Vulcan returns to the air show circuit

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By Max Kingsley-Jones

Avro Vulcan XH558, the last flying example of the famous delta-winged cold war icon, made its 2009 air show debut last weekend, after £500,000 ($820,000) was raised to prevent the aircraft being permanently grounded.

The Vulcan, which was the star of last year's Farnborough air show after a £700 million, 15-year restoration, made its return at the RAF Brize Norton families day and the RAF Cosford air show. It is due to be gracing the skies at next month's huge Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

However, at the start of the year the prospects for the Bristol Olympus-powered bomber, dubbed the "tin triangle", gracing the skies again looked dim. But a last-minute newspaper appeal by XH558's trustee Vulcan To The Sky Trust managed to raise £500,000 to keep her airworthy this year. "Never has one aircraft owed so much to so many," says VTST chairman Robert Pleming.