Arrivals & Rehearsals,  17 June 2009

The first participants of this years Luchtmachtdagen already arrived Wednesday evening. The Turkish Stars and of course their support. The second arrival day some more participants were planned as well as some rehearsals.

As I had a day off I went to Volkel AB halfway the morning. I decided not to stay along the fence, so I entered the base and found me a nice spot halfway the runway. The first aircraft to arrive were the two Spanish Hornets from Zaragoza AB. This was followed by a tremendous show of the Dutch F-16. It was the first time for me to see the new color scheme of this bird. Some like it, some don't, but I simply love it!

The rehearsal of the Dutch F-16 was followed by a very nice air power display. They even used the explosions during the rehearsal of the display. After more than 30 minutes of aircraft  and helicopter violence I had to wait more than an hour for the arrival of the real star of the show. Around 14.30h the mighty Avro Vulcan finally landed in the Netherlands again.

History of the Avro Vulcan B2 - XH558

The Avro Vulcan is a delta wing subsonic jet bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. The Vulcan was part of the RAF's V bomber force, which fulfilled the role of nuclear deterrence against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was also used in a conventional bombing role during the Falklands conflict with Argentina. One example, XH558, was recently restored for use in display flights and commemoration of the jets' role in the Falklands Conflict.

XH558 - presently carrying civil registration G-VLCN - is an Avro Vulcan B2 originally built in 1960. Between then and 1992 it served variously in bomber, maritime reconnaissance and air-to-air refueling roles. XH558 is notable for being the only remaining airworthy example of the Avro Vulcan. It is presently operated by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust as a display aircraft, funded entirely by charitable donations and the UK Lottery's Heritage Fund.

The XH558 was the twelfth Vulcan B2 built and first flew in 1960 and was delivered to No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit RAF at RAF Waddington on 1 July 1960. Almost immediately the aircraft moved with 230 OCU to RAF Finningley where the aircraft spent some 8 years before returning to Lincolnshire in 1968. The aircraft was converted to a B2 Maritime Radar Reconnaissance in 1973 and subsequently to the air-to-air refueling variant K2 in 1982. It was returned to standard B2 configuration in 1985 and was the last Vulcan in service. From 1986 to 1992, it was the RAF's display aircraft.

After service with the Royal Air Force, the aircraft was sold to C.Walton Limited and delivered by air to Bruntingthorpe on the 23 March 1993. The aircraft was kept in a serviceable condition and would undertake fast taxi runs along Bruntingthorpe's main runway.

The engineering staff of the Vulcan Operating Company the engineering arm of Vulcan to the Sky Trust, owners of XH558, worked to return Vulcan XH558 to flight, with the first test flight taking place 18 October 2007. They were supported by the "Vulcan to the Sky" club, a supporters and fund raising organization. Though the website carried an announcement on 1 August 2006 that the project was in danger of being abandoned due to lack of finance, the target of raising the remaining £1.2m was achieved on 31 August 2006, thanks to a high-profile publicity campaign orchestrated by the supporters club, Vulcan to the Sky Club (formerly Vulcan 558 Club). Time had almost run out for XH558 when Sir Jack Hayward, a British philanthropist, donated £500,000, which topped off the £860,000 already raised by Vulcan to the Sky Club and Friends. Although the aircraft restoration was nearly complete, the aircraft was not ready for the fly-by down the Mall in London for the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict on 17 June 2007.

It was originally intended for the Vulcan to fly during at least one UK airshow during the 2007 season. But due to delays in returning the aircraft to flight, mainly down to delays in the return of refurbished flight-critical components, the aircraft was not ready for the display season. On 16 August 2007, the aircraft started engine testing on the airfield at Bruntingthorpe. On the next day, XH558's No.3 Rolls-Royce Olympus 202 jet engine was run for the first time in over 20 years. This is a different engine to that used by XH558 during its final seasons with the RAF's Vulcan Display Flight in 1992. All four of the Vulcan's old Olympus 202 engines have been replaced with Zero hour units which had been stored since 1982, thereby getting the maximum future life span from each engine. The VTS Team also has another four fully inhibited engines in stock. The removed engines were either scrapped, sectioned for display or passed on to VRT's XL426 at Southend.

The first post-restoration flight, which lasted 34 minutes, took place on 18 October 2007. Two further three-hour test flights are to be carried out from Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground to prove that the aircraft has been restored to an airworthy condition. After raising the necessary £150,000 the Vulcan to the Sky Trust resumed the test flight program but still requires £50,000 each month after March 2008 in order for the return to flight project to continue.

On 17 June 2009, the Vulcan flew from England to the Netherlands being the first Vulcan to land in the Netherlands for almost 30 years.

source: wikipedia