VULCAN XH558 TO HOWL FOR THE VERY LAST TIME
Once a star of the British Airshows the Avro Vulcan XH558 which was kept in a running/taxiable condition at the Doncaster Sheffield Airport will perform the very last engine test before being put to sleep forever.
Avro Vulcan XH558 (military serial XH558, civil aircraft registration G-VLCN) Spirit of Great Britain was the last remaining airworthy example of the 134 Avro Vulcan jet-powered delta-winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War. It was the last Vulcan in military service, and the last to fly at all after 1986. It last flew on 28 October 2015.
Vulcan XH558 showing it’s bomb bay during it’s display
Vulcan XH558 first flew in 1960, and was one of the few examples converted for a maritime reconnaissance role in 1973, and then again as an air-to-air refuelling tanker in 1982. After withdrawal in 1984 it continued with the RAF's Vulcan Display Flight, performing until 1992. In 1993 it was sold to C Walton Ltd who used it for ground-based displays at their Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire, until 1999. Through a combination of public donations and lottery funding, it was restored to airworthy condition by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust, who returned it to flight on 18 October 2007. The donations required to reach that point totalled £6.5m.
It recommenced its display career in 2008, funded by continuing donations to assist the £2m a year running costs. In the summers from 2008 to 2010 it was based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, moving its winter base to RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire at the end of 2009. From 2011 it moved to a new year-round base at the commercial Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The prospect of grounding and sale due to lack of funds was regularly averted, and XH558 flew long enough for fundamental engineering life-expectancy issues to become the main threat to continued operation. After being overcome once to gain an extra two years flight, on 15 May 2015 it was confirmed that 2015 would be XH558's last flying season, due to the third-party companies responsible for maintaining it withdrawing their support. Since its last flight, XH558 was kept in taxiable condition, in common with two of the other surviving Vulcans, XL426 and XM655.
Vulcan on the ground during the RAF Waddington Airshow 2013
The Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST), the charity behind the restoration and return to flight of XH558, have been renting space on the airfield from DSA for the aircraft following an unsuccessful fundraising campaign to build a new permanent home for the Vulcan.
In August of this year, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust said it had since been told it must vacate its site at the airport by June 2023.
“Our current agreement for parking our aircraft at DSA, together with access for our staff, volunteers, and visitors, runs until June 2023 and prior to the news about the future of DSA we had been told that the agreement would not be renewed and therefore would have to leave the site at that time.
“This is a blow to the Trust and will be very sad news for our supporters, but for some months we have been exploring options for XH558 to leave Doncaster.”
As the one-time ferry flight to the new location was ruled out the XH558 will have to be dismantled for road transport and the chances of putting it back together into running condition again are very slim this will more than likely be the XH558’s last ever howl.
A Vulcan to the sky trust announced that;
“ Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) recently announced it is to close and passenger flights have now ceased. Talks are ongoing between Peel Group, the airport owners, and with local council leaders and potential buyers.
While the current situation with DSA is uncertain, we have been told that Vulcan XH558 can remain on site until June 2023. Our pre-booked events for the remainder of this year will continue to take place and we plan to hold further events in early 2023, including a final engine ground-run, before we relocate XH558.”
