Vulcan BMk2 XH558

[St Landrew]

From another forum. Thought some of you may be interested.

 

 

XH558's Birthday Appeal

 

"Hi guys

 

As you may or may not know, XH558 is the last airworthy Vulcan B mk2, restored over 10 years at a cost of £7million, and has wowed audiences at airshows and other public events for 2 years now.

 

She's currently at RAF Lyneham where she requires some "minor" servicing, including the replacement of parts at the end of their calendar life.

 

In order to complete the necessary work, and fly 558 in her 60th birthday year, we need to raise funds of £400,000 by Christmas and a further £400,00 by March.

 

It was hoped that a major sponsor would be found, but the economic climate has made that seem unlikely, and we have now turned our focus to the general public who have seen her fly this year and want to keep her in the air.

 

If you can spare even £1, it would be gratefully received.

 

You can e-donate, set up a standing order, or become a club member at Vulcan 50th Birthday Appeal | Homepage

 

Thanks for reading!"

[RedAndWhite91]

Absolutely terrific plane. I think a bloke who did something important in it's renovation lives just near me, and so a couple of times the Vulcan has flown right up my street and over my house. I was at work the other week and it flew over, amazing sound, and the whole shop shook, someone even thought it was an earthquake!

[.comsaint]

One of my 2 favourite airplanes ever when I was a young lad lucky enough to go to air displays each year - the other being the F4 Phantom. I guess it's because the Vulcan always looked so HUGE and noisy when I was a little lad stood there with my dad, while the Phanton you always saw seconds before you heard it, it was so fast!

 

I loved noisy jets so much infact that they helped inspire me into my first ever job upon leaving school which was onboard an aircraft carrier for 3 years!

 

Saying all that; many years later & I now deal in military antiques & memorabilia - medals, field gear, Third Reich items, uniforms, even weapons until they became a dirty word. I have a particular interest in all-things WWII - and the one sound I still love & adore hearing and which I never ever get tired of hearing is THE sound of a Spitfire's Merlin engine as it roars overhead! Always floats my boat that - there's nothing quite like it. But yeah - the Vulcan is a close second - so good luck with keeping it in the air & flying.

[St Landrew]

One of my 2 favourite airplanes ever when I was a young lad lucky enough to go to air displays each year - the other being the F4 Phantom. I guess it's because the Vulcan always looked so HUGE and noisy when I was a little lad stood there with my dad, while the Phanton you always saw seconds before you heard it, it was so fast!

 

I loved noisy jets so much infact that they helped inspire me into my first ever job upon leaving school which was onboard an aircraft carrier for 3 years!

 

Saying all that; many years later & I now deal in military antiques & memorabilia - medals, field gear, Third Reich items, uniforms, even weapons until they became a dirty word. I have a particular interest in all-things WWII - and the one sound I still love & adore hearing and which I never ever get tired of hearing is THE sound of a Spitfire's Merlin engine as it roars overhead! Always floats my boat that - there's nothing quite like it. But yeah - the Vulcan is a close second - so good luck with keeping it in the air & flying.

 

For shame, .comsaint. Surely the other has to be the Lightning. The English Electric one, of course.

 

Certain aircraft have distinctive sounds, and back in 1992, when I was living in NZ, my wife and me were on a trip around Fjordland, like you do, and we found ourselves in a bric o' brac shop. I assure you, antiques in NZ aren't that old..!

 

Anyway, at a certain point I was talking to the shop owner, when there was this distinctive sound. I broke off in mid sentence and ran through the shop into the open road. NZ roads are always empty, especially in the very south, and I looked up to find a beautiful Merlin engined Spitfire, in full invasion stripe dress, zooming overhead.

 

My wife asked how I'd managed to pick that engine note out. But there's no mistaking it. Be it in a Mosquito, Lancaster, Hurricane, Spitfire, or others, a Merlin engine sound is a Merlin engine sound. But most vividly in a Spitfire.

[.comsaint]

For shame, .comsaint. Surely the other has to be the Lightning. The English Electric one, of course.

 

Certain aircraft have distinctive sounds, and back in 1992, when I was living in NZ, my wife and me were on a trip around Fjordland, like you do, and we found ourselves in a bric o' brac shop. I assure you, antiques in NZ aren't that old..!

 

Anyway, at a certain point I was talking to the shop owner, when there was this distinctive sound. I broke off in mid sentence and ran through the shop into the open road. NZ roads are always empty, especially in the very south, and I looked up to find a beautiful Merlin engined Spitfire, in full invasion stripe dress, zooming overhead.

 

My wife asked how I'd managed to pick that engine note out. But there's no mistaking it. Be it in a Mosquito, Lancaster, Hurricane, Spitfire, or others, a Merlin engine sound is a Merlin engine sound. But most vividly in a Spitfire.

 

Funnily enough my good friend - early last year I picked up an old box of books in a local auction for the measely sum of £10 - I kid you not. In the box were about 15 books - mostly old aero-engineering books from the 1940s and 50s. However - the reason I waited until the end of the evening for the lot to come up was that in the box was an original genuine hardback Rolls Royce installation, maintaining & servicing manual for the Merlin engine - dated 1941. Couldn't believe my luck! TEN POUNDS!!! The wonderful thing was it was in very good condition for its age - even though it had the odd oily fingerprint here & there throughout. That just made it even more 'nostalgic' to me - knowing that RAF ground crew had in all likelihood used it time & time again during the dark days of WWII itself. I had a good read (not that I profess to knowing anything about aero-engines!) before selling it on a couple of months later for the majestic sum of £233. * Take note that if you ever have the good fortune to come across such a fine publication - don't let it go for anything less than £200!

 

As an extra delight; in the box also was an even earlier 1930s servicing manual for the Napier Rapier aero-engine - as seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Rapier

 

That sold for £57 - so all in all - a good find indeed & much better than working for a living!

 

I have bought & sold a large number of items & artifacts over the years from the Mosquito, Lancaster, Halifax, Beaufighter, Blenheim - all the famous British WWII bombers infact. If I had to say what THE most interesting item I ever owned from the above was...I'd be hard-pushed to be honest as there have been many - from exhaust pipes off a 'Mossie' to an RAF Navigator's wooden plotting board from the Lancaster; WWII RAF pilot's leather flying helmet & goggles to numerous bomber cokpit dials & compasses; the Air Crew Europe Star medal (by far the most valuable WWII Star medal - they fetch around £180-£200) to an inflatable WWII RAF dinghy (complete with yellow canvas 'kite' in a canister for sending SOS signals AND with food ration survival pack - the type which the lads threw from a shot-up burning bomber into the sea when she wasn't going to make it back across the English Channel) - and many many more. "Boys toys" my missus calls them. Wonderful nostalgic fascinating artifacts is what I call them!

[St Landrew]

Can I just say, on the initial read of your post .comsaint... WOW..!

 

I'd have paid a tenner too.

 

And for the Napier engine service manual too. For me, it's not for the value, as I'm sure it wasn't for you, but for the history and the, no doubt, excellent technical drawings of the engine and parts. Something you don't see in any manual today.