Vulcan 607

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Falklands: FCO to MOD (sale of Vulcans to Argentina – no clearance given for sales – declassified 2012)" Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Retrieved: 4 August 2013.

The last airworthy Vulcan (XH558) was restored to flying condition by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust. The first post-restoration flight, which lasted 34 minutes, took place on 18 October 2007. [1] [2] After performing displays every season from 2008 until 2015 inclusive, XH558 last flew on 28 October 2015. [3] This was due to the withdrawal of support from the "technical authorities" without whom the aircraft is prohibited from flying, under Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations. The aircraft structure and systems are 10% beyond the flying hours of any other Vulcan, meaning identifying signs of fatigue and stress failure were becoming more difficult. [4] The original Vulcan B.1 radio fit was: two 10-channel VHF transmitter/receivers (TR-1985/TR-1986) and a 24-channel HF transmitter-receiver (STR-18). [91] The Vulcan B.1A also featured a UHF transmitter-receiver (ARC-52). [40] The initial B.2 radio fit was similar to the B.1A [92] though it was ultimately fitted with the ARC-52, a V/UHF transmitter/receiver (PTR-175), and a single-sideband modulation HF transmitter-receiver ( Collins 618T). [93] Arnold, Lorna. Britain and the H-Bomb. Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. ISBN 0-333-94742-8. Despite being designed before a low radar cross-section and other stealth factors were ever a consideration, [80] an RAE technical note of 1957 stated that of all the aircraft so far studied, the Vulcan appeared by far the simplest radar-echoing object, due to its shape; only one or two components contributed significantly to the echo at any aspect, compared with three or more on most other types. [81] [N 3] Colour schemes [ edit ] Aerial view of a Vulcan B.2 in late RAF markings on static display at RAF Mildenhall, 1984 Delivered between February 1963 and January 1965, one aircraft not flown and used as a static test airframe [200] [205]Richardson, Doug. Stealth Warplanes. North Branch, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-1051-3. Howles, Internet Solutions Services Limited – Lewis. "Vulcan To The Sky – Initial test flight completed". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 . Retrieved 9 June 2014. In January 1947, the Ministry of Supply distributed Specification B.35/46 to UK aviation companies to satisfy Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.229 for "a medium range bomber landplane capable of carrying one 10,000lb (4,500kg) bomb to a target 1,500 nautical miles (1,700mi; 2,800km) from a base which may be anywhere in the world." A cruising speed of 500 knots (580mph; 930km/h) at altitudes between 35,000 and 50,000ft (11,000 and 15,000m) was specified. The maximum weight when fully loaded should not exceed 100,000lb (45,000kg). Alternatively, the aircraft was to be capable of carrying a conventional bomb load of 20,000lb (9,100kg). The similar OR.230 required a "long-range bomber" with a 2,000 nautical miles (2,300mi; 3,700km) radius of action with a maximum weight of 200,000lb (91,000kg) when fully loaded; this requirement was considered too exacting. [5] Six companies submitted technical brochures to this specification, including Avro. [6]

Painted gloss white, the 698 prototype VX770, with its pure delta wing, flew for the first time on 30 August 1952 piloted by Roly Falk flying solo. [22] VX770, fitted with only the first pilot's ejection seat and a conventional control wheel, was powered by four Rolls-Royce RA.3 Avon engines of 6,500lbf (29kN) thrust, its intended Bristol Olympus engines not being available. The prototype had fuselage fuel tanks but no wing tanks, so temporary additional tankage was carried in the bomb bay. [23] VX770 made an appearance at the 1952 Society of British Aircraft Constructors' (SBAC) Farnborough Air Show the next month when Falk demonstrated an almost vertical bank. [24] The 22nd B.2, later converted for the MMR role. Completed 20 April 1961, delivered to 27 Squadron a day later. Latterly with 50 Squadron and then Station Flight, Waddington. It was sold on 21 January 1983 to Tom Stoddard and David Hutchinson of the Solway Aviation Society, which at the time had only one other aircraft, a Meteor jet. Last flight was its arrival into Carlisle Airport in January 1983. Now stored in the open air, as part of the seasonal museum. [5] [6] [7] Mellow, Craig (January 2004). "God Save the Vulcan!". Air & Space. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013 . Retrieved 9 September 2013. Squadron 1969–1975, moved from Cottesmore in 1969 it returned to the UK in 1975 to Waddington. [217] Sweetman, Bill (4 March 1982). "The Bomber that radar cannot see". New Scientist. Reed Business Information. p.566.

Extract from National Archives: Ref no. BT 233/403 report on the crash." National Archives, Retrieved: 24 August 2010. What I liked: the pure seat-of-the-pants aspects of what they did; the excellent set-up of how the Falklands became an issue in the first place; the cut-aways of the Vulcan and Victor aircraft in the appendix. On 16 July 1964, Vulcan B.1A XA909 crashed in Anglesey after a midair explosion caused both No. 3 and No. 4 engines to be shut down. The explosion was caused by the failure of a bearing in No. 4 engine. The starboard wing was extensively damaged, the pilot had insufficient aileron power, and both airspeed indications were highly inaccurate. The whole crew successfully abandoned XA909 and was found within a few minutes and rescued. [238] Vulcans In Service: A visit to the V-force Delta of No.1 Group in Lincolnshire." Flight International, 27 September 1957, pp. 502–503. Aloft, the race to outfit the Vulcans and supporting Victors for their mission reached a kind of technical frenzy compounded by the problem of no one knowing exactly how the mission could be achieved. Three days before the Vulcans were due to fly to Ascension Island, the decision to bomb from 300ft was changed to 7,000ft. The crews practised this twice. Next they discovered that the fuel calculation to get them to Ascension was wrong. They took off two days later, from RAF Waddington, during a decommissioning ceremony for one of the other two Vulcan squadrons.