VLCN has reached Edinburgh. Coverage on Flight Radar 24 is intermittent because the aircraft is flying at 180 to 200 knots at around 1,500 feet a lot of the time. Next stop Western Scotland then Carlisle.
Timed @ 14:00 GMT.
VLCN has reached Edinburgh. Coverage on Flight Radar 24 is intermittent because the aircraft is flying at 180 to 200 knots at around 1,500 feet a lot of the time. Next stop Western Scotland then Carlisle.
Timed @ 14:00 GMT.
Bullseye!
https://youtu.be/nSw6R458axY
Here is Avro Vulcan B.2 XH558 overflying Derby where for some reason she missed the main Rolls-Royce plant on Raynesway by about one mile. Video taken from London Road / Litchurch Lane railway overbridge area thanks to one of the most spectacular estimates I think I may have ever made ...
Photographs taken by the Lady Wife (Mazzle) are currently being uploaded as she took these whilst I was filming. So I am beginning to understand viewers congregated at East Midlands Airport were disappointed after due to departing commercial traffic XH558 was not given the clearance required to overfly the field ...
Well that was nice - standing at the end of the runway waiting patiently........
Not a bad viewpoint
Only real issue is that the light was not that brilliant but in she came - flew directly over my head at about 100ft (probably even less)
and finally not a bad shot...
For those that missed it (Neil !!) it is a big triangular plane - just can't fail to miss it at this range, lol
I will create an album and upload all the shots into there
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Yes please Chris as you have some remarkable shots there. Marion has some photos too I'm just waiting for her to upload them. Were you at EGCN (Finningley) by any chance?
Just to think you get the chance to do it all again tomorrow
I only live 5 minutes away so popped down, might try and get there for take off tomorrow.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Right Album done.
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Very nice it is too - just been looking through it.Originally Posted by Hedeby
I gather the masses took heed of the warnings about travelling to Doncaster after all - let us hope the same applies tomorrow. Also getting more information about what happened at East Midlands Airport where a Jet2 Boeing 737-800 (common as muck at EMA!) prevented XH558 from passing directly over the field. Twitter account said overhead Donington Racing Circuit (same place as where Derby World Wargames is held) but friend on ground says XH558 broke off visual approach before then. Many hundreds on ground disappointed with XH558 visible in distance turning and heading straight for us in Derby.
Where the Vulcan wasn't.
Flight path from Derby to Doncaster. Straight up this valley parallel to the MI.
NOT.
You can see across approx one third of Derbyshire from here.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Oh no ... Sorry to hear about that Sir. Looking at Twitter account entries the last one which gives a precise location was the Overhead Heanor comment made four minutes after we saw it. This was supposed to be where XH558 turned direct north for another waypoint close to Chesterfield labelled Inbound Turn For Doncaster or something to that avail. I think I recognise that location in your photo by the way.
Next thing Marion telling me on Twitter is that the aircraft has landed ... I think what happened is that the opportunity arose to make a straight in visual approach to Finningley / EGCN which would require the Vulcan to turn before Chesterfield due to the runway alignment at EGCN. The alternative visual approach from that final waypoint would have required two additional turns to be made so that the aircraft was aligned with the runway. After the bish at EMA XH558 also found itself running around +5 minutes early as it overflew Heanor and this could have also influenced the decision to turn sooner and come straight back into Finningley
Landed at about 4:15
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Very nice; thanks Chris.
While the lighting wasn't the best, the clouds gave it a dramatic backdrop
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Great pictures Chris! Thanks for posting the Album.
Thanks Tim, have to say I really like that last one
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Currently planning to see XH558 again tomorrow but will be off the beaten track again in Nottinghamshire. At one of two locations I have carefully selected.
Been advised that after the disappointment experienced at East Midlands Airport today Newark Air Museum will be uber-ram packed tomorrow and may be worth avoiding ... Sadly. As those of us who have been to Hammerhead know the access roads to Newark Show Ground and the Air Museum next door are not exactly fantastic leading out onto either the A46 (via roundabout) and the A17 (via turning.) Even on a Sunday both of these are busy roads in their own right and with an adjacent field being opened up to accommodate viewers this could so easily mean hundreds of cars trying to get out of the same place at the same time
Gamston Airfield near Retford and just off the A1(M) will now not be directly overflown at 2,000 feet. However air traffic including a couple of flights from FT in this area between 15:00 and 16:00 GMT are being advised of XH558 passing northbound nearby whilst at low altitude.
Duplicate posting - sorry.
Last edited by Tonx; 10-10-2015 at 15:55. Reason: Duplicate posting - sorry.
Great pictures, Chris!
SUNDAY: Aircraft planning to airborne from Finningley @ 13:00 GMT again. End of route has been revised to take in East Midlands Airport (subject to clearance) after yesterday's cock up.
So that's my plan to see it at Bottesford out of the window. Coming from Bruntingthorpe and Leicester Airport it will now swing across Loughborough / Coalville area to overfly EMA before turning towards Newark VIA NOTTINGHAM.
