Vulcan fans can be forgiven for getting excited at the prospect of seeing XH558 in the air again, as the taster given at Bruntingthorpe for the Cold War Jets Day ceertainly whetted the appetite for some more Vulcan action, and with the appeal reaching £215k, now maybe we should look at a countdown of the target which is now under £135,000 which hopefully can be raised between now and the end of July.
There has been plenty of news surrounding the Vulcan movements recently, and of course the new home at Doncaster Airport, which will hopefully bring in more revenue - and a chance for the public to see the aircraft and experience that famous howl - oh I couldn't resist it, another excuse to throw in the video of "the howl":
This week though, the airshow season really kicks off with RAF Cosford being the first 'biggie' of the year, and weather and serviceability permitting, theVulcan will make an appearance on Sunday afternoon, with the probability of a late afternoon display following arrival from South Yorkshire, before heading off to Kemble in Gloucestershire to stay the week before the Cotswold Airshow takes place.
Before all that though, there is the rare appearance of a late evening display over the Isle of Man, where the Vulcan will be helping to finish off the Isle of Man TT event, and there certainly haven't been many appearances around the 7.30pm/8pm mark which is likely to be the case on Friday night, let's hope there are plenty of youtubers around as they look to catch the display at Douglas - the first time they have displayed in the Isle of Man!
There will then be of course the Cosford show on Sunday, which last time the Vulcan appeared resulted in the gates being closed due to the capacity being reached on the airfield, and roads brought to a halt in the area - the compelling Vulcan effect will I'm sure take place again in the midlands on Sunday, so it will be an early start for most even though the flying display doesn't actually start until the clock passes noon!
In the near future there is of course the visit to the RAF Waddington, who are beginning to line up a half decent show, despite some major pull outs, but it remains a great show with the Thunderbirds the headline act this year, although I'm sure XH558 will give them a run for their money!
The Royal International Air Tattoo is just around the corner too, and despite her not being confirmed as yet, I'm sure she'll be there, and sandwiched in between is a trip to Yeovilton (who can forget that youtube video!!??!!), whilst also pencilled in further down the line are Sunderland (a 2 day-er), Shoreham (another 2 day-er!), Portrush & Cosby both in September.
I'm sure more dates will be added, and something that has been added is The Vulcan Bomber Blog on the Summer Plaque which I'm delighted about as this blog makes its own contribution to the appeal.
That's it for now, but for those in the North West, keep your eyes looking up this Friday evening, and if you're lucky you may just be on the flightpath as the Vulcan travels over from Donny to Douglas!
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Vulcan set to carry on until at least July
There was some great news for Vulcan fans last night, as it was revealed on the Vulcan Facebook page that the Trustees of the Vulcan to the Sky group have met and confirmed that the project is secure until the end of July, meaning that it could be set for many airshow appearances in between now & then!
The news, which will be greeted with joy by Vulcan followers, shoudl get to see their aircraft in the air - weather & serviceability permitting of course - at some of the major airshows up and down the Country, with RAF Cosford in early June being the first major one, with Anbingdon having already been treated to a visit on May 8th of course.
It's also likely to be present at the Royal International Air Tattoo in mid July, and hopefully a trip across to Southport a week later, now wouldn't that be nice for us North Westerners?
The fight to raise money still goes on of course, and the Summer Plaque campaign goes on whilst the group look to raise the £350,000 needed originally by the end of May, but thanks to the £190k already raised the Trustees have voted in favour of keeping her going that little bit longer, so great news, and of course sensible news too with income set to be received for airshow appearances, and hopefully a few thousand donations too at those shows!
It was XH558's birthday yesterday, so what better birthday present can there have been than to extend her flying life - its a present we can all share!
Looking forward to the list of airshow dates being released, with Waddington also confirmed of course for the first weekend of July.
The news, which will be greeted with joy by Vulcan followers, shoudl get to see their aircraft in the air - weather & serviceability permitting of course - at some of the major airshows up and down the Country, with RAF Cosford in early June being the first major one, with Anbingdon having already been treated to a visit on May 8th of course.
It's also likely to be present at the Royal International Air Tattoo in mid July, and hopefully a trip across to Southport a week later, now wouldn't that be nice for us North Westerners?
The fight to raise money still goes on of course, and the Summer Plaque campaign goes on whilst the group look to raise the £350,000 needed originally by the end of May, but thanks to the £190k already raised the Trustees have voted in favour of keeping her going that little bit longer, so great news, and of course sensible news too with income set to be received for airshow appearances, and hopefully a few thousand donations too at those shows!
It was XH558's birthday yesterday, so what better birthday present can there have been than to extend her flying life - its a present we can all share!
