Well it's been a while since I posted on here, due to my involvement with setting up Chester FC, but here we go again, and what a week to come back to it all!
Most Vulcan fans are anticipating a decision from Vulcan HQ as to whether or not XH558 will be appearing at RAF Waddington's Airshow which takes place this weekend in Lincolnshire.
The on / off situation has of course been dictated by the original appeal for £800,000 which looked to be failing until a one-off donation came in for almost £500,000 which secured the project's future, and everything looked to be back on track again.
The fact of the matter of course was that plenty of work was needed to be carried out, and just like the scenario with a car service, in that you wouldn't put it through a service if you couldn't pay for it, it meant that the timeline had been pushed further out and the first half of the 2010 airshow season would be missed, with the target for return being at Waddington on July 3rd.
This week is a key week, as a test flight needs to be completed in time for the Vulcan to stand any chance of making Waddo on Saturday / Sunday. In fact the airshow organisers have done the right thing and never confirmed 558's appearance, that way they can't let anyone down like last year's scenario where the flying permit could not be obtained in time despite arriving at Waddington just two days before the airshow.
So, hopefully we'll see a return to the sky today or tomorrow at RAF Lyneham, where she is currently based, and then hopefully an appearance at the air display on Saturday.
Further airshows will be targeted at Yeovilton, and of course the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford on July 17th - hopefully by then we'll have the first Vulcan display under the belt, and we can all enjoy the sight and sound of the famous Avro aircraft.
Here's to a successful week!
