XH558 News

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GeeRam
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Re: XH558 News

Post by GeeRam »

5944 wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 7:33 am
106500 wrote:
Fri 15 Jul 2022, 11:01 pm
CJS wrote:
Fri 15 Jul 2022, 7:03 pm
Unknown74 wrote:
Wed 13 Jul 2022, 9:45 pm
If they were able to move ‘558, would be better going to Elvington?!?!
How would that happen? We all know it'll never fly again: can anyone honestly imagine the cost of taking it to bits and moving it by road? Seems to me the most likely scenario if the airport closes is that some sort of museum can be built around '558, a little like they did at Filton for their Concorde.
I agree that the only feasible solution is that XH558 would become a none working museum piece residing in a ‘Filton type’ hanger on the site at Doncaster. Of course it will end up being all about money but it’s inconceivable that such a celebrated and iconic aircraft could end up being dismantled after such remarkable history and recent renaissance.
Look up the story of the Warship Preservation Trust. A couple of Falklands veterans, one of the last surviving complete U boats, the last D-Day landing craft. Only LCT7074 survives in decent condition. The rest have either sunk, been scrapped, or dismantled so look nothing like they used to. Vulcan cockpit section on the approach road to the warehouses anyone?
Highly likely outcome.
As has been pointed out many times, Peel Group have history in this regard, and given VTTS chose to get into bed with them against all evidenced based common sense (one can speculate reasons why of course) people shouldn't really be surprised as to what fate will become of '558 given the many predictions of this years ago by those that were shot down by the blinkered and gullible.

reheat module
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Re: XH558 News

Post by reheat module »

Seahornet wrote:
Fri 15 Jul 2022, 9:17 pm
reheat module wrote:
Fri 15 Jul 2022, 7:52 pm
Sadly, in 5yrs time I think we'll be shaving with ex-Vulcan razor blades...
Have you ever tried shaving with an aluminium razor blade...? :slight_smile:
Nope, but frequently with titanium.
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centaurus18
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Re: XH558 News

Post by centaurus18 »

Putting a historical significance weighted head on, saving the record-breaking Canberra airframe first should be the priority over what was, let's face it, an unremarkable Squadron aircraft
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GeeRam
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Re: XH558 News

Post by GeeRam »

centaurus18 wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 5:18 pm
Putting a historical significance weighted head on, saving the record-breaking Canberra airframe first should be the priority over what was, let's face it, an unremarkable Squadron aircraft
Indeed. While it was clear that VTTS never had a hope in hell of getting it back in one piece, let alone fly again, at least it was saved, when it might have ended up in a worse situation at the time.

However, '558 does have the minor distinction of being both the first B2 in service, and the last.

Mike
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Re: XH558 News

Post by Mike »

Peel have ‘previous’ regarding their treatment of preserved historic artefacts.

Just Google HMS Bronnington and HMS Kellington for more details.

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Seahornet
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Re: XH558 News

Post by Seahornet »

Ken Shabby wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 8:25 am
Seahornet wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 6:37 am
Ken Shabby wrote:
Wed 13 Jul 2022, 9:47 pm


If Peel has an agreement with VTTS, they can’t just rip it up because they decide to sell the place....
Yes they can, because they aren't stupid enough to have signed an agreement without a raft of conditions and caveats, allowing for such a contingency.
My apologies - I didn’t realise you had seen the agreement and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Charity Commission and the hangar mortgage provide (sadly, no longer required) hadn’t.
Peel are a hard-headed commercial organisation, dedicated to maximising profits from land management deals. When they sign an agreement, you can be sure (without having to see it) that it will be absolutely watertight from their perspective, with all necessary terms and conditions to ensure that they can pull the plug if there's any risk of it costing them money. In this case, VttS were not in a strong negotiating position, having big dreams & ambitions, but no money, and only a 'hopeful' prospect of raising any. As for the HLF and CC, they may have had a hold over VttS, but they had absolutely no leverage over Peel; they would have had to swallow whatever were the best terms that VttS could get. Similarly, any potential mortgage provider would also have had little influence over Peel, but they were in the happy position of being free to pull out whenever
it suited them, regardless of the deals and commitments VttS had with anyone else.

In my opinion, if Peel do sell off the site (whether as an airport, or for development), there is still hope that VttS may be able to negotiate something with the new owners, and Peel may even be happy to facilitate this on a no-interest basis. But don't expect the current agreement to offer any guarantee of the survival of VttS, or of XH558.
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Orion
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Re: XH558 News

Post by Orion »

Mike wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 8:33 pm
Peel have ‘previous’ regarding their treatment of preserved historic artefacts.

Just Google HMS Bronnington and HMS Kellington for more details.
I looked at the Wikipedia on these subjects and found no reference to Peel

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ericbee123
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Re: XH558 News

Post by ericbee123 »

Orion wrote:
Tue 19 Jul 2022, 9:44 am
Mike wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 8:33 pm
Peel have ‘previous’ regarding their treatment of preserved historic artefacts.

Just Google HMS Bronnington and HMS Kellington for more details.
I looked at the Wikipedia on these subjects and found no reference to Peel
There is a tenuous link to Bronnington , but no link to Kellington.

Maybe they meant HMS Plymouth

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Plymouth_(F126)
There appears to be some controversy about how the sale was conducted by The Peel Group and some of the clauses included in the sale contract with the dismantlers
Disclaimer-I have spell/grammar checked this post, it may still contain mistakes that might cause offence.

