term.
This is now how you can now get personally involved, by helping to 'top up' our Fuel Gauge meter, with as little as a £3 donation to make up that £10,000 shortfall. Simply click on the meter below to find out how you can help
Git!!
I tried to add that to my posting. Couldn't work out how to do it!!!!! Still can't work it out!
All I know is that I will be at Staverton from 1pm on Saturday just to see 558.
Not only that, they have a Vulcan nose cone on display so will give me the opportunity to show my son the nose section before, hopefully, he see's the real thing.
Can't wait.
I tried to add that to my posting. Couldn't work out how to do it!!!!! Still can't work it out!
All I know is that I will be at Staverton from 1pm on Saturday just to see 558.
Not only that, they have a Vulcan nose cone on display so will give me the opportunity to show my son the nose section before, hopefully, he see's the real thing.
Can't wait.
fatboy69 said:
Git!!
I tried to add that to my posting. Couldn't work out how to do it!!!!! Still can't work it out!
All I know is that I will be at Staverton from 1pm on Saturday just to see 558.
Not only that, they have a Vulcan nose cone on display so will give me the opportunity to show my son the nose section before, hopefully, he see's the real thing.
Can't wait.
I might have to pop down as well!I tried to add that to my posting. Couldn't work out how to do it!!!!! Still can't work it out!
All I know is that I will be at Staverton from 1pm on Saturday just to see 558.
Not only that, they have a Vulcan nose cone on display so will give me the opportunity to show my son the nose section before, hopefully, he see's the real thing.
Can't wait.
fatboy69 said:
Git!!
I tried to add that to my posting. Couldn't work out how to do it!!!!! Still can't work it out!
All I know is that I will be at Staverton from 1pm on Saturday just to see 558.
Not only that, they have a Vulcan nose cone on display so will give me the opportunity to show my son the nose section before, hopefully, he see's the real thing.
Can't wait.
I might have to pop down as well!I tried to add that to my posting. Couldn't work out how to do it!!!!! Still can't work it out!
All I know is that I will be at Staverton from 1pm on Saturday just to see 558.
Not only that, they have a Vulcan nose cone on display so will give me the opportunity to show my son the nose section before, hopefully, he see's the real thing.
Can't wait.
FFS. Can't believe the number of people on Facebook moaning that 558 isn't flying by them on Saturday!!!
One idiot from Southport says its a disgrace that she isn't going to Southport. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't she display at the Southport Airshow a few weeks ago? What a chump.
I'm happy as it appears she will be flying over Staverton twice on Saturday afternoon!!!
Not sure what they expect tbh. Do they expect VTTS to overfly every single village, town, city, hamlet, house in the UK.
As more than one person has said - if you really want to see her fly, find out the closest display to you, get in your car & drive there!
Some people are just dumb asses.
Role on Saturday afternoon. I can't wait.
One idiot from Southport says its a disgrace that she isn't going to Southport. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't she display at the Southport Airshow a few weeks ago? What a chump.
I'm happy as it appears she will be flying over Staverton twice on Saturday afternoon!!!
Not sure what they expect tbh. Do they expect VTTS to overfly every single village, town, city, hamlet, house in the UK.
As more than one person has said - if you really want to see her fly, find out the closest display to you, get in your car & drive there!
Some people are just dumb asses.
Role on Saturday afternoon. I can't wait.
hadnt realised this was quite so tracked by people! Apparently it turns up at Cranfield fairly regularly...missus got some good video the other week....its just utterly bizarre how slow they can fly it...and how quiet it is as it drifts in over the runway - then the noise when they then turn it up to full is quite astounding! awesome machine
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