Looking forward to the list of airshow dates being released, with Waddington also confirmed of course for the first weekend of July.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
The £100k barrier is broken as donations continue
The latest news on the Vulcan is good, as nearly £110,000 has been raised towards saving the Vulcan Bomber, which needs a total of £350,000 raising by the end of May to ensure that it can fly throughout the 2011 summer airshow season, which itself is starting to look a little lightweight following the lack of RAF fast jets.
As we’ve heard before from many sources, the Vulcan does rely on public money to keep it going, but it is the one item that does stop people in its tracks when it’s around, ever stood and listened to a Vulcan take off – I can assure you there is nothing quite like it.
It’s great news that the £100k barrier has been broken through as it gives that little bit of extra impetus to try and get the next large milestone, which will be £200k by the end of April, there is still 18 days to go til then, and that means an average of £5000 per day needs to be raised, it can be done.
If anyone has any ideas then pop them onto the Vulcan team, as they need as much as possible raising that money.
The Vulcan does of course have a new home, that being Robin Hood Airport at Doncaster, which was previously RAF Finningley, and I wonder if anyone else remembers the airshow in which it took off in what was dreadful weather – I think from memory it was the same year that the SR-71 Blackbird was sitting on the tarmac in pitiful conditions. I don’t know if that ever was going to fly on that day had it been dry, but I remember being so disappointed at not seeing it in the air, and that remains one of my biggest airshow disappointments in my life.
Back to the Vulcan take off though, and I just remember it was as murky as anything but the roar was just incredible, and up it went straight off into the rainclouds, and a darkening sky, and I think it was about the same time as when they called a halt to proceedings at the air show, and that was that.
The best memory for me has to be seeing it at Fairford (I think) were the B52, B1, F-111, and the Vulcan all took off one after the other – although I can’t recall in which order, but I just remember the non stop noise at that point of the show – I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed anything like that since with take offs in mind, although I always enjoy the mass take offs leading up to a mass flypast, they are always good.
Anyway, back to XH558, and the battle for survival – hopefully soon we’ll be hearing of the next milestone being reached, and remember if you have a few quid to donate, you can do so text 80255, call 0845 5046 558, or visit the official site here - http://www.vulcantothesky.org/
Let’s keep her in the air!
As we’ve heard before from many sources, the Vulcan does rely on public money to keep it going, but it is the one item that does stop people in its tracks when it’s around, ever stood and listened to a Vulcan take off – I can assure you there is nothing quite like it.
 |
| Vulcan on the way past £100k |
If anyone has any ideas then pop them onto the Vulcan team, as they need as much as possible raising that money.
The Vulcan does of course have a new home, that being Robin Hood Airport at Doncaster, which was previously RAF Finningley, and I wonder if anyone else remembers the airshow in which it took off in what was dreadful weather – I think from memory it was the same year that the SR-71 Blackbird was sitting on the tarmac in pitiful conditions. I don’t know if that ever was going to fly on that day had it been dry, but I remember being so disappointed at not seeing it in the air, and that remains one of my biggest airshow disappointments in my life.
Back to the Vulcan take off though, and I just remember it was as murky as anything but the roar was just incredible, and up it went straight off into the rainclouds, and a darkening sky, and I think it was about the same time as when they called a halt to proceedings at the air show, and that was that.
The best memory for me has to be seeing it at Fairford (I think) were the B52, B1, F-111, and the Vulcan all took off one after the other – although I can’t recall in which order, but I just remember the non stop noise at that point of the show – I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed anything like that since with take offs in mind, although I always enjoy the mass take offs leading up to a mass flypast, they are always good.
Anyway, back to XH558, and the battle for survival – hopefully soon we’ll be hearing of the next milestone being reached, and remember if you have a few quid to donate, you can do so text 80255, call 0845 5046 558, or visit the official site here - http://www.vulcantothesky.org/
Let’s keep her in the air!
Sunday, 27 March 2011
4 weeks to go to Save the Vulcan
On Friday, there was another update from the Vulcan to the Sky team, as they sent out their weekly newsletter, however, this week, it wasn't a pleasant update - as they have announced that they are once again facing a serious problem with raising funds.
The current campaign sees a target of £350,000 needed by the end of May for the airshow season to be funded, however, they have only seen £37,000 come in, and a figure of £75,000 is needed by the end of March which is when a decision is made on whether the Vulcan will continue ti fly.
There will be some critics out there who say that they are demanding money from the public again, which to a point is true, but the money needs to come from somewhere, otherwise there will be no flying Vulcan this year or next, and that will be a very sad day if the project has to come to an end prematurely.
The fact is that sponsors are hard to find out there simply because they know that there is probably no return for them, whereas for the public the return is seeing the Delta Lady up in the air making the noises we all love to hear.
