Avro 698 Vulcan B2 Bomber XH558 flying Display RAF Fairford RIAT 2015 AirShow

Video from the channel MUC-Spotter about Avro Vulcan, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:13. Language: English. Video type: Air show.

Display by the Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 at the 2015 Royal International Air Tattoo, flown by Kev Rumens with the show's commentary. It was the aircraft's last flying season.

The bomber makes passes along the runway with the characteristic howl of its engines, a head-on approach towards the crowd ending in a spiral climb, a pass with the gear down and another with the bomb bay open. It ends with a continuous-turn approach, airbrakes deployed, some rocking from the crosswind, and a landing with braking parachute.

Its four engines give about 16,500 lb of static thrust each, around 65,000 lb in total, although somewhat less is used to look after the aircraft. The delta wing was designed in 1946 by Roy Chadwick, who also designed the Lancaster and the Anson, and the Vulcan first flew in 1952. It carries the Lincoln coat of arms on the fin and the panther's head of No. 1 Group, in memory of the Vulcan squadrons of the 1970s, and the name Spirit of Great Britain on the nose. The commentary recalls the raid on the runway at Port Stanley in the Falklands, which required 18 in-flight refuellings; the XM607 that carried it out is on display at RAF Waddington, and its pilot, Martin Withers, received the DFC and is now chief pilot of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust. Returning it to flight cost more than £22 million, with support from the CAA and with BAE Systems, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group and Rolls-Royce acting as design authority companies.