Vulcan XH558 Delta Lady

Many of you will know about my other passion in life,
Yes there is another lady in my life as well as my Beautiful wife Sara x.

I'm talking about Delta Lady or Vulcan XH558.
The last airworthy Vulcan B2 Bomber in the world! She is everything British and we need your help now in returning her to flight this Year.!
I have been involved in the project for 5 years now and we are now at the stage of almost roll out after her full Service for return to flight.

Heres the latest on the work so far.

Major Service passes half-way point - May 2006

There's been very significant progress in the six months since the last Newsletter, with the Major Service now past the half-way point. Activity in the hangar at Bruntingthorpe continues apace, with the main effort now focused on airframe structural rectification and enhanced electrical inspection and rectification. A typical example of structural rectification is the repair of cracks in the engine air intakes that arise over time from the aerodynamic punishment that this area of the aircraft takes. Also, as the result of the in-depth inspection of wiring in the wings, it has been decided to replace the vital power cables to the eight Powered Flying Control Units that actuate the elevons.

The Non-Destructive Testing has been completed, with virtually a clean bill-of-health for the aircraft. Over 450 X-ray pictures have been taken of various parts of the structure, with only three minor, repairable, cracks found. Olympus KeyMed has provided vital assistance in the form of intrascopes for the inspection of otherwise inaccessible parts of the structure.

Preparation for the main fatigue life extension modification on the rear spar, “Mod 2222”, has nearly been completed. This involves removing the main bolts that secure the bottom of the wing spar to the centre section of the aircraft. Coventry University is kindly helping us with the supply of very accurate laser-based measuring equipment to ensure that the wing is correctly positioned for this modification.

On aircraft systems, detailed analysis has concluded that some 47 systems are not required in our operation of XH558 under civilian regulations, ranging from the Navigation and Bombing System to the Ration Heaters. One major decision taken was to replace the aircraft's Military Flight System (MFS) with modern equipment. The cost of overhauling the MFS, and maintaining it over the operating life of the aircraft proved prohibitive, many times the cost of replacing the unit with a modern reliable replacement. A Bendix-King heading indicator, and AIM artificial horizon will now be provided for each pilot, with additional navigational data supplied by a Garmin 430 GPS unit.

The deletion of some systems required safety assessment by the Marshall Aerospace Design Office, needing thorough design analysis to ensure that no reduction in safety would occur as the result. (As a policy, nothing will be done to prevent these non-functional systems being reinstalled once the aircraft has finally been grounded, to return XH558 to its original configuration.)

OEMs and servicing partners around the country are hard at work with component and system servicing – “need dates” for these items are now available from the project plan, and our supporting companies are aiming to meet these dates to minimize any project slippage. As an example, work is underway on the re-skinning of our rudder and elevons at Beagle Aircraft in Christchurch , Dorset , and at Air Atlantique in Coventry .

Some other key milestones have been passed in recent weeks. First, we had the delivery back to Bruntingthorpe of the first major overhauled unit, a Chassis Mounted Fuel System, from Goodrich in Hall Green, Birmingham . Second, the first overhauled Airborne Auxiliary Power Pack (a small gas turbine driving an alternator) was successfully run up to speed and tested.

Looking further ahead, planning for the testing and operation of the aircraft is under way. Following submission of our description of the way we are going to operate the aircraft to the CAA, a very helpful review was held at the CAA's headquarters at Gatwick, and the feedback from that meeting is being integrated into our plans. We are now are beginning to plan all the various things that need to be in place to ensure a safe and successful operation as a “one aircraft airline”!