Avro Vulcan B2 XH-558 At RIAT

Video from the channel Altimeter Aviation Videos about Avro Vulcan, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 9:39. Language: English. Video type: Air show.

Display by the Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 at the Royal International Air Tattoo, with the show's commentary, in what was the aircraft's last flying season. At the controls is Kev Rumens.

The Vulcan makes passes along the display line, one pass with the gear down showing the wheels tilting backwards as they retract, tight turns showing its agility, and a pass with the bomb bay doors open. It ends with a continuous-turn approach with airbrakes out, some rocking from the crosswind, and the landing.

It is fitted with four Rolls-Royce Bristol Olympus engines of 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 shape was designed in 1946 by Roy Chadwick. The livery represents the Vulcan squadrons of No. 1 Group in the 1970s. Instead of the bombers' control wheel it has fighter-type control columns for each pilot, and in its early years test pilots even rolled it at Farnborough. The commentary recalls Martin Withers, who received the DFC for the Falklands raid and is now chief pilot of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust. The bomb bay now holds the names of those who helped keep it flying. The aircraft does not belong to the Royal Air Force; returning it to flight cost more than £22 million, with BAE Systems, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group and Rolls-Royce acting as design authority companies.