Vulcan to the Skies

[ATAG_Dutch]

Oh shut up.

[CWMV]

We have on here Locally at Castle Air Force Base museum. I always thought it was odd that there was a Vulcan sitting at a now defunct SAC base in Central California!
Great to see it flying. Hopefully the project achieves its projected aims, and the Vulcan reminds people that the only way to maintain peace is to be ready to fight for it, as the men who flew those Vulcans were willing to do.

[raaaid]

you people should rememebr that things have feelings too, why do you think they paint eyes on planes?

come on planes are to look cool not killing machines

besides taking into account electromagnetic pulse which actually would be the best plane

[CWMV]

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

I remember seeing that Vulcan at air shows at March and El Toro when I was young.

The one at Castle?
I wonder how close to flying condition it is? There really was no telling during the last open cockpit day.

[swiss]

I would prefer to see a Concorde in the air.
It also comes with the advantage you could offer something to generous donors...

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Dutch

Oh shut up.

Why don't you shut up?!
Every six months on Flypast and Aerpolane we have to read the plea of these folks and how they need hundreds of thousands of pounds cos their plane needs maintenance, or it's been left stuck somewhere or some other reason.
The managing of the whole project has been shambolic to say the least, you don't start such a venture without ensuring you have some capital investors!

..and once again, I understand you want it to be airborne cos it's about British pride, but a plane that was used in the Falklands War and was a nuclear bomber as well is something of questionable taste..

..and what's this crap of the Vulcan being used for the opening of Olympic games in London?! What's the sense?!

I think you're just full of you know what..

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

Same thing restoring a 109, or a Do-17 (or a 1931 car) would be. Having something old, and keeping it around.

No, it's not, not when it runs as such prohibitive costs. Unfortunately there's nothing glorious about the Vulcan, obviously it strikes the British aviation enthusiasts imaginary collective, but as Swiss said I'd rather have a Concorde than a nuclear bomber that only dropped some bombs on the Falklands..

[robtek]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

No, it's not, not when it runs as such prohibitive costs. Unfortunately there's nothing glorious about the Vulcan, obviously it strikes the British aviation enthusiasts imaginary collective, but as Swiss said I'd rather have a Concorde than a nuclear bomber that only dropped some bombs on the Falklands..

As you aren't paying for it, what is your interest here, beside trying to ruin other peoples fun?

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by robtek

As you aren't paying for it, what is your interest here, beside trying to ruin other peoples fun?

1) I'm tired of people begging for it (or making profit off it for the matter). Every given airshow I have attended this year there were the vulcan to the sky trust folks begging for pennies. You can't secure a good sponsor after 4 years of operations? Give up.

2) With so many planes that need care and attention out there, the Vulcan was the last thing to be worried about and keep airborne. It doesn't represent anything important, or better, it represents a questionable time in history.

Someone somewhere really wanted to fly this plane, and they set up all this charity malarkey to bring the plane back to the sky, but alas, the guy behind this thing had little or no understanding of the ginormous costs behind such a venture..

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

But how they ask for money, and their desire to restore something lost are two different things. Even though they go hand in hand, the desire to bring something old back to life, and preserve it IMO is a good thing, regardless of what it is. Even though somethings might be mundane (say you're trying to restore a Roman village to preserve it for history), there's still a story to be told there. Don't confuse the money side of it with the actual project. You might not see anything heroic about the Vulcan, yet it was still a part of a history that will be lost to generations eventually. I've helped my dad restore countless old cars throughout the years, some were classics, some would make you scratch your head and say "Why THAT car?", but I found that even the crappiest car had a history that I learned to appreciate when restoring it. One I wouldn't have known otherwise, and learning about it, I shared it with freinds and people who were interested. (For example, ask most Americans about Austin Healeys, or original Austin-Minis, or Lancia Stratos and they know nothing, it wasn't an American car, or a famous brand/type, yet I learned how they worked and why they made their own niche working on some my Dad found.)

that's all very true, and I do my fair bit of car restoration too, but you're not going out asking for millions of pounds to restore it though, are you? It's a balance between costs and importance, and the Vulcan is not that important, period.