Vulcan XH558 - The Current Situation

I have today received a note from 'Vulcan to The Sky' that XH558 needs £200,000 by Christmas to avoid the administrators. Currently, they have secured just 25% of this figure to get her through December. They state that she then needs this amount EVERY MONTH until March to secure her future for the 2010 display season.

It has been a truly fantastic achievement to get this complex, four engined, ex-RAF aircraft airworthy again and I was ecstatic to see her perform a display at the Cosby Victory Show this year (so close to home for me), BUT (and it truly pains me to say this) I really think she is on borrowed time, in fact, she's probably been on borrowed time since that first incredible maiden flight after her restoration.

The truth is, we are in a recession, approaching the Christmas period AND no major sponsorship has been forthcoming since the project began. There has been so much publicity generated, often by hardworking volunteers that I firmly believe if major sponsorship was ever going to happen then it would have happened by now.

Much as I love this aircraft, the project seems to 'eat' money like it grows on trees, even through the overwintering period. I honestly think it is unreasonable to expect the same section of society who love and appreciate this aircraft, given the current state of things, to cough up the funds required month after month to keep this aircraft in the air (where I DO BELIEVE it belongs).

I will treasure the experience of seeing her in the summer and I really, really hope I'm wrong, but it could well have been the last time I see this wonderful aircraft in flight.

Update on Airnav Radar Box!

What can I say, wow! this is an amazing piece of kit that transforms aircraft spotting and airband listening to a whole new level! (big statement, I know, but completely true).

Airnav radar box arrived yesterday and after a few teething problems getting the drivers on the supplied CD to install correctly ( I still hate windows Vista!!) I was up and running in no time. Within seconds of connecting to my 'radar box' the lights were flashing on the front and data started to stream in, now admittedly when your using the supplied antenna indoors you cannot expect to receive aircraft from any great range. I don't want to get technical here, but the transmissions are on 1090Mhz which means it's SERIOUSLY line of sight reception, even more so than the VHF/UHF airband.

I was getting a modest 40-50 nm radius reception in most directions (just like airband though, it all depends on antenna location AND aircraft height).

I have not got the time today to go into great detail about the amazing features, but you get a 'picture' of air traffic in your area in real-time complete with a datatag very similar to what the air traffic controller would have on his radar screen giving such details as flight number, destination and departure points, ground speed, registration, altitude and whether that aircraft is climbing or descending etc. and if your connected to the net, the software will download a picture of the very aircraft your looking at which is automatically downloaded from airliners.net!

Needless to say, I'm impressed but I will post again when I have more time to discuss this amazing bit of kit further!

All the best for now, Mark.

Airnav Radar Box

After some 30 years of airband listening, I've finally taken the next step and splashed out on an Airnav Radar Box. If this bit of kit does everything it says on the tin, I'll be very impressed. The idea of being able to 'see' in real-time commercial aircraft flying through my area on a 'radar screen' providing me with all the same information an air traffic controller is seeing is an exciting prospect!

Also this particular product has the ability to 'see' traffic just about everywhere in the world by being able to connect to the Airnav network via the internet allowing you to receive the information from other Airnav Radar Box users globally! (albeit with a 5 minute delay in the interests of security and international laws).

Having looked at it's competitor, the Kinetic SBS-1 (now available as the 'er' version with built-in airband radio and more expensive) I believe the Airnav Radar Box looks a better product with it's networking ability and highly customisable interface but I'd be glad to hear from SBS-1 users who believe their product to be the better one!

Delivery is expected today so I will post again with my findings once I've had time to play with it.

Victory Show at Cosby

In the end, I didn't manage to attend any air shows this year except the victory show held at Cosby in Leicestershire. This was literally a 10 minute drive from me and when I saw that there was going to be a display by the Battle of Britain flight along with a couple of P51 mustangs, Boeing B17 'Sally B' AND not least a 'bombing run' by the Vulcan XH558, I couldn't resist.

I was not disappointed, a great day all in all and we enjoyed a flypast (not a display) by the Red Arrows but the Vulcan did a full display rather than just a single 'bombing run' as the advertising suggested (incidentally the associated pyrotechnics for the bombs going off were excellent as they were for the ground battle re-enactment).

I was surprised to find they had actually created a grass strip running north/south for visiting aircraft and there were a few light aircraft that arrived including wartime 'spotter' type planes and most noticeably a Hawker Hurricane - all of which you could get very close to on the parking line.

Altogether a thoroughly enjoyable day and one I will look forward to next year.

Btw - they were using one of the standard air show frequency allocations for the weekend of 130.625Mhz. Some pilots were having problems communicating with the air/ground operator as I believe he was only using a hand-held Icom transceiver.