I am going to try and see it at East Midlands Parkway Station
Bullseye Part II! Decided against East Midlands Parkway station and headed for an already packed Newark Air Museum ... then to Coddington just down the A17 from there before crowds amassed there too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3-stgQPnXI
Here is what happened - being slightly off the beaten track paid off yet again
Great, BarnabyBullseye Part II! Decided against East Midlands Parkway station and headed for an already packed Newark Air Museum ... then to Coddington just down the A17 from there before crowds amassed there too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3-stgQPnXI
Here is what happened - being slightly off the beaten track paid off yet again
Karl
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Some pics from her visit to Gloucester today....
What superb pictures!
Thanks for posting.
David those photos are fantastic. Thank you very much for posting them.
Got some photos taken by the Lady Wife (Mazzle) from both days to upload. Will do so whenever she e-mails them to me as they were taken using her phone camera whilst I was busy videoing.
So ... Two more flights are planned before XH558 is grounded permanently at the end of this month. But not on October 18th 2015 so I gather from the Vulcan To The Sky Trust website.
They are brilliant Dave, I managed to meet up with Neil and the two of us saw her landing back at Doncaster....
Different light from yesterday and I am very happy with the last couple of shots.
I will add the whole sequence to my album once I have time to sit and re-size everything as every shot is between 3-5MB in original form.
Glad to share the experience with my Squadron Leader who managed to join me following a hasty diversion on his way home from meeting Rob and the Oberst....
It may have been a narrow lane that only the locals know about but I think half of Doncaster must have been there this afternoon to see her come in... Don't think Neil believed me when I said just how low overhead it flew as it came in... if his hearing is back to normal, he does now, lol
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Fantastic shots Dave.
Now I am feeling sick again.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Chris it was very kind of you to meet us at the Museum roundabout and guide us across Doncaster to the best view of the Vulcan. Never seen one flying before and as my ears recover I will try and post the video I took. Not as good as your photos though, if only the battery on the camera hadn't packed in just as it was coming in to land!
A thoroughly enjoyable experience and great atmosphere amongst the crowd waiting for her to land. (Even the Police joined in!)
Neil
See you on the Dark Side......
There was a piece about it on the main BBC 6 o'clock news today. They showed the inside of the bomb where the names of all the people, who subscribed to keep it flying, are listed.
Watched it and it was surprisingly good. Showed the bomb bay with all the names of contributors to the Trust etched on it . Is it staying at Doncaster( Robin Hood airport) ?
I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
Got a call from my mum in Northamptonshire as it flew over her house today - didn't even know it was flying off again...
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
XH558 airborned from Doncaster (Finningley) on October 13th 2015 as spotted by the Lady Wife (Mazzle) who does Twitter unlike myself ... Messages went as far as take off being confirmed and then I think she had to concentrate on another matter as she was at work. Very likely to have been carrying final flight certificates (part 1) for which people have donated thousands to have carried on board XH558 during one of two special flights which are planned before the end of October. Obviously one down ... One to go. No information available to as and when though. Northampton - says Sywell overflight to me as this airfield was the home of Handley Page. This manufacturer built the Victor B.1 / later K.2 Tanker and Sywell was not overflown during the recent national north / south tours. The Victor was the last of the V Bombers to be pulled from active service with the RAF in October / November 1993.
XH558 is to stay at DRHADS as Doncaster / EGCN / Finningley calls itself after October 2015 where it will be preserved in an engines-runnable condition. The original plan was for the aircraft to return to Bruntingthorpe in Leicestershire so it could do what are known as taxi-runs down this former airbase's astoundingly huge runway. But this plan has since been scrapped in favour of keeping XH558 at Doncaster (sorry but out of all the available choices and being ex-Forces I prefer to call the place Finningley!) BAe Systems operates a training and technical research facility and college at this location so XH558 promises to be in excellent hands and the VTTS Trust will also continue to exist.
Now for a bit of a faux pas ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7vUbPdGF0 ... Explains exactly what happened after XH558 had passed straight through the Hold For East Midlands Airport near Burton upon Trent and was in fact cleared by ATC to overfly East Midlands Airport. Nothing to do with a landing or departing (Jet2) aircraft on October 10th 2015 ... But fuel considerations. Also known as yukspeak for lack of.
This also helps to explain to Flying Officer Kyte et al who were disappointed at their location on the Saturday why they were disappointed at that otherwise planned location. Instead of proceeding away from Derby and Heanor and up the M1 past Hardwicke House / Bolsover Castle to Clowne XH558 cut across to Mansfield. From there it was virtually fly runway heading all the way back home to Doncaster / Finningley.
A Jet2 Boeing 737 prevented history in the making from being made ... I knew there would be more to it than that!
Um and I wonder who told the WingCo that Derby would not be a good site to view the Vulcan from but Hardwicke House would be......?
