Discussion
5 In a Row said:
I think my first visit to EF was in 1982 and I'm sure they had a large display case with some wreckage that was supposedly from Rudolf Hess' crashed Bf110.
I wonder where that ended up.
I went to Duxford last month to see the Spitfire exhibition and I'm pretty sure that one of the guides said that on display in a case was wreckage from Rudolf Hess' aircraft. I wonder where that ended up.
CooperD said:
5 In a Row said:
I think my first visit to EF was in 1982 and I'm sure they had a large display case with some wreckage that was supposedly from Rudolf Hess' crashed Bf110.
I wonder where that ended up.
I went to Duxford last month to see the Spitfire exhibition and I'm pretty sure that one of the guides said that on display in a case was wreckage from Rudolf Hess' aircraft. I wonder where that ended up.
Deranged Rover said:
DrDeAtH said:
XM655 is restricted on power runs at the moment until their runway is repaired, as they tore up a small section when applying full power on a test run.
Is it just me or does the last part of that sentence make anyone else smile?!I'm not sure if it's still owned by the Littler brothers, but they were desperate to sell it to a property developer for housing a few years back. If they still own it, I can't see there being much investment.
I think the biggest problem for XH558 now (and indeed, any Cold War era aircraft) is its ageing, diminishing fanbase.
I'm 49 so can remember the Vulcans in action in the Falklands as a child but that was largely the end of it operationally, as far as the general public is concerned. I've bought the books and DVDs, seen XH558 display several times, done the VTTS hangar tour at Doncaster etc, but now I look at my 7yo and wonder whether his generation will have such an interest in it? I doubt it.
When I was growing up in the 70s, WW2 was a massive thing still, and we lived in fear of the Cold War. War films were on telly all the time. Public information films told us what do in the event of a nuclear attack. It was all very relevant.
As (peace)time has gone on, that has become less so, none of my son's friends play 'Army' or so forth, he's never seen Dambusters (I thought it was the best film ever, when I as 6) etc etc etc.
There are just so many other leisure options for families to do now. "Going to see a Cold War Era warplane" isn't high up the wishlists of many children, much as that is a shame. I will be dragging my lad along to these kind of things but I suspect I will be in a minority.
I wish it were not like that, but that's how I see it. Which probably does not bode well for XH558, sadly.
I'm 49 so can remember the Vulcans in action in the Falklands as a child but that was largely the end of it operationally, as far as the general public is concerned. I've bought the books and DVDs, seen XH558 display several times, done the VTTS hangar tour at Doncaster etc, but now I look at my 7yo and wonder whether his generation will have such an interest in it? I doubt it.
When I was growing up in the 70s, WW2 was a massive thing still, and we lived in fear of the Cold War. War films were on telly all the time. Public information films told us what do in the event of a nuclear attack. It was all very relevant.
As (peace)time has gone on, that has become less so, none of my son's friends play 'Army' or so forth, he's never seen Dambusters (I thought it was the best film ever, when I as 6) etc etc etc.
There are just so many other leisure options for families to do now. "Going to see a Cold War Era warplane" isn't high up the wishlists of many children, much as that is a shame. I will be dragging my lad along to these kind of things but I suspect I will be in a minority.
I wish it were not like that, but that's how I see it. Which probably does not bode well for XH558, sadly.
lufbramatt said:
CooperD said:
5 In a Row said:
I think my first visit to EF was in 1982 and I'm sure they had a large display case with some wreckage that was supposedly from Rudolf Hess' crashed Bf110.
I wonder where that ended up.
I went to Duxford last month to see the Spitfire exhibition and I'm pretty sure that one of the guides said that on display in a case was wreckage from Rudolf Hess' aircraft. I wonder where that ended up.
saaby93 said:
Whatever you say about Vulcan to the Sky - if you went to see it and saw somethinng like this, it was worth every penny they raised
The issue isn't what they raised to fly it, as that is now history.It was the plan for after it stopped flying which was arrogantly flawed then, which was pointed out at the time by many within historic aviation circles, and sadly has been proved to be the case.
DrDeAtH said:
Also... how did they burn through £7.5m with a grounded aircraft?
Exactly the point.They needed £2.2m to build a hangar for it, and have raised that 4 fold, but they are still short of money.
It's an obscene miss-management of funds, as you say, its a bloody grounded a/c, and apart from fuel for anti-det runs, there is no reason to have burnt through that amount, other than in stuff they shouldn't have been spending it on. Yes they must have pre-spent some funds up front for arch/eng design of the hangar, but that's unlikely to have been more than 20% of the 2.2m of the total hangar cost, and still a relative fraction of the money raised since the aircraft last flew. They haven't even been paying rent in this time, which it now seems the airport are calling in.
