Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

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Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by andygolfer »

Just had an e-mail from the Trust saying they are planning to move XH558 from Doncaster, 2 options- adismantle or ferry flight.
here's the text:

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.”


Link: https://vulcantothesky.org/news/vulcan- ... t-in-2023/

Andy
Last edited by Tommy on Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Edited to include link to the press release
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by HeyfordDave111 »

Take her apart then, it seems!

Move her to Elvington and pray no one wants to develop the site for housing.

Fly her out? how the heck is that possible? the mind boggles.

And where will the considerable amount of money needed come from?
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by andygolfer »

HeyfordDave111 wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 7:21 am
Take her apart then, it seems!

Move her to Elvington and pray no one wants to develop the site for housing.

Fly her out? how the heck is that possible? the mind boggles.

And where will the considerable amount of money needed come from?
'two possible locations' so the move options probably depend on where those are- can it be flown to either of them with permission? Also will it be maintained live at a new location - if not then dismantling is probably easier.

They are clearly considering the ferry flight option, how far from being 'fit' to fly a ferry flight is an obvious factor.

Cost? - a ferry flight is about the only thing that will get most (but probably not all) of the former supporters to dip into their pockets but some would guarantees that any money donated would be ring fenced for the ferry flight and preparation.

I can see that if the CAA relax rules a bit for 558 for a ferry flight there will be other organisations asking why they weren't allowed the same privilege and citing preferential treatment. That makes me trend to thing it will come down to dismantling TBH
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by 5944 »

HeyfordDave111 wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 7:21 am
Take her apart then, it seems!

Move her to Elvington and pray no one wants to develop the site for housing.

Fly her out? how the heck is that possible? the mind boggles.

And where will the considerable amount of money needed come from?
You mean the £2m they have in the bank (according to the last set of of accounts) won't be enough? Or have they managed to spunk that up the wall in the last 18 months?

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by WG655 »

A seismic announcement this morning, particularly as it is specifically unrelated to the ongoing uncertainty around the future of the airport.

I, too, would be surprised to see a ferry flight given the complexity of the aircraft and the maintenance that would now be required, but dare say it is good to be publically seen to at least be exploring the option.

Hopefully the proposed venues are not commercial airports as the lack of public access at Doncaster has been sorely disappointing (if totally understandable!)

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by boff180 »

I was just about to post this in Waffle :rofl:

Many will know our stance on XH558 discussions on the forum but as ever, we promised that should there be some discussion worthy news - we would re-open discussions. This announcement is just that so please discuss away.

However if the same old names start the circular conversation again then we will lock discussion once more.

Ta

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by andygolfer »

boff180 wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:02 am
I was just about to post this in Waffle :rofl:

Many will know our stance on XH558 discussions on the forum but as ever, we promised that should there be some discussion worthy news - we would re-open discussions. This announcement is just that so please discuss away.

However if the same old names start the circular conversation again then we will lock discussion once more.

Ta

Andy
Thanks Andy, I was aware of the stance but like you felt it was worthy of posting and also like you I do hope it stays civil and useful.
So please folks do as Andy asks - this is a massive development in the 558 story so discuss it sensibly.
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Tommy »

It is a sad tale - I hope they can move her as delicately as possible.

I can’t for the life of me see a ferry flight being allowed, but gosh, imagine for a moment that it was.

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by cg_341 »

There's no way in hell the CAA would permit a ferry flight because if they did, then it would open the floodgates to just about any other "complex" or former military aircraft without OEM support wanting to be able to fly.

But their email is clearly written in a way that it gets their supporters excited about a certain possibility that is 99.9% likely never to happen, in an attempt to get them to donate money.
Last edited by cg_341 on Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Tommy »

cg_341 wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:28 am
But, it gets the VTTS gammon riled up and excited, doesn't it.
Ah. Busted.

(Not at you CG, but a reminder to all - if we could just keep language as civil as possible - this topic is always a hot potato and we really don’t want to close it again if we can help it)

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Tommy »

Even practically, could you imagine the chaos of a ferry flight.

There wouldn’t be a free lay-by, verge, or other parking space for miles around DSA and/or the destination.

I also wonder how favourably the CAA will look upon the Trust given that the last time it was in the air it was rolled - just weeks after Shoreham.