This also helps to explain to Flying Officer Kyte et al who were disappointed at their location on the Saturday why they were disappointed at that otherwise planned location. Instead of proceeding away from Derby and Heanor and up the M1 past Hardwicke House / Bolsover Castle to Clowne XH558 cut across to Mansfield. From there it was virtually fly runway heading all the way back home to Doncaster / Finningley.
See you on the Dark Side......
Somebody's just asking to be barred - and for once it isn't me !
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
That's All Folks ...
The final fifteen minute flight of Avro Vulcan B.2 XH558 took place EGCN D-> EGCN only on October 28th 2015.
Very little notice was given so that the event did not attract an immense live audience however the flight was streamed live online for fans to watch on Youtube. Updates via Facebook and Twitter were also made available throughout the aircraft's final fifteen minutes of airtime.
An event to commemorate XH558's final landing also had to be cancelled for fear of attracting huge and potentially disruptive crowds making all in all for quite a low key affair. However Friday evening's flag and banner waving concert in the XH558 Hangar at EGCN is still on and this is all set to generate an atmosphere very similar to Last Night of The Proms: The event sold out almost instantly!
So finally comes the day which so many of us have been not wanting to come ... But at least with XH560 on the WGS scene the Avro Vulcan story for the Aerodrome hasn't ended altogether just yet
Seems a bit ironic that on the very next day after this last flight, due to their inability to find competent engineering staff, that BA Systems open a dedicated aero engineering training facility at Humberside Airport. Specifically to train apprentices to service military aircraft.
The Training Academy will be named the R J Mitchell Aircraft Maintenance Academy, after Reginald Mitchell the designer of the Spitfire.
There are so many reasons and sub reasons given for the Vulcan ending her days as a flying aircraft that it is difficult to keep track, or know what to believe
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-34712344
Until I saw the footage contained in the link above I could not believe this story concerning XH558 either ... but here are both barrel rolls which should never have been performed in the Grantham area!
Could the video have been manufactured by digital manipulation?
After seeing the 1950 roll, the ones in the clip are not smooth transition rolls. They are jerky and the perspective shift is too great. It looks like they have decoupled together bits from the Vulcan tight turn and bank into a roll. But if it is real what are they going to do, ground it!
See you on the Dark Side......
If it proved to be genuine footage, guess they could discipline the Pilot.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
I've just watched it, it looks manufactured to me, and not very well either. The second clip seems very obviously faked, not even the same camera throughout.
I seriously hope this footage is contrived as the fines from the UK CAA to the VTTS Trust as the owner and operator of XH558 could be enormous!
Following John's comment above I am going to look at this video again - I did think there was something rather odd-looking about the second roll ...
I'd not be at all surprised if it's genuine, although I think the water's being muddied by use of the terms "footage" and "video" - it looks more like stitched-together photos from someone taking a "burst" with an SLR or DSLR camera. I don't think I'd worry too much about repercussions though - the CAA are unlikely to go chasing, especially given the press it would attract. Most likely a slapped wrist and "don't do it again, wink"....
On this evenings BBC News they have said that the footage is being scrutinized by the CAA.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Come on real or not if you were the pilot and it was never going to fly again - are you seriously telling me you wouldn't have done the same - if it was me I would have 'buzzed the tower' as well, in fact I would have done anything I liked until I ran out of fuel...
Enjoy and apologise rather than hesitate and regret. Farewell to a monarch of the skies, I think she deserved a last hurrah !!!
Never Knowingly Undergunned !!
Its such a shame that this wonderful aircraft is being put to bed my Grandfather who served in the RAF and whom i was extremely close to loved the Vulcans and in turn it has always been my favourite aircraft,even if this "Footage" proves to be genuine i could not agree with Hedeby more saying that the old girl deserved one last Hurrah well said!
Chris I agree, if I'd been at the controls it would be a definite. And a buzz of the tower was never in doubt either.
See you on the Dark Side......
I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
Promise that on it's next mission XH560 will Buzz The Tower at the end provided she's in full working order still. Will need to borrow a WGS Heavy Bomber stand as the one I use for XH560 is at least five pegs high!
May as well give this a mention ... But call me Bill Withers!
Couldn't sleep so just completed an accurate reconstruction or as near as MS Flight Simulator 2004 could get to one of the Avro Vulcan Northern Tour Circuit. Required 90 minutes homework and then 2 hrs 25 min to complete. Unfortunately this also included the disappointment at East Midlands Airport though something then went a bit potty on FS2004 locations-wise as I found myself over Derby and RR at Raynesway. Not the railway sidings and Pride Park. Also missed Heanor by about 0.5 NM but overflew top of A38 and Mansfield. Possible geographical errors albeit slight in programme. But by far the best bit was Mansfield D-> Doncaster \ EGCN as I actually landed the Vulcan successfully on Attempt 1.
Phew! What a ride that was ... Southern Tour Circuit to receive similar treatment on the next night I cannot sleep
I really hope you meant "Martin Withers".
Not the "Lean on Me" guy......
Mike - massivefor this correction - It was 05:50 AM by this time and I had been flying for 2 hrs 25 mins!
Much Appreciated
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