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Well, those people have to pay for the food they need to live. There isn't an english bishop that tells them to steal it. And as there are quite a number of full time employed people involved, partly hired from commercial parties, it eats a big part of the slice.Stefan wrote:Interesting to read that a number of people question the amount of money that is spent on crew, staff, etc.
Hope those guys don't mind to find this also at an open boardDear Supporter,
XH558’s Future Now at Risk.
I imagine that you were as pleased as I was to see the excellent coverage that XH558 and her 50th Birthday Appeal gained in the Mail on Sunday on 17th January. We all need to thank those responsible for making this happen: the supporters who wrote letters to the Mail on Sunday Editor, asking him to publicise our campaign. But the situation remains dire.
The Extent of the Problem
Having already funded Marshall Aerospace to commence the most urgent “critical path” tasks needed for the Winter Engineering Programme, we now have just sufficient funds in our bank account to pay our overhead costs from today until the end of February – slightly less than five weeks. As the result, at the end of this week, I may need to recommend to the Board of Trustees that we give one month’s notice to all VTST employees with effect from 1st February.
The implications for XH558 are extremely grave: if we don’t find the money to keep going and finish the engineering programme, we may well lose all control over her destiny. We have already launched the plea for funds in a national newspaper, unfortunately apparently to little effect. We have raised just over £180,000, but we still need a total of £800,000 to get XH558 to the 2010 display season.
Because of the amount of work needed to be done this Winter, and the lead time associated with some of the items, there is real urgency in raising the sum needed – a further £620,000. As is the nature of engineering work on aircraft, not only is it surprisingly expensive but it’s “all or nothing”, which is why we now should not proceed further until we have confidence of reaching the full amount.
Including the necessary test flight, the whole engineering programme should last no longer than four months. But the longer we have to wait before reaching our £800,000 target, the more we delay XH558’s appearance her 50th Birthday air display season, and the more funds we would have used on unproductive overheads.
For XH558, the only way is forward through to completion of the whole engineering programme.
If there’s one positive thing we can say, it is that, barring mishaps, this is by