So, time is running out once again, and as usual there is no promise of a last minute backer coming in so we must all do what we can to keep the Vulcan alive for a little while yet, so get your thinking caps on and see what you can do to help the cause!
The owner of this blog has got an idea which has been put to the Vulcan team, and we'll see if it can 'take off' as it would be a unique idea, which may set a ball rolling, but would need the buy in of many!
The current suggestion from the Vulcan team is for every supporter to set up a standing order for £5.58 a month, equivalent to maybe two pints (depending on where you come from), or even a packet of cigarettes, so if you are able to do anything to help - maybe forego those 2 pints or the pack of fags - remember it won't be forever, but in the short term you'd be helping the project out!
Let's all get behind the efforts to Save the Vulcan!
The current campaign sees a target of £350,000 needed by the end of May for the airshow season to be funded, however, they have only seen £37,000 come in, and a figure of £75,000 is needed by the end of March which is when a decision is made on whether the Vulcan will continue ti fly.
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| Banksy asks you to help Save the Vulcan |
The fact is that sponsors are hard to find out there simply because they know that there is probably no return for them, whereas for the public the return is seeing the Delta Lady up in the air making the noises we all love to hear.
So, time is running out once again, and as usual there is no promise of a last minute backer coming in so we must all do what we can to keep the Vulcan alive for a little while yet, so get your thinking caps on and see what you can do to help the cause!
The owner of this blog has got an idea which has been put to the Vulcan team, and we'll see if it can 'take off' as it would be a unique idea, which may set a ball rolling, but would need the buy in of many!
The current suggestion from the Vulcan team is for every supporter to set up a standing order for £5.58 a month, equivalent to maybe two pints (depending on where you come from), or even a packet of cigarettes, so if you are able to do anything to help - maybe forego those 2 pints or the pack of fags - remember it won't be forever, but in the short term you'd be helping the project out!
Let's all get behind the efforts to Save the Vulcan!
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Waddo confirms Vulcan appearance in July
Well now that the airshow season is getting ever close, the rumours of appearances at various places across the UK now start to slip out, and some get confirmed, as we've seen now with the confirmation on the Waddington Airshow website that XH558 is due to appear there.
Last week we saw that Abingdon will potentially get to see her first as on Sunday 8th May (Victory in Europe Day), she is down to appear in Oxfordshire, and I'm sure there will be thousands flocking there to get a glimpse.
Other confirmed appearances include RAF Cosford on the 12th June, and just before that an appearance at Douglas Bay in the Isle of Man on the 10th June.
The appearances are of course subject to weather and serviceability, and more importantly down to funding, and already an appeal is underway for the fuel of the Vulcan's first flight of the year - and 'packs' of fuel can be purchased for £40 to help the Vulcan get off the ground at the end of this month as she looks to head to her new home which is being kept under wraps at the moment.
There is also the Summer Season Plaque 2011 too, where you can get your name in the Bomb bay doors for the rest of her life, and also shout when the doors open during a mid air display, "I can see my name in there!" as you convince yourself that yes, you can actually see it from the crowd line!
That is available to anyone that sets up a standing order for £5.58 per month, a paltry figure by any stretch to have something that you can boast proudly to friends and family, more details on that can be found here.
It's all good stuff, but remember that the team need to raise £350k by the end of May, already we have a total of £26k raised, and lets not forget that that was pretty much started at the same time as Comic Relief, so hopefully with that now out of the way, having raised a staggering £74m, then efforts can now be stepped up for the Vulcan appeal!
That's it for now...up the Vulcan!
Other confirmed appearances include RAF Cosford on the 12th June, and just before that an appearance at Douglas Bay in the Isle of Man on the 10th June.
The appearances are of course subject to weather and serviceability, and more importantly down to funding, and already an appeal is underway for the fuel of the Vulcan's first flight of the year - and 'packs' of fuel can be purchased for £40 to help the Vulcan get off the ground at the end of this month as she looks to head to her new home which is being kept under wraps at the moment.
There is also the Summer Season Plaque 2011 too, where you can get your name in the Bomb bay doors for the rest of her life, and also shout when the doors open during a mid air display, "I can see my name in there!" as you convince yourself that yes, you can actually see it from the crowd line!
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| Buy a fuel pack today |
It's all good stuff, but remember that the team need to raise £350k by the end of May, already we have a total of £26k raised, and lets not forget that that was pretty much started at the same time as Comic Relief, so hopefully with that now out of the way, having raised a staggering £74m, then efforts can now be stepped up for the Vulcan appeal!
That's it for now...up the Vulcan!
Monday, 7 March 2011
Winter Service complete!
Great news from the Vulcan appeared on Friday, when it was announced that the Winter Service had been completed with great success - and now the next step is getting ready for the airshow season!
