Phil Perry1 Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Air Tattoo - RAF Fairford The last airworthy Avro Vulcan. Moves afoot to keep it flying with new public funding. I hope it succeeds. The incredible story of XH558 will not be forgotten. It is one where people’s passion overcame great odds. As such, the big graceful Vulcan will be sorely missed from the skies over the UK. Then again, the aircraft has come back from the brink to fly again multiple times. Maybe, just mayb,e XH558 will soar again.
Gnarly Gnu Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 The last airworthy Avro Vulcan. Moves afoot to keep it flying with new public funding. British folk desperately cling to memories of a time when the country was great, successful, built things, had sensible laws and a backbone. Before the PC lefty Moslem illegal immigrant invasion. BTW probably illegal for you to reply to this comment Phil.
johnm Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 can you get a rating on it Phil ................. what's the hourly charge out rate ?
DGL Fox Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 Hi Phil, I wish I was still there to see that...we will be back in the UK Monday.. :) David
flyvulcan Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 I don't care what anyone says, it is a real privilege to see that aircraft fly and I for one would like to see it keep flying. In 1988, I was based at RAF Scampton which was also the home to the Red Arrows, Vulcan XH558 and the Bulldog display pilot. The weekday practices were a sight to behold but the Vulcan was the most impressive by far. No matter where you were on base, whether indoors or outdoors, you would know when the Vulcan was taking off. You would hear a roar, the earth and buildings would shake and 20 seconds later, the Vulcan would appear in the sky at about 30 degrees nose up. It's display at that time was extremely impressive! I also had the unfortunate privilege (?) of potentially bringing it down one day... The aero modelling group on base normally flew their aircraft on the airfield after hours. We would gain approval from ATC first who would designate us an area on the field to fly from. If any aircraft were due in or out, ATC would drive out and let us know to ground our aircraft until after we got the ok to carry on. One particular weekend, I obtained the appropriate approval and was flying my model around 500' practising some aeros. I heard the familiar sound of the Vulcan arriving. I turned around to find it about half a mile away, coming right at me at probably 300knots and about 200'agl, about to beat up the airfield. Needless to say, I dove my model for the deck and a few seconds later, the Vulcan flew right over the top of me. The duty ATC lady arrived about 10 minutes later and sheepishly apologised for not warning me about the arrival. She had momentarily forgotten about me... We prudently agreed not to tell anyone about the incident... Ah, the good old days... Anyway, along with the Red Arrows, the Vulcan is a terrific advertisement for the RAF and the general public are justifiably proud of their industries achievement to develop this iconic aircraft. I know it costs a bucket to maintain and operate but it is a huge motivator for young and old alike.
Phil Perry1 Posted July 23, 2015 Author Posted July 23, 2015 British folk desperately cling to memories of a time when the country was great, successful, built things, had sensible laws and a backbone. Before the PC lefty Moslem illegal immigrant invasion. BTW probably illegal for you to reply to this comment Phil. Correct GG,. . . new legislation introduced by that nice Mr. Camoron,. . . can comment on anything at all, providing it's NTDWI. ( SSHHHH ! The thought police are out there !)
Phil Perry1 Posted July 23, 2015 Author Posted July 23, 2015 can you get a rating on it Phil ................. what's the hourly charge out rate ? I think the old stock answer to that John, is "If you have ask. . .. yer can't afford it ! ! ! " ( I'll bet FlyVulcan has an idea . . .)
Phil Perry1 Posted July 23, 2015 Author Posted July 23, 2015 I don't care what anyone says, it is a real privilege to see that aircraft fly and I for one would like to see it keep flying. Nice story Sir. I landed at Scampton on the way to a flyout in my Flexwing some years ago, with my Daughter Leanne in the back seat. It was a hot summer day and very thermic. She said those words which every pilot dreads, " I think I'm going to be sick. . ." I had got a clearance to overfly Scampton whilst the Arrows were based somewhere else, from the controllers at nearby Waddington, the military zones are right next to each other as you'll probably remember. I had just landed my tiny trike on their enormous, billiard table smooth tarmac, and I asked the controller if I could pull up short due to the passenger sickness problem. They were very kind and said I could just stop on the runway. Just as I ground to a halt, poor Lea barfed up all over the back of my flying suit and helmet ! I have a photo of her trying to clean the aircraft up with a rag and a can of coke. Ah,. . .memories. Daughter was only nine years old then, and is thirty next month, so it was a while back !
Phil Perry1 Posted July 23, 2015 Author Posted July 23, 2015 Hi Phil,I wish I was still there to see that...we will be back in the UK Monday.. :)David Yes,. . .So did I,. . .I had a ticket too,. . .then something came up and I had to flog it to someone else. . . drat !. Wonder how long you're staying in the UK David, you may have told me at Otherton but being fairly old. . . I forget things !
DGL Fox Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 Hi Phil, 1 day 2 nights mate...then we are off home...We land at Heathrow at 6.00pm Monday, I have a hire car so we will probably go for a short run somewhere close, I would like to drive to the ocean maybe....not sure where we will go for the day Phil? David
Phil Perry1 Posted July 23, 2015 Author Posted July 23, 2015 Hi Phil,1 day 2 nights mate...then we are off home...We land at Heathrow at 6.00pm Monday, I have a hire car so we will probably go for a short run somewhere close, I would like to drive to the ocean maybe....not sure where we will go for the day Phil? David Hmmm,. . .Okay David,. . .from Swindon. . . no Oceans around,. . all we've got to offer is the Bristol Channel, and the English Channel . . .! But it's not that far to go and have a look at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire,. . . . Around a forty minute drive I would have thought,. . . Ever since I went there, I had a religious experience, it was wonderful,. . . I'm now a fully fledged Jedi. ( Shame about the Euro rules re low wattage light sabres though ) There are plenty of small airfields around, you might even be able to blag a quick flight ! ! depending upon how Mrs. Fox feels about it ! The Shuttleworth Trust air museum at Old Warden airfield, is probably a good hour and a quarter drive, but certainly worth a visit if you have time, some really brilliant flying specimens there, check opening hours on the web though, not sure about weekdays there. Check the LAA and BMAA websites, for info about local airfields, should the missus be in agreement about that ( ! ) Hope you enjoyed your trip to Russia, Dassveedanya. ( whatever the heck that means ) Phil
DGL Fox Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 Thanks Phil for the info...I don't know about a religious experience Phil but I know I had a "Oh what a rip off" experience the last time we went there and I saw the tickets prices to see a bunch of old rocks....we stood outside the fence and took our photos of the rocks.. David
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