mildly OT: preserved AVRO Vulcans in north america

Best refr is here:

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It *is* correct. The components were taken from the IFR system. During the early 80s, projected targets were considered to be in Eastern Europe, which was well within a Vulcan's unrefuelled range. For nearly a decade, no had one considered that they would have to strike targets on the other side of the planet and so the spares had not been procured for a number of years.

XL361 was never intended to be preserved. The fact that it has been is due more to good luck than good management.

The aircraft suffered an inflight engine LP compressor failure while en route to Nellis AFB in October 1981. The debris cut the fuel lines and left the aircraft with a catastrophic fuel leak. The crew realised that they had a simple choice - ditch the jet in the oggin or try to put down at Goose Bay. Abandoning a Vulcan had always been problematic, so they chose the latter option and - in a display of exceptional airmanship - they recovered the jet safely, despite the fact that the tanks were bone dry for the last three minutes of flight!

Sadly, they had to put the jet down hard - very hard! The combination of heavy landing and fuel system damage meant that the RAF considered the jet to be beyond economical repair. It was struck off charge on 13-11-81 and relegated to use as a fire trainer at Goose Bay. It languished (unburned) on the airfield for years until some enterprising soul decided to "preserve" the wreck.

If you ever get a chance to inspect it up close and personal, have a look at the undercarriage mountings on the main spars. You can put your finger in the cracks!

thanks. if i recall correctly this USAF yearbook has a website address for the museum at castle and i'll take a look next week. i am glad that according to your account that they are taking good care of her. yes you are right about the shade that you get from the sun under the wing of a vulcan. though i do not think that this is _quite_ what the avro design team had in mind when they designed the vulcan.

equally thanks enzo for the stuff about the vulcan at happy valley. i knew that it had been forced landing but wasn't as aware of the details as you are.

all i need now is to look and see what and if the bases at offut and barksdale have about the museums that they have on site. i know about thunder and lightning website and it is very, very good.

i asked about the US preserved vulcans as i have started to build a model up of vulcan B2, XM596. now i hear you cry which vulcan was that? and why not do the falklands veteran, XM597? well, i have no direction connection to the type other than seeing the VDF displays in 1988 and

1999. according to tim laming's book 'the vulcan story', XM596 was the static test airframe at woodford from the mid 1960's when the type was switched to low-level ops. it was never completed and was scrapped in 1972 at woodford.

trevor

opps! i meant to type direct [not direction] and 1989 [not 1999.]

t.

Its been a couple of years, but the last time I was at the 8th AF Museum at Barksdale, the Vulcan was still there and in decent shape considering its now a static display. The museum website shows the lay out of outside aircraft on display including the Vulcan:

Hope this helps.

Kaliste Saloom IPMS#30703 Lafayette, LA USA

This in now preserved indoors at rhe SAC Museum (or whatever they call in these days!!)

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Didnt see it there in 95 though I have seen Vilcans fly before in the US. (TransPo in 1972, and a few other places) One nice thing about a Vulcan is that they provide GREAT shade when parked on a hot day !!!!

WAS able to get into the MiG 21 MF, KC 97 and quite a few others. Mig 21, and F 86 cockpits are SMALL !!! The B 36 had critters living in the wings/fuseladge.

Actually climbed into the front office of the SR 71, and got promptly hauled out almost upside down by my belt. (I am 6'2") At least they were kinda nice about it :) (shouldnt have left the canopy open, lol) Well worth it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mig 21, and Ford Trimotor A/C in the Smithsonian I have spent quite a bit of time sitting in both :) (a few others there as well too)

Having grown up in an aviation family, and being around aircraft all my life, it's sometimes a little strange that I am more interested in AFV's now than A/C........... But I grew up flying in the 1960's, and civilian air travel is NOTHING like it was back then, where you actually got SERVICE and comfort !! (NICE seats, real china and silverware, not to mention real food, etc...)

Today air travel is nothing more than a flying Greyhound bus sadly....... To the point where tho I can fly for free whenever I want, I always drive.

Allan