There is of course the small matter of £350,000 to raise, and the team are calling on the public to back the latest campaign - of course it's the public that have saved the Vulcan on many occasions previously, but the reward for all those who have donated previously is the sight of the beautiful XH558 rip roaring through the skies at airshow venues around the UK in the summer - there can be no better reward.
The Winter Service was completed with flying colours, which included the testing of the engines last week, and the lucky residents around RAF Lyneham would have heard the dulcet tones screaming through the trees signalling the return of the Delta Lady!
It's time then to look forward, and soon the Vulcan will leave its current base for a new home, rumoured to be RAF Coltishall in Norfolk, although RAF Wittering has also been mentioned, so we await to see where she ends up in the not too distant future - in fact, it's set to be at the end of March, so not long now.
It's also not long now until the Airshow season gets underway, and already RAF Cosford have booked the Vulcan, and will be hopeful of getting the first glimpse of her at a UK airshow this season.
The Summer Season Plaque campaign is now underway, and for a modest £5.58 per month, your name can appear in the Bomb Bay doors, alongside the Winter Service Plaque that was created over the last few months, so this is a new exciting opportunity to get involved if you missed out previously. See here for more details.
The Vulcan has kept herself in the news too with a visit from the Chelsea Pensioners last week, great to see that these veterans get to meet up with another veteran - albeit one that ways around 30 tonnes!!!
So, all eyes will now start to focus on the Participation Lists of various airshows, in the hope that they will be close enough to travel to a major venue near them to see the famous howl of the Vulcan - sadly I'm based in the North West, who unfortunately don't get to see her that often, so hopefully there will be more appearances up North than ever before this year, as we're all desperate to see her, and you lucky folk in the south just don't realise how lucky you actually are!
In the words of Dale Winton (with the exception of a word or two)....Bring on the Vulcan!
The Winter Service was completed with flying colours, which included the testing of the engines last week, and the lucky residents around RAF Lyneham would have heard the dulcet tones screaming through the trees signalling the return of the Delta Lady!
It's time then to look forward, and soon the Vulcan will leave its current base for a new home, rumoured to be RAF Coltishall in Norfolk, although RAF Wittering has also been mentioned, so we await to see where she ends up in the not too distant future - in fact, it's set to be at the end of March, so not long now.
The Summer Season Plaque campaign is now underway, and for a modest £5.58 per month, your name can appear in the Bomb Bay doors, alongside the Winter Service Plaque that was created over the last few months, so this is a new exciting opportunity to get involved if you missed out previously. See here for more details.
The Vulcan has kept herself in the news too with a visit from the Chelsea Pensioners last week, great to see that these veterans get to meet up with another veteran - albeit one that ways around 30 tonnes!!!
So, all eyes will now start to focus on the Participation Lists of various airshows, in the hope that they will be close enough to travel to a major venue near them to see the famous howl of the Vulcan - sadly I'm based in the North West, who unfortunately don't get to see her that often, so hopefully there will be more appearances up North than ever before this year, as we're all desperate to see her, and you lucky folk in the south just don't realise how lucky you actually are!
In the words of Dale Winton (with the exception of a word or two)....Bring on the Vulcan!
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Cosford first date for the Vulcan
Well we were all wondering where we'd see the Vulcan's name first, and on Friday the news broke that the first Airshow to book XH558 is indeed RAF Cosford on June 12th - great news!
Hopefully this will be the first of many bookings in a year where the Vulcan team have promised to take her to more and more venues, hopefully funds will permit that to happen as the more people that see this famous aircraft the better!
Unfortunately last year the Cosford Airshow came too soon for the Delta Lady to be ready for, as she was obviously undergoing the major service following the appeal to raise funds, so hopefully this year all things will go okay and on time, and Shropshire will roar to the sound of the Vulcan.
The latest update from the Vulcan team explains how the CAA are giving the aircraft the once over, and probably twice over too, as the Permit to Fly regulations are checked out, to make sure the team are complying with all the terms and conditions!
Anyway, just a short one this week, to delight in the news that the shows are starting to book the one and only Vulcan Bomber!
Hopefully this will be the first of many bookings in a year where the Vulcan team have promised to take her to more and more venues, hopefully funds will permit that to happen as the more people that see this famous aircraft the better!
Unfortunately last year the Cosford Airshow came too soon for the Delta Lady to be ready for, as she was obviously undergoing the major service following the appeal to raise funds, so hopefully this year all things will go okay and on time, and Shropshire will roar to the sound of the Vulcan.
The latest update from the Vulcan team explains how the CAA are giving the aircraft the once over, and probably twice over too, as the Permit to Fly regulations are checked out, to make sure the team are complying with all the terms and conditions!
Anyway, just a short one this week, to delight in the news that the shows are starting to book the one and only Vulcan Bomber!
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