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Summer Season Plaque launched to raise £350,000 to keep the last Vulcan flying
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£350,000 needed to help the last flying Vulcan reach her biggest display season ever
It was confirmed today that the last flying Vulcan, an iconic example of British technical achievement, has comfortably passed all the vital safety checks that will allow the aircraft to embark on her biggest display season ever. But to hit the season with stable finances, the charity that operates her must raise £350,000 before the end of May. One of the reasons is the imposition of new European VAT regulations.
To help raise the money, a package of supporter benefits is being launched that includes a special Summer Season Plaque that will carry the names of campaign supporters on the famous bomb-bay doors. Subscribers to the Summer Season campaign will also receive a personalised certificate and entries into the Flying Fund Draw, which selects one name each month to win £558 and ten names to win £55.80.
"Following successful completion of her £120,000 winter service programme, the last flying Vulcan is in excellent condition and will be taking to the air much earlier than in previous years. This will allow us to visit more airshows across more of the country, including many areas that still have fond memories of Vulcans from their 27 year operational life," says Vulcan to the Sky Trust chief executive officer Dr Robert Pleming. "Last year she was seen by around two million people. This year, we hope that more than three million people will enjoy her spectacular displays."
The aircraft was returned to the air in 2007 following exceptional support from the British public, the Heritage Lottery Fund and from a number of company sponsors. Since then, the Trust has strengthened its commercial activities and its engagement with the aircraft's supporters. There is a new eNewsletter with fascinating pictures, news, competitions and technical updates, a Facebook page, the online shop has an extensive range of merchandise and almost 1,500 people visited the aircraft over the winter.
But Pleming is quick to sound a serious warning. "I have to tell you that due to factors beyond our control, we risk running out of money ahead of the air show season."
One significant reason is that the VAT regulations applying to large non-commercial aircraft like the Vulcan were changed with very little warning at the beginning of January. In practice, this means the sudden imposition of 20% VAT on all the parts and services for the maintenance of XH558, which up until then were zero-rated. On top of this new burden, the fuel budget is now nearly double that originally planned.
"When we add these extra costs to her ongoing operational expenses, we need to raise an additional £350,000 by the end of May to ensure that XH558 arrives on the air show circuit with stable finances," says Pleming. "This amount is rather smaller than in previous campaigns and we have longer to raise it - a sign of the growing strength of the Trust - but that doesn't mean that we can fly XH558 without the support of her many friends."
The Vulcan team is also trying to raise additional funding for its educational activities. "We have already delivered education packs for 7-11 and 11-16 year olds that have been very well received," says Pleming. "If we raise an additional £50,000, not only will we extend the audience to all Key Stage age groups, we will also be able to offer the package nationally in an award winning format."
The Trust is also looking for Sponsorship Coordinators to help raise money by organising local fundraising and events. Anyone arranging ten standing orders will receive a high-quality framed picture of XH558.
"It is absolutely vital that everyone who values the sight of XH558's magnificent delta profile appearing over the trees helps however they can," emphasises business development director Michael Trotter. "She costs £2million a year to fly and maintain so even with the growing success of our commercial activities, we still rely on her supporters to keep her flying."
Airshow News
News of the airshow calendar will be announced in the Vulcan to the Sky eNewsletter and will be posted on the website. Most dates are expected to be finalised by the end of April.
Press Enquiries
Richard Gotch at Market Engineering +44 (0) 1295 277050 / +44 (0)7831 569732
(further information and interviews)
Richard Clarke at Vulcan To The Sky Trust +44 (0) 7541 133683
(airshows and Supporters Club)
Why is the Vulcan Important?
The Avro Vulcan is an iconic example of British aerospace engineering at its world-beating best. The design brief was issued by the MoD in 1947 and the aircraft flew for the first time in 1952, just eleven years after the first flight of its predecessor, the Avro Lancaster. Its impressive list of technical achievements includes being the first successful large delta wing aircraft (leading directly to Concorde), innovations such as anti-lock brakes, and an agility that was so close to a jet fighter's that it was given a fighter-style control column in place of the traditional bomber pilot's yoke.
Success as a Cold War peacekeeper meant that the Vulcan might have flown its entire service life without ever entering combat if it hadn't been for the Falklands Conflict in 1982. During a marathon 8,000 mile flight supported by eleven Victor tankers, Squadron Leader Martin Withers and his crew released the bombs over Port Stanley Airport that prevented Argentina operating its Mirage III fighters from the island and initiated the campaign that recaptured the Falklands. Two years later, the last Vulcans were withdrawn from service.
Today, only one Vulcan is left flying: XH558, owned by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust, a Registered Charity. Returned to the air in 2007, she has become an airshow phenomenon. "People forget that airshows attract seven million people annually. That's second only to football," says Dr Pleming. "An appearance by the Vulcan builds even on this remarkable level, typically increasing attendance by 20-40 percent. Airshow organisers talk about 'the Vulcan Effect' and have described the aircraft as a national treasure."
Squadron Leader Martin Withers DFC (he won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic Vulcan mission to Port Stanley) is a passionate supporter of the educational role of the plane. "Part of our mission is to ensure that young people learn about the knife-edge fear of the Cold War," he explains. "If I had been ordered to press the button that release the nuclear payload over our enemy, there would almost certainly have been no Britain left to fly home to.The Vulcan is the most powerful symbol of a remarkable period in British history that we must never forget"
Withers is also passionate about the aircraft's growing role in technical education. "This is one of the most iconic pieces of aerospace technology ever, and it is thoroughly British. The Vulcan fires young people with a passion to develop and build world-beating technologies. And we can help give them those skills through training modules that call upon the extraordinary knowledge, rigour and precision needed to restore and maintain the UK's only flying 'complex' heritage aircraft."
The Trust hopes to fly the aircraft for at least two more display seasons, including the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, which is also the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the Vulcan and the 30th anniversary of its heroic role in the Falklands conflict. "The airframe has limited time before it will no longer be possible to renew its Permit to Fly," explains Dr Pleming. "After that, we hope to develop a museum and educational centre around the plane, funded by conference, leisure and other commercial activities."
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