Weather woes push Vulcan to brink

The Vulcan needs at least £500,000 a year to stay in the air

The future of a vintage bomber which cost £7m to restore has been put in doubt because of poor weather.

The Vulcan, a Cold War bomber, flew from Bruntingthorpe in Leicestershire for the first time last year after a long-term project to get it airborne.

It still needs a permit to fly from the Civil Aviation Authority, but bad weather has halted vital test flights.

Organisers said they were missing money-making air shows and were now existing on a month-by-month basis.

About 20,000 people worldwide contributed to the restoration of the bomber and £2.7m has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Each month we look at the finances and see if we can carry on another month Andrew Edmondson, Vulcan to the Sky Trust

The aircraft has suffered a number of minor problems during test flights but the team had been confident of making the bulk of the air show season.

But bad weather, especially over the past weekend, has pushed back final test flights.

Acting chief executive of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust Andrew Edmondson said the bad weather meant missing more events.

"We need these final flights to complete the last paperwork but there is a significant gap between that paperwork and getting the permit to fly."

Scare sponsorship

He added: "People have been so generous already and we can't keep asking them.

"We are living hand to mouth now, each month we look at the finances and see if we can carry on another month."

The group said they hoped to secure £500,000 in sponsorship but the credit crunch had made companies very careful with their money.

They are now pinning their hopes on making the RAF Waddington air show on 5/6 July.