Avro Vulcan XH558 - The spirit of Great Britain first flew in 1960 and was the last remaining Vulcan to fly.
Its final flight was on 28th October 2015 and living close by I had the pleasure of hearing the famous “howl” more than most.
It’s an aircraft that I’ve grown up with and is engrained in my local community. It’s the mascot to the local school and named in local streets.
So today @speatuk and I both visited XH558.
I’ve wanted to fly this location for years but being an active airport until very recently stopped me from doing so.
After a quick unlock from DJI we found a suitable TOAL location and took advantage of the opportunity to take a number of pictures.
You can read more about the Vulcan here https://vulcantothesky.org/
’
12 Likes
Photos aside, it must have been absolutely mind blowing flying around the vulcan, bet you were buzzing.
Last time I seen it was at Prestwick when it had the nose gear failure.
3 Likes
What a great opportunity and a smashing set of photos.
2 Likes
I can’t begin to tell you how excited @speatuk , @milkmanchris and I were to fly this place.
It’s literally a short walk from my house, so it has been very tempting for a long time.
It’s an awesome machine with so much history that’s tied to my village and also my family too
I can’t wait to get back there for a few more videos and pictures.
4 Likes
Thanks so much. I’d say it’s once in a lifetime, but I’ll definitely be back for more.
Glad you like the pictures too
4 Likes
It was awesome.
Can’t wait to go back.
4 Likes
I’m confident it won’t be long at all
2 Likes
I was lucky enough a few years back to work on said runway, and was able to get right upto it, it’s an awsome machine, Fantastic set of pic btw
7 Likes
I can only imagine how “awesome”
It must have been to be close to that plane. I’ve watched a few documentaries about it which were fascinating.
Great pics @Howard78 will there be a video?
3 Likes
It’s awesome in person.
I attended one of their guided tours and have pictures inside the bomb bay and at the ladders to the cockpit.
Huge machine with some awesome power.
Great picture too!
1 Like
There’s definitely going to be a video or two in the coming week.
It has a fascinating history and I’ve heard lots from official sources but also from family who were based on the airport when it was an active base.
Tales of the famous “5 minute warning” must have been a sight to behold seeing several Vulcans with their engines warming up and prepared to unleash hell on the soviets - I can only dream what that may have looked like
3 Likes
