The last
airworthy Vulcan bomber is set to make its final flight in 2013 as a result of
the excessive technical and financial demands involved in keeping it
operational, it has been announced.
Vulcan
XH558, operated by the Vulcan to the Sky trust, has flown at more than 60
outdoor events, including the Queen's jubilee celebrations, and has been seen
in flight by an estimated 10 million people since its refurbishment in 2007.
By the
end of the 2013 display season, XH558's post-restoration flying life will be
almost at an end, Trust chief executive Dr Robert Pleming said.
"We
are sure you are aware that all Vulcans have a finite safe flying life and that
XH558 is already well beyond the hours flown by any other aircraft of her
type," he wrote on the trust's website.
Citing
the need for a "challenging" £200k wing modification and the
increased likelihood of engine failure, Pleming wrote that replacement engines
would be too difficult to locate and restore.
Remanufacturing
just one wheel for the bomber would cost over £70,000, if the engineering
drawings can be found, he added.
"It
is therefore with great sadness that we have told XH558's supporters that we
are planning for next year to be the last opportunity anyone will have,
anywhere in the world, to see a Vulcan in the air," he said.
"I'd
like to thank everyone who by the end of 2013 will have contributed to
achieving six fantastic years of Vulcan displays since the restoration; it's a
remarkable achievement that many people said would be impossible. With the
passionate and generous support of the British people, we returned an
all-British icon to the sky and brought the excitement of engineering and aviation
to new generations."
Trust
director Michael Trotter said that once the aircraft has finished flying, the
Trust intends to maintain XH558 in running order to conduct fast taxi runs and
"develop further her role in education as the centrepiece of an exciting
new type of inspirational engineering education centre".
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