XH558...

[DrDeAtH]

saaby93 said:

In some ways an exhibit could be good having the separate pieces prior to assembly.
Wheres dr_gn?

That would require a hanger bigger than the one that houses XL426... if you wanted to lay the bits out in a fashion where they can be walked between safely.

[Cold]

[Tony1963]

The innocent victim

[surveyor]

That explains the mystery of the coach that appeared outside the pub while I was having lunch. It appears that they were using finningley village as a staging post.

[Yertis]

DrDeAtH said:

williamp said:

Is it a daft question to ask are they colour coded, like on a car wiring loom??

Its pretty much all white cabling, but individually numbered.

You'd run out of colour combinations surprisingly quickly, and there's always the chance to misinterpret the colours. Even on a simple car loom I sometimes wish they were identified alphanumerically, but that would of course be incredibly expensive.

[Flying Phil]

Nice to hear those engines running, but was there a reason for the water spraying at shutdown?

[Sixpackpert]

Flying Phil said:

Nice to hear those engines running, but was there a reason for the water spraying at shutdown?

Last ever run of the engines I believe.

[yellowjack]

As an aside to all the '558 stuff, I was passing Wellesbourne Mountford airfield last week (Saturday 12th November) on my way to Charlcote Park (they're about a quarter of a mile apart).

There was very heavy traffic in a long queue on the Stratford Road and we feared we'd miss our booked entry to the house. But it wasn't roadworks or heavy through traffic, but cars (mainly) turning onto the airfield site. The reason was clear when we got beyond the mini-roundabout for the airfield, as XM655 was away from it's apron and being towed on the runway. I was sorely tempted to abandon our trip to Charlcote but it was long booked and my wife was using some rare time off to make a detour on our trip up to Lichfield specifically for it. So I don't know whether it was simply an engine run, or one of their "fast taxi" events where they tear along the runway and everyone bets on whether they can stop on the tarmac, or if they'll need some of the grass.

I suppose it's the existence of '655 and XL426 at Southend in running condition that will likely kill off XH558 as a running airframe. And with a number of the "preserved" Vulcans already cut up in the UK after their museums closed or owners found they couldn't protect them from corrosion issues out in the open, there's already a precedent set for giving up on "stranded" Vulcans forced out of their homes.

As others have said, I think now is the time for VTST to stop offering false hope to their supporters and to make reconciliatory gestures to those looking after '655 and '426 in terms of making their stock of spares available to these other groups, and hopefully parting out XH558 before it gets dismantled so that as many of the useful parts fitted to the airframe are saved as is possible. If '558 does, by some stroke of luck, get moved and reassembled elsewhere then it's incredibly unlikely to ever be a live aircraft again so, as a static exhibit wherever it ends up, it won't need working engines, components or instruments anyway. This is how VTST can cement some kind of legacy, by extending the useful life of the two airframes that still have somewhere to move under their own power...

[The Brummie]

Sixpackpert said:

Flying Phil said:

Nice to hear those engines running, but was there a reason for the water spraying at shutdown?

Last ever run of the engines I believe.

VTTS have said again today that engine runs will be carried out in 2023 with an announcement in due course as to the future of 558.

Not sure that anyone will believe them though.

[DrDeAtH]

yellowjack said:

There was very heavy traffic in a long queue on the Stratford Road and we feared we'd miss our booked entry to the house. But it wasn't roadworks or heavy through traffic, but cars (mainly) turning onto the airfield site. The reason was clear when we got beyond the mini-roundabout for the airfield, as XM655 was away from it's apron and being towed on the runway. I was sorely tempted to abandon our trip to Charlcote but it was long booked and my wife was using some rare time off to make a detour on our trip up to Lichfield specifically for it. So I don't know whether it was simply an engine run, or one of their "fast taxi" events where they tear along the runway and everyone bets on whether they can stop on the tarmac, or if they'll need some of the grass.
...

This was their night photoshoot event. We have them at 426 as do other aviation groups.

[surveyor]

Sixpackpert said:

Flying Phil said:

Nice to hear those engines running, but was there a reason for the water spraying at shutdown?

Last ever run of the engines I believe.