Even Marshall's waivered a large fee they were owed for DA support for its flying days, and there are rumours that it was this and RR's increasing concerns over TVOC's operations after the silica gel bag incident that called time early on its flying days.
I'm surprised the charities commission hasn't been called tbh.
aeropilot said:
Exactly the point.
They needed £2.2m to build a hangar for it, and have raised that 4 fold, but they are still short of money.
It's an obscene miss-management of funds, as you say, its a bloody grounded a/c, and apart from fuel for anti-det runs, there is no reason to have burnt through that amount, other than in stuff they shouldn't have been spending it on. Yes they must have pre-spent some funds up front for arch/eng design of the hangar, but that's unlikely to have been more than 20% of the 2.2m of the total hangar cost, and still a relative fraction of the money raised since the aircraft last flew. They haven't even been paying rent in this time, which it now seems the airport are calling in.
Even Marshall's waivered a large fee they were owed for DA support for its flying days, and there are rumours that it was this and RR's increasing concerns over TVOC's operations after the silica gel bag incident that called time early on its flying days.
I'm surprised the charities commission hasn't been called tbh.
Yup, RR pulled the plug after the silica gel incident, as that was then 4 engines they had destroyed. 2 being during a pre restoration validation run.They needed £2.2m to build a hangar for it, and have raised that 4 fold, but they are still short of money.
It's an obscene miss-management of funds, as you say, its a bloody grounded a/c, and apart from fuel for anti-det runs, there is no reason to have burnt through that amount, other than in stuff they shouldn't have been spending it on. Yes they must have pre-spent some funds up front for arch/eng design of the hangar, but that's unlikely to have been more than 20% of the 2.2m of the total hangar cost, and still a relative fraction of the money raised since the aircraft last flew. They haven't even been paying rent in this time, which it now seems the airport are calling in.
Even Marshall's waivered a large fee they were owed for DA support for its flying days, and there are rumours that it was this and RR's increasing concerns over TVOC's operations after the silica gel bag incident that called time early on its flying days.
I'm surprised the charities commission hasn't been called tbh.
Coatesy351 said:
Don't think it makes much difference to the situation of '558 tbh.I only live a 20 minute drive from DSA.
I’ve fairly regularly drove up to the fence and drooled over 558. It’s been parked at the perimeter of the airport for ages. It looks in good condition and appears to have some of its equipment underneath the wing. The Canberra is nearby. I got the impression that this isn’t complete.
What will happen to the aircraft?
I imagine the Canberra won’t be much of an issue. It can be moved by road because that’s how it got to dsa and it’s not so large that a museum or other owner couldn’t be found.
But what about 558?
As far as I know it’s still ‘live’ it definitely flew in to dsa and I believe it’s completed some ground runs.
I presume a short transport flight is out of the question on safety grounds?
Can a Vulcan be moved by road? If it’s cut up can it be put back together? Is there even anyone who would want to?
Newark has a Vulcan and no access to facilities to run it.
Duxford has a Vulcan and I doubt the desire to have a live one.
Elvington is a possibility I suppose as they already have a ground running victor. But do they have the room or the desire to work with vtts?
Is the likely hood that it’ll be broken up at dsa? This seems a sad end and an insult to those who have donated in the hope of securing the aircrafts future.
I’ve fairly regularly drove up to the fence and drooled over 558. It’s been parked at the perimeter of the airport for ages. It looks in good condition and appears to have some of its equipment underneath the wing. The Canberra is nearby. I got the impression that this isn’t complete.
What will happen to the aircraft?
I imagine the Canberra won’t be much of an issue. It can be moved by road because that’s how it got to dsa and it’s not so large that a museum or other owner couldn’t be found.
But what about 558?
As far as I know it’s still ‘live’ it definitely flew in to dsa and I believe it’s completed some ground runs.
I presume a short transport flight is out of the question on safety grounds?
Can a Vulcan be moved by road? If it’s cut up can it be put back together? Is there even anyone who would want to?
Newark has a Vulcan and no access to facilities to run it.
Duxford has a Vulcan and I doubt the desire to have a live one.
Elvington is a possibility I suppose as they already have a ground running victor. But do they have the room or the desire to work with vtts?
Is the likely hood that it’ll be broken up at dsa? This seems a sad end and an insult to those who have donated in the hope of securing the aircrafts future.
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