Time running out in race to save the last flyable Vulcan
The campaign to restore the only remaining flyable Vulcan aircraft is now just £250,000 short of its target - but it has only eight days to go before time runs out on the project.
The landing gear of XH558 Vulcan has been fully restored and the aim of the project is to see her take part in a "Falklands Flypast" over Buckingham Palace in June next year. The Vulcan to the Sky Trust was boosted by a grant of £2.73m from the Heritage Lottery Trust, but with the ultimate target of £5.2m now agonisingly close, time is rapidly ticking away.
Vulcans served in the Falklands conflict in 1982 but were retired from active service two years later. The Vulcan was the leading aircraft in the Royal Air Force's 'V Force' during the Cold War years of the 'sixties and 'seventies. It also served as a display aircraft at countless airshows up and down the United Kingdom.
Anyone who witnessed the Vulcan in real life (such as the writer) will have appreciated the aircraft's enormous aerial presence - in particular its highly distinctive shape, massive size and the awesome vibrations created by its powerful Merlin jet engines.
The cut-off date of August 31st is no empty threat, it appears. The trustees of Vulcan to the Sky have been obliged to issue letters of termination of contract to their workforces at Bruntingthorpe and Wimborne. As time runs out on the project, corporate funds are still being actively sought, through sponsorship and other means.
To visit the Vulcan to the Sky website, click here or call the Trust on 0116 248 8145.
The campaign to restore the only remaining flyable Vulcan aircraft is now just £250,000 short of its target - but it has only eight days to go before time runs out on the project.
The landing gear of XH558 Vulcan has been fully restored and the aim of the project is to see her take part in a "Falklands Flypast" over Buckingham Palace in June next year. The Vulcan to the Sky Trust was boosted by a grant of £2.73m from the Heritage Lottery Trust, but with the ultimate target of £5.2m now agonisingly close, time is rapidly ticking away.
Vulcans served in the Falklands conflict in 1982 but were retired from active service two years later. The Vulcan was the leading aircraft in the Royal Air Force's 'V Force' during the Cold War years of the 'sixties and 'seventies. It also served as a display aircraft at countless airshows up and down the United Kingdom.
Anyone who witnessed the Vulcan in real life (such as the writer) will have appreciated the aircraft's enormous aerial presence - in particular its highly distinctive shape, massive size and the awesome vibrations created by its powerful Merlin jet engines.
The cut-off date of August 31st is no empty threat, it appears. The trustees of Vulcan to the Sky have been obliged to issue letters of termination of contract to their workforces at Bruntingthorpe and Wimborne. As time runs out on the project, corporate funds are still being actively sought, through sponsorship and other means.
To visit the Vulcan to the Sky website, click