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by cg_341 »

Tommy wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:32 am
(Not at you CG, but a reminder to all - if we could just keep language as civil as possible - this topic is always a hot potato and we really don’t want to close it again if we can help it)
Edited to be a bit less inflammatory, though the message is still the same! :rofl:

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Dr_Q »

Vulcan and Shackleton at Elvington would be v nice.
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Mike »

My money's on St Athan. At least they have the expertise to move it

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Mooshie1956 »

WG655 wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:01 am


Hopefully the proposed venues are not commercial airports as the lack of public access at Doncaster has been sorely disappointing (if totally understandable!)
Oh I don't know about that, Manchester could house it with plenty of public access, and it could sit next to G-BOAC.
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Tommy »

Mike wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:51 am
My money's on St Athan. At least they have the expertise to move it
Elvington, Kemble, and Saints seem (to my uneducated eye at least) to be some of the decent contenders?

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by 5944 »

cg_341 wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:37 am
Tommy wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:32 am
(Not at you CG, but a reminder to all - if we could just keep language as civil as possible - this topic is always a hot potato and we really don’t want to close it again if we can help it)
Edited to be a bit less inflammatory, though the message is still the same! :rofl:
Boooo!

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by tache3 »

Elvington, Kemble, and Saints seem (to my uneducated eye at least) to be some of the decent contenders?
Kemble or Saints if by some miracle it remains a live taxying aircraft.

If its only in a state for static display then that could open the field a bit more. How many locations in the country have the space to house a whole Vulcan?

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Ryan. »

I can’t see a ferry flight ever being allowed for reasons most have mentioned.

I do wonder where a sustainable future for XH558 would be. Either way, the cost involved is going to be huge.

It’s been done to death the relative importance or unimportance of the airframe, depending on your viewpoint, I do wonder if they will be able to raise the amount of money needed to dismantle, transport and reassemble the aircraft. I guess time will tell!

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by Tommy »

I also wonder what’ll happen to the WK163 - will it follow 558, or just be packed off elsewhere? Or even just remain at DSA perhaps?

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by GeeRam »

Tommy wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 9:18 am
I also wonder what’ll happen to the WK163 - will it follow 558, or just be packed off elsewhere? Or even just remain at DSA perhaps?
If they leave it at DSA, then Peel will just get a scrappy in to take it away, as from what has been posted, VTTS are effectively being evicted from DSA by June 2023, so they'll have to take WK away as well (easier as its already in pieces anyway) or scrap it insitu.

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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by centaurus18 »

Saving the historically significant Canberra should be the priority... and far more achievable both in terms of cost and size of airframe to move.
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by andygolfer »

Tommy wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 9:18 am
I also wonder what’ll happen to the WK163 - will it follow 558, or just be packed off elsewhere? Or even just remain at DSA perhaps?
~that might depend on where 558 ends up, if it's a museum site which fancies a historic Canberra as well then I'm sure that would be their preference especially if it (alongside the Vulcan) could eventually be restored to ground running condition. If not I think they would offer it to another museum as a static exhibit.

It would be a minimal cost to move it compared to the Vulcan and it wouldn't do anything for their image if they abandoned it to Peel for scrapping.

as for where? Elvington seems an obvious choice and if somehow they get permission for a ferry flight it would be a very short one and the shorter the more likely the CAA are to say yes or rather less likely to say no. I can't think of anywhere else close to DSA that it could go to on a ferry flight, roading out does offer many more options but I think they have had their fingers burnt by being on a commercial site so
Last edited by andygolfer on Mon 15 Aug 2022, 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by aviodromefriend »

Rolls Royce didn't pull out for nothing as an OEM. Their needed knowledge was about gone back then, and probably hasn't been maintained since. If the CAA allows a ferry flight, not only will they have to review their stance about civil ex-mil complex aircraft but also implement it, which is far further going then just a V bomber (imagine EE Lightning II?) all this in about 10 months time (the mail doesn't say if the June date is 1st or 30th) . Also remember that there is now a "ban all historic flying aircraft" brigade since Shoreham that will almost certain try to stop it happening using all possible methods.
Tommy wrote:
Mon 15 Aug 2022, 8:36 am
given that the last time it was in the air it was rolled - just weeks after Shoreham.
When it was rolled, it was the last time Kev Rumens was flying it. Just out of the top of my head it made at least two more flights after that to cover both the north and the south of England as a farewell, (don't remember if Scotland was involved to, don't dare to mention Wales) and a final flight over Doncaster, just before the permit expired.

My personal opinion? The scrapman is sharpening his chop, as time is too close to save it. Maybe they could raise the money, but the engineering part will take too long for a ferry flight.
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Re: Vulcan XH558 to leave Doncaster, possible ferry flight

Post by andygolfer »

well this had made the forum busy this morning 23 posts out of 28 since 8am have been in this topic - nice to see increased traffic AND civilised too!
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