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andygolfer
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Re: XH558 News

Post by andygolfer »

Orion wrote:
Tue 19 Jul 2022, 9:44 am
Mike wrote:
Sat 16 Jul 2022, 8:33 pm
Peel have ‘previous’ regarding their treatment of preserved historic artefacts.

Just Google HMS Bronnington and HMS Kellington for more details.
I looked at the Wikipedia on these subjects and found no reference to Peel
this page refers to Peel Ports https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defen ... ip-3563462

here's the extract:
However, the Warship Preservation Trust entered into voluntary liquidation in 2006 and ownership of HMS Bronington passed into the hands of Peel Ports, who moved the vessel to Gillbrook Basin.

Tragedy finally struck for the vessel in 2016, as it partially sunk in its dock after suffering years of neglect.

A go Fund Me campaign launched at the end of last year, though, has received donations from a large number of people who want to see Bronington saved


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GeeRam
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Re: XH558 News

Post by GeeRam »

Seahornet wrote:
Tue 19 Jul 2022, 8:03 am
In my opinion, if Peel do sell off the site (whether as an airport, or for development), there is still hope that VttS may be able to negotiate something with the new owners, and Peel may even be happy to facilitate this on a no-interest basis. But don't expect the current agreement to offer any guarantee of the survival of VttS, or of XH558.
I really don't think Peel have any intention of selling off the site, they own it, and will develop it as best suits their needs to maximise money for them.

The only chance of them selling any of it off will be some small chunks of it around the edge for housing development as a sweetner to the council to get planning for the wharehousing/distribution complex they have planned for most of the site.

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Re: XH558 News

Post by Pen Pusher »

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Berf
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Re: XH558 News

Post by Berf »

Planning permission could be subject to providing a home for the aircraft on the airfield. I would think the survival of the project is more likely with the airport owners being able to do what they want with the site - subject to planning - than trying to prop up an unprofitable airport. One example I can give is that NATS, when the Swanwick Centre was built on an old brick works site had to fund a nature reserve with a educational log cabin brought in from Canada, contribute to the brickworks museum, pay for new traffic lights a least a mile away from the entrance etc etc.

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Mooshie1956
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Re: XH558 News

Post by Mooshie1956 »

Berf wrote:
Wed 27 Jul 2022, 7:14 am
Planning permission could be subject to providing a home for the aircraft on the airfield. I would think the survival of the project is more likely with the airport owners being able to do what they want with the site - subject to planning - than trying to prop up an unprofitable airport. One example I can give is that NATS, when the Swanwick Centre was built on an old brick works site had to fund a nature reserve with a educational log cabin brought in from Canada, contribute to the brickworks museum, pay for new traffic lights a least a mile away from the entrance etc etc.
That would be similar conditions that the developer of Woodford had to do in providing a home and heritage centre for the Vulcan there.
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jasonT1981
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Re: XH558 News

Post by jasonT1981 »

Email today. Vulcan is on the move.


Vulcan XH558 set to leave Doncaster Sheffield Airport in 2023

The Avro Vulcan XH558 is getting ready to take the next step in its journey as it prepares to leave Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) in June 2023.

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.

John Sharman, chair of trustees at the VTST said: “We were extremely sad to hear the news regarding the strategic review of DSA and our thoughts are with the staff there who will no doubt be concerned about their futures.

“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.”

XH558 flew into the airport in March 2011 and, for a number of years, millions of supporters were able to see and hear her fly!

John added: “Since the aircraft was grounded in 2015, we’ve been working to build her the type of home that befits such an iconic piece of aviation history. Sadly, our latest fundraising appeal didn’t bring in the money needed to build a hangar and DSA have confirmed that she can only stay where she is until June 2023. Having sought assurances from the airport, we have established that their announcement doesn’t affect our timeline for leaving the airport.

“As soon as we knew that our future was likely to be away from DSA, we began the process of finding a safe and permanent home for XH558 – an important heritage aviation asset.

“We are working on two potential sites where we know we can protect her for decades to come and deliver on Robert Pleming’s vision of telling the Cold War story and the role of the V-Force and inspiring youngsters to pursue meaningful and productive careers in engineering.

“Clearly as the sites are away from Doncaster, the relocation will bring significant challenges but outcomes we believe the VTST can deliver.”

The VTST is currently exploring a number of options for a new home for Vulcan XH558 ranging from investigating the possibility of a short ferry flight to enable the aircraft to get to a new location intact or to dismantle and move and rebuild her in a dedicated permanent home.

John explained: “The option for a one-off flight demonstrates that the VTST are exploring every option. We were always told that we would not get approval for her to fly again by the CAA, however, we are now in discussion with them to explore any potential way forward as if this might be an option, it’s not one that we can ignore.

“The alternative is to dismantle the aircraft and move it to a proposed home and we have two potential locations in negotiation. While we acknowledge that it would be extremely sad to dismantle XH558 it would mean that ultimately, she will be preserved and will still be able to inform, educate and inspire future generations of engineers.

“As soon as a decision has been made regarding the final destination for XH558 we’ll be able to put the wheels in motion and we’ll keep our supporters updated throughout this process.

“We want to thank everyone for their continued support and interest in Vulcan XH558.”

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Re: XH558 News

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