RAF’s last flying

The world’s last flying Avro

Vulcan will be able to stay in the skies for the public to enjoy after strenuous efforts by the plane's supporters.                  

Enthusiastic fundraising means that the war plane's wings can be strengthened in a high-precision operation to keep it airworthy until the end of 2015. 

Famed for their role in the Falklands War of 1982, it was feared the last of the iconic planes would have to be grounded but charity The Vulcan to the Sky Trust was determined not to let that happen. 

Still flying: The last airworthy Vulcan XH558 soaring over Lake Windermere

Iconic: Vulcan bombers were due to be scrapped before the Falklands War in 1982 but this one is still capable of flying

Vulcan bombers were flown in the crucial attack on Port Stanley’s airstrip on May 1 in 1982 in a marathon 6,000-mile round trip. 

The raid, the longest bombing mission in history at the time, showed Argentina’s military dictator General Galtieri that Britain was serious about retaking the Falkland Islands. 

 

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Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers captained that bomber and now is chief pilot of the last flying Vulcan.

He recalled: 'We were charged with bombing a 40-foot wide target half a world away in the dark with such accuracy that the runway would be destroyed. There was no margin of error in the plan.'

'The Vulcans were going to war for the first time in their history – just months before they had been due for scrapping or museums.'

Heritage: A Vulcan bomber making an approach to land at Ascension Island in 1982 during the Falklands War

Restoration: In 2007, flying the first time in 14 years after it was grounded in 1993

Long history: The bomber first flew in 1960 but is preparing for two more years of flying at its hangar near Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Vulcans were long-range bombers first designed and built for the Cold War. 

This particular plane first flew in 1960 and was the RAF’s last airworthy Vulcan until it was retired in 1993. It was grounded from then until October 2007. 

2013 was meant to be the last year it flew after its restoration project, but the plane keeps getting the support it needs to carry on flying.

It is currently kept at a hangar in Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The task of making the plane airworthy was made particularly difficult for heritage aircraft specialists at Cranfield Aerospace, who also support the UK’s last flying Avro Lancaster, because none of the original manufacturing tools and key drawings survive. 

Modifications: To allow the Vulcan two more flying years requires a very precise operation by rare aircraft specialists to strength the wings

Following further testing, it will be ready to take off for another season of displays across the country.

'If everything goes to plan, we should be able to release sufficient additional flying hours for XH558 to complete full display seasons in both 2014 and 2015,' said Trust chief executive, Dr Robert Pleming. 

Privately maintained by volunteers, the aircraft casts more than £2 million a year to keep flying.

The XH558 is now enjoyed by around three million visitors every year.

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