Vulcan 'needs high flying backer'

By Sean Maffett

Enthusiasts fear the Vulcan will not fly again without a major sponsor

The delta-winged Avro Vulcan bomber may have made its last flight, unless the backing of a major commercial sponsor can be secured.

Only one of the distinctive looking aircraft is still airworthy out of the 136 built in the 1950s and 60s at the AV Roe factory in Manchester.

They were retired from RAF service in 1993, but a small group of enthusiasts were determined to get one back into the air.

The Vulcan To The Sky Trust managed to raise £7m, including £2.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It took nine years to have it restored to its former glory.

This year, the Vulcan has flown at air shows up and down the country, including the famous Farnborough Air Show.

Everywhere she appeared, she became the star of the show, often increasing the number of people through the gates by as much as 20%.

The Vulcan is always a popular attraction at airshows

But despite all the money spent on the enormously complicated restoration, the £1.5m a year costs of running the bomber may ground her again.

Without a major sponsor, Vulcan XH558 may not survive the winter in flying condition.

Project leader Robert Pleming said: "We are at a crossroads. After a very successful display season we are facing coming to the end of our financial resources.

"If we don't find commercial sponsorship soon, we face the end of Vulcan's flying life."

The Vulcan flew this week at Farnborough as part of the centenary celebrations of the first British powered flight.

At the controls was Martin Withers, DFC, who captained the Black Buck raid on Port Stanley airfield during the Falklands War.

Former prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who sent him on that flight, was in the crowd to watch.