In January 1947, the Ministry of Supply distributed Specification B.35/46 to UK aviation companies to satisfy Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.229 for “a medium range bomber landplane capable of carrying one 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) bomb to a target 1,500 nautical miles (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) from a base which may be anywhere in the world.” A cruising speed of 500 knots (580 mph; 930 km/h) at heights between 35,000 ft (11,000 m) and 50,000 ft (15,000 m) was specified. The maximum weight when fully loaded ought not to exceed 100,000 lb (45,000 kg). In addition to a “special” (i.e., atomic) bomb, the aircraft was to be capable of alternatively carrying a conventional bomb load of 20,000 lb (9,100 kg). The similar OR.230 required a “long range bomber” with a 2,000 nautical miles (2,300 mi; 3,700 km) radius of action with a maximum weight of 200,000 lb (91,000 kg) when fully loaded; this requirement was considered too exacting.[6] A total of six companies submitted technical brochures to this specification, including Avro. A commercial donation secured before the first ever display allowed the Trust to commit to attending the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford and Farnborough International Airshow in the first display season, where it was hoped significant commercial sponsorship could be secured. [20] [57] Just before handing over to David, here are a couple of images of XH558 (formerly of the Vulcan Display Flight) from my collection just to get you in the mood, and remember, there’s a great photo walk around set in your SMN Photo Reference Library to help you detail up any scale model that you have of the Avro Vulcan.

As part of the restoration, all four of the Vulcan's original Olympus 202 engines were replaced with the zero-hour units which had been stored since 1982. The removed engines were either scrapped, sectioned for display or passed on to the Vulcan Restoration Trust for XL426 at Southend. [10] On 17 August 2007, XH558's No.3 Rolls-Royce Olympus 202 jet engine was run for the first time in over 20 years. [10] On 22 August, all four were run at nearly full power settings, for short intervals. [10] Molded in 227 soft blue-gray plastic parts, the kit features optional parts to build the landing gear up or down, conventional bombs or a Blue Steel nuclear missile in the bomb bay that can be posed open or closed, and separate posable control surfaces.Despite its radical and unusual shape, the airframe was built along traditional lines. Except for the most highly stressed parts, the whole structure was manufactured from standard grades of light alloy. The airframe was broken down into a number of major assemblies: The centre section, a rectangular box containing the bomb bay and engine bays bounded by the front and rear spars and the wing transport joints; the intakes and centre fuselage; the front fuselage, incorporating the pressure cabin; the nose; the outer wings; the leading edges; the wing trailing edge and rear end of the fuselage; and a single swept tail fin with a single rudder was on the trailing edge. [70] Nov, We have released v2.0 which has the Fuse pieces and the wing attachment plates slightly modified to move the wings forward a little. There are a few other minor improvements too. The flight instruments in the B.1 were traditional and included G4B compasses; Mk.4 artificial horizons; and zero reader flight display instruments. The B.1 had a Smiths Mk10 autopilot. In the B.2, these features were incorporated into the Smiths Military Flight System (MFS), the pilots’ components being: two beam compasses; two director-horizons; and a Mk.10A or Mk.10B autopilot.From 1966, B.2s were fitted with the ARI 5959 Terrain-following radar (TFR), built by General Dynamics, its commands being fed into the director-horizons. Designed from scratch to be a scale, single EDF park-flier and it flies really well - see videos below. In 1956, VX777 was modified with the even larger phase 2(C) wing. Fitted with Olympus 104 engines, it became the aerodynamic prototype of the Vulcan B.2.)

In January 1953, VX770 was grounded for the installation of wing fuel tanks, Armstrong Siddeley ASSa.6 Sapphire engines of 7,500lbf (33kN) thrust and other systems; it flew again in July 1953. [27] After retirement by the RAF, one example, B.2 XH558, named The Spirit of Great Britain, was restored for use in display flights and air shows, whilst two other B.2s, XL426 and XM655, have been kept in taxiable condition for ground runs and demonstrations. B.2 XH558 flew for the last time in October 2015 and is also being kept in taxiable condition. Various electrical faults disrupted the April 2008 test flights – on the 14th a trip to RAF Cottesmore resulted in the crew declaring an emergency and landing at Cottesmore believing the auxiliary power unit (APU) was on fire, only to find later it was simply a faulty warning light. [52] [53] Another flight two days later had to be ended because one of the undercarriage doors failed to close, found to be micro-switch malfunction. Major technical issues discovered during the first year of flight included difficulties with interfacing modern airport electrical systems with the Vulcan's electrical systems, and ingress of water into the airframe in wet weather. [49] Post-restoration [ edit ]As a result of the crash, on 24 August the CAA imposed temporary regulations on civilian vintage jets displaying over land, restricting them to flypasts and banning high energy aerobatics. [43] Citing this restriction on the Vulcan, on 26 August the Durham Tees Valley air show planned for 29 August was postponed to 2016. [44] [45] The following day however, the Trust confirmed that after discussions with the CAA it was determined that XH558's display routine is not classified as aerobatic, and therefore the Vulcan would continue to fly with only minor changes to the display. [46] Until the Shoreham crash, the last flying season of the Vulcan was attributed as one of the reasons for sell-out crowds at air shows across the country, although in the week after it was not expected to affect spectator numbers at other shows, most of which were due to go ahead on the August Bank Holiday weekend with only minor alterations. [45] So, we're now in the pilot seat of Avro Vulcan. It's a very cramped area to be in but probably for the pilot and the co-pilot on my right they have at least got a fairly decent view outside - at least they can see outside unlike the three crew members sitting behind. Vulcan B.1 XA902 was withdrawn from RAF service after a landing accident in 1958. After rebuilding, it replaced VX770 as the Conway test bed, fitted with four RCo.11s. The two inner Conways were replaced with Rolls-Royce Speys, flying for the first time in this configuration on 12th October 1961.