PistonHeads and Vulcan XH558

Over £3000 raised at our very special Sunday Service at Hangar 3, Robin Hood Airport

By Garlick / Sunday, 12 May 2013 / Loading comments

Yesterday saw 140 PHers and 70 PHers' cars pointing towards Robin Hood airport in Doncaster to get up close and personal with XH558, the only flying Vulcan bomber in existence. PH arrived a couple of hours earlier than our guests and, thanks to the amazing efforts of the Vulcan team, managed to get ‘our’ Jaguar F-Type V6S alongside the Vulcan to capture the two British icons together. The Jaguar was amazing, but how can it compete with a legend towering over it in the background?

An hour or two later the PHers arrived and for once the cars weren’t the stars. That didn’t stop a fantastic array of cars assembling outside of Hangar 3 with everything from a BMW 2002 to a TVR Cerbera, which we heard approaching a long time before we saw it, but what made this meet special was a shared love for the Vulcan, and as soon as the hangar was opened the cars were left alone.

Some guests had personal or family connections to the aircraft; some had fond memories of seeing them fly at airshows and others were fans getting their first glimpse, but as we all sat transfixed by not only the sheer size of XH558 but also from the passionate enthusiasm shown by the team and crew, it was fair to say that a silence descended on the room and we all came away feeling very humbled indeed.

We raised more than £3,000 on the day thanks to a combination of ticket sales, merchandise, donations and refreshments. To put that into perspective, that’s enough to pay for the fuel for the second check flight (the first one is already funded by supporters) taking place over the next few weeks as they prepare for the airshow season. It is a hugely important contribution towards keeping her in the sky and with the project relying soley on public generosity every £1 is received with immense gratitude.

PistonHeads will return to Hangar 3 for another meet in the future, but in the meantime we would like to thank all of you who were there and donated to help keep the plane in the air. We would also like to extend our thanks to Richard and Toni for making the day possible and to Taff and Andrew for answering all of our questions throughout the day along with their host of amazing volunteers.

A great day for a great cause. We look forward to seeing Vulcan in the skies later this year.