Avro Vulcan XH558 - the last flying Vulcan

This three part DVD series covers the restoration of Vulcan XH558, giving an in-depth look into what it takes to restore a complex airframe.

Part 1 is available from Amazon UK and the Vulcan to the Sky shop, while 2 and 3 are only available from Vulcan to the Sky. All are in European (PAL) format. However, proceeds from the sales will benefit the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, who published them.

Vulcan to the Sky
Online Shop

Vulcan Restoraton DVDs

Part 1
Testing the airframe

Part 2
Repair and rollout!

Part 3
Certification for flight

Vulcan To The Sky Part 1
[2006]

Part One of the Restoration covers the examination and testing of the airframe, a tour of the hanger, and the certifications the engineers have to undertake to work on the Vulcan.

If you prefer the DVD is also available from Vulcan to the Sky here

Parts 2 and 3 are only available from the Vulcan to the Sky shop directly.

Part 2
This DVD covers the repair work, including removing corrosion and strengthening spars, needed to return XH558 to flight. It also covers the dramatic shortfall in funds that preceeded Rollout, and the national campaign that raised £1.2M to cover it.
The DVD description

Part 3
The aircraft now needs to be refitted and tested in order to certify for flight. It also covers Baroness Thatcher and the Black Buck crews meeting at the hanger to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands. After taxi tests, the DVD concludes with her historic first flight.
The DVD description

A number of XH558's supporters (including Gordon Ramsey, Bruce Dickinson, Rick Stein, and Pete Waterman) clubbed together to produce this recipe book, where all proceeds go to keeping xh558 flying.

Available from the "Vulcan to the Sky" shop, it has over 250 recipes and exclusive pictures of the aircraft.

If you prefer eBay, the book is available from the charity at:
Vulcan to the Pie

Vulcan to the Pie!

The club planned a series of events during the period.

On the 17th February 2008 XH558 performed its last "Turn and Burn" event. See here for a full review from airshows.co.uk: Review of XH558 Turn and Burn.

The club has a number of events planned in the next month to raise funds and gather members:

Saturday 7th March - Vulcan to the Pie Night - Cold Ashby
Tuesday 10th March - A very British Project - Talk by Dr. Pleming - Shearsby
Thursday 12th March - Engineering Talk - (Andrew and Taff) - HB Gliding Centre
Sunday 15th March - Informal Forum Meet - Tangmere Aviation Museum
Sunday 15th March - 1st Round '558 Karting Championship - March Hare
Saturday 28th March - Stand at "Salute 2009" Gaming Fair - London Excel

On 22nd February a sponsored "Vulcan Scramble" took place.

To raise funds for XH558, two club members and the chief engineer visited all the surviving Vulcan airframes in the UK in one day. The Scramble was completed successfully, covered 880 miles and raised an estimated £56,000 towards the Vulcan! More importantly it was covered by the BBC and other news media, helping to promote the cause.

For more details please see "Vulcan Scramble" on tvoc's website.

The club were in Leicester Square on 4th March all day, gathering pledges. The event was a success, with a great deal of media coverage gathered including the BBC, Daily Mail and others. One other success was the ten foot scale model of the Vulcan (which apparently flies, though it did not during the event).

Stands at marketplaces, business cards, merchandise sales and more were all used to promote the plane. To quote Dr Robert Plemming,

My progress monitor from the pledge campaign gives you an idea of the support this plane enjoys.
Confirmed: Avro Vulcan is flying in 2009

5th Mar   Pledged: £938,474  Petition: 16,737
4th Mar   Pledged: £724,367  Petition: 16,407
2nd Mar   Pledged: £545,837  Petition: 16,013
28th Feb   Pledged: £477,925  Petition: 15,851
26th Feb   Pledged: £427,640  Petition: 15,676
23rd Feb   Pledged: £407,648  Petition: 15,299
22nd Feb   Pledged: £333,916   Petition: 15,125
20th Feb   Pledged: £323,285   Petition: 14,982
18th Feb    Pledged: £314,000   Petition:
8th  Jan     Pledged:                  Petition: 13,847
20th Dec    Pledged:                  Petition: 12,507
12th Dec    Pledged:                  Petition: 12,267

The petition and pledge campaign are now closed, the Petition with over 19,000 signatures. Pledges (over £1M was pledged) are being redeemed to ensure her future, and 5,000 of the 10,000 total pledges have already been received.

After help from ITN, the BBC, the Telegraph, petitions to the Government, and the fundraising efforts including a cookbook featuring Gordon Ramsey, and the Vulcan Scramble on 22nd February, have raised enough to guarantee she will fly in 2009!

The following Press Release was issued on 6th March by Vulcan to the Sky, confirming that she will be flying in the 2009 air display season.
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Thousands of pledges provide a future for the Vulcan

One month ago, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) had to announce that the prospects of seeing Vulcan XH558, the world's only flying Vulcan, ever flying again were looking very poor as the result of the lack of cash, and that notices had had to be given to its employees that their jobs would end on Friday 6th March

With the launch of a Pledge Campaign to raise £1million, VTST based its future on the public's affection for the Vulcan and their desire to see it fly.

As the deadline of the end of today approaches, the Pledge Campaign has this morning (11.00am) passed £956,835, pledged by over 9,821 supporters, and so has excellent prospects of passing its goal of £1million imminently.

This is the third time in seven years that the future of the Vulcan in flight has been saved by the support of thousands of members of the public, making XH558 "The People's Aircraft". Never has one historic aircraft owed so much to so many!

Sponsors provide breathing space

On their own, pledges can't solve the Trust's immediate cash problem, because they each need now to be converted into cash donations. The Trust is therefore very grateful to its sponsors, Aerobytes Ltd and Judd Power, who have today committed sufficient cash to keep the Trust going for another month, allowing time for the pledges to be redeemed.

As the result, VTST is delighted to announce that it is able to continue its activities on a more secure financial footing, and that the prospects of seeing the Vulcan fly in 2009 are now good.

Supporters led the way forward

For the past month, supporters of the Vulcan have been tireless in their fundraising activities, ranging from the cross-country Vulcan Scramble, to "Pledgathon" events across the UK. VTST is enormously grateful to all the members of the Vulcan to the Sky Club for their help.

Inspiring the Young

There are well over 10 million young people who have never seen the Vulcan in flight. Following the success of the Pledge Campaign, these youngsters now have an opportunity to experience this inspirational "once seen, never forgotten" sight.

Because we cannot assume that all the pledges will be honoured, we are asking the the public to continue to pledge financial support, either through our website www.vulcantothesky.org or by phone to our office on 0116 247 8145. We have demonstrated that even the smallest pledge helps, because it is people in their thousands who make the difference.

Robert Pleming
6th March 2009