The Vulcan To The Sky Trust is in desperate need for £100,000 ($200,000) to fund the completion of the flight-test programme for Avro Vulcan XH558, which would enable the V-Bomber to participate in the 2008 air show season.
XH558 made its first flight on 18 October 2007 after lengthy restoration costing £6 million. This was double the original estimate and the project's contingency funding was wiped out earlier this year when unexpected rectification work was required to address corrosion in wing stringers.
"We're looking for £100,000 to complete the flight-test programme and we're in discussions with potential sponsors, but nothing is finalised," says Andrew Edmondson, who is project engineering director at Vulcan Operating Company (VOC), the organisation carrying out the restoration in conjunction with Marshall Aerospace.
"It is crucial we have the funding in January," he adds, as the aim is to undertake these remaining test flights and complete the documentation required for the "BCAR A8-20 Permit To Fly" by the end of March. "This would allow us to hand the aircraft over to operations and give them six weeks to prepare the presentation of the aircraft prior to the start of the air show season in May," says Edmondson.
"Our expectation is that we need to complete two 3h air tests, and then make the submission through Marshalls for the A8-20 permit required to fly at air shows."
A provisional list of 17 air shows at which the Vulcan could participate in 2008 has been prepared with venues "as far north as RAF Leuchars [Scotland] and as far west as RNAS Culdrose [in Cornwall]", says Edmondson. "Farnborough is also on the list," he adds.
Related links:
- The Vulcan restoration project special
- Special Vulcan feature by Max Kindsley-Jones: Back to the future
- The Vulcan XH558 first flight after restoration in 2007
- Vulcan To The Sky Trust
Source: Flight International