And possibly the last ‘job’ for the fire department

[Halmyre]

magpie215 said:

DrDeAtH said:

williamp said:

Is it a daft question to ask are they colour coded, like on a car wiring loom??

Its pretty much all white cabling, but individually numbered.

This is pretty much how it is in aircraft....this pic is behind all the instruments in the cockpit.

PTFE (or something) coated cable, a bugger to strip properly. But at least it doesn't melt and shrivel up when some cack-handed fool tries to solder it...

[ghost83]

I heard earlier on today that Doncaster council have told peel that either the airfield has to be sold as a going concern or they will compulsory purchase the land value

Apparantly in the planning notes when the government sold it, it says it can only ever be an airfield nothing else so maybe they’re hoping it stays???

Doncaster council are accusing peel of asset stripping as they’re removing runway lighting and selling fire engines apparantly

[aeropilot]

ghost83 said:

I heard earlier on today that Doncaster council have told peel that either the airfield has to be sold as a going concern or they will compulsory purchase the land value

Apparantly in the planning notes when the government sold it, it says it can only ever be an airfield nothing else so maybe they’re hoping it stays???

And where are the council going to get the money for compulsory purchase?
Not going to happen.
Rumour is also that the bid rejected by Peel maybe had Russian money via the Middle East?

I think all council can do is refuse any planning permission for development of the site, and try to see how long Peel will sit on the land, but the longer that goes on the less chance of it ever being a commercial airport again further recedes as the infrastructure crumbles. And I think peel will have better legal team than the council.

The fact is all the operators that were based there have had their operations absorbed by neighboring airports without any hassle or ripples in those airport operations, which really more or less proves the point that there was just too much capacity in the area.

[Scaleybrat]

Peel purchased RAF Finningley for £78M and then invested to create a terminal building and associated infrastructure. This link suggests they’ve spent a total of £110M.
https://www.egi.co.uk/news/peel-buys-raf-finningle...
Add in inflation and I guess the local council are going to have to find £150M to purchase the airport. I’m sure the council tax payers would want their money invested into other areas rather than the purchase and running costs of a regional airport.

[RATATTAK]

Don't forget we're talking about Doncaster and Sheffield airport. The cost could be shared.

Edited by RATATTAK on Wednesday 23 November 22:01

[Scaleybrat]

RATATTAK said:

Don't forget we're talking about Doncaster and Sheffield airport. The cost could be shared.

Edited by RATATTAK on Wednesday 23 November 22:01

I’m not familiar with the complexity of the council boundaries and structures in South Yorkshire but was basing my comments on the post above by ghost83, where he referred only to Doncaster council.

[andburg]

Doncaster / Sheffield airport
In the new city of Doncaster and nowhere near Sheffield really. Part of the Sheffield city region with communal mayor and powers


Nobody knows where the lines are!!!

[MarkwG]

Scaleybrat said:

Peel purchased RAF Finningley for £78M and then invested to create a terminal building and associated infrastructure. This link suggests they’ve spent a total of £110M.
https://www.egi.co.uk/news/peel-buys-raf-finningle...
Add in inflation and I guess the local council are going to have to find £150M to purchase the airport. I’m sure the council tax payers would want their money invested into other areas rather than the purchase and running costs of a regional airport.

I expect the council CPO will be for the land value only, plus perhaps a compensatory element - but nowhere near what Peel have spent, & I would expect the original deal will be couched in those term in anticipation of this outcome. The land value will depend on what planning consent will allow to be built on the site; I imagine the council have a lot of say about that. I anticipate & expect Peel to have a different view. I suspect both will spend the largest on legal fees...

[aeropilot]

MarkwG said:

I expect the council CPO will be for the land value only, plus perhaps a compensatory element - but nowhere near what Peel have spent, & I would expect the original deal will be couched in those term in anticipation of this outcome. The land value will depend on what planning consent will allow to be built on the site; I imagine the council have a lot of say about that. I anticipate & expect Peel to have a different view. I suspect both will spend the largest on legal fees...

Indeed.
If the council are right and the sale by MOD had the clause the site must remain as an airfield, then you would think Peel haven't got many options.

However, there's a big difference between an abandoned airfield, or light use GA airfield and a viable commercial international airport.

I still think Peel's legal team are likely to be a step ahead of the council's one?