RAF Waddington - What did you think?

Just interested to hear from any of our readers that attended Waddington air show this year. I must admit I didn't even consider going as the display lineup, (with the exception of Vulcan XH558) didn't look very enticing to me at all.

Last year I did attend, and I thought the RAF role demo was a fantastic routine, but this years event looked much the same as last years but without the role demo and to be honest, I've seen all the RAF stuff before.

I guess I was just spoilt during the 1980's/1990's as airshows seemed to have lots of interesting fast and noisy jet participation from nations far and wide.

Anyway if you would like to make a comment, please do so by hitting the 'comments' link.

RAF Waddington Sentinal R1

Has anybody else noticed a sentinal R1 flying a large rectangular pattern over different parts of the UK often for many hours at high altitude? I have noticed one (and heard it on the scanner) on a number of occasions over the central UK over the last month or two.

The callsign is always 'snapshot' followed by a number eg. 'snapshot 1' - appropriate I suppose for an airborne surveillance aircraft! Anyway, please get in touch if you have any further information to add about these flights. Thanks, Mark.

Vulcan XH558 - The End?

It is now critical that XH558 receives further donations or pledges to donate, in order to secure her flying career into 2009. After having seen her in the air again for the first time since her restoration at the Waddington show last summer it would be a great shame for her to be grounded after all the work that's gone into getting her airworthy again.

I appreciate the economic situation is very difficult at the moment but some things are worth saving aren't they?

If you think you can help in any way please visit www.vulcantothesky.org for further information.

Now, I appreciate I have not paid much attention to the site for a while, but if anyone has anything interesting to report then please click on the 'comments' link just below this message, it would be nice to hear from you.

Mark.

Airband News

An Apache attack helicopter (possibly more than one) has been operating over Leicester for quite some time today. If anyone has some information on what they are doing I would be interested to know! Thanks, Mark.

A Plea For Vulcan XH558

It's been a remarkable achievement to return such a large, complex 4 engine ex-RAF aircraft to the air, and this has been the culmination of years of effort and in some cases, thousands of volunteer hours by air and ground crews and incredible goodwill on the part of some individuals and companies.
She had some final flight tests last week at RAF Coningsby and I believe still needs to get her display routine passed by a CAA examiner before being allowed to fly at airshows.

I for one cannot wait to see (and feel!) the incredible power of this great delta taking to the skies.

It's looking like Waddington air show might be XH558's first confirmed appearance this season but following the AGM of the Vulcan Operating committee/Vulcan To The Sky Trust it was confirmed that at this time, there are sufficient funds for 2 months general maintenance and enough fuel for 4 more flights!

Without some major sponsership coming forward very soon, her return to the skies may be very short-lived.

In any case, I would like to ask all my readers to consider contributing what you can. Anything is appreciated and vital to keeping her airborne at this time. I believe, once she has had the opportunity to display her grace and power at a public airshow and it is seen how she alone can 'pull in the crowds' that major sponsorship might be more forthcoming.

It is possible to make an e-donation on the website or, if you have not done so already, consider joining the Vulcan To The Sky Club and receive all the latest news and info on XH558 as I have already done.

Thanks in advance to all my readers, you can visit the Vulcan Operating Committee website
HERE

My Apologies & Some Vulcan Gossip!

Firstly, I must apologise for not posting much recently, I seem to go through periods where I am just too busy to sit down and post but I am committed to trying to rectify this and I would like your help!
Please do contribute your comments if you have anything you would like to inform fellow enthusiasts about.

I have had a few days off work and have had the chance to 'listen in' much more on my Uniden UBC3500XLT. While working on my pc yesterday I was listening to 'central sector' (252.875Mhz) for much of the day and heard (and saw) about 8 overflights either westbound or eastbound to the south of Leicester of USAF C17 overflights. Interestingly, one of them called Lakenheath weathar info service (284.425Mhz) for the Spangdahlem weather report. So it would seem perhaps most of these overflights I can see from my location in Leicester are probably operating between the US and Germany.

And now to the Vulcan XH558 based here in Leicestershire at Bruntingthorpe:

Yesterday, Tuesday 6th May, I believe I heard Vulcan XH558 leave Bruntingthorpe around 1500hrs and call Cottesmore radar (UHF) using the callsign 'marshall 1' - she was en route to Cambridge (the home of marshall aerospace) - that's the first time I have picked her up on the scanner since her restoration but I'm still waiting for my first sighting of her in the air!

Perhaps you would like to share your experience of seeing (or hearing!) her again by posting here.
Thanks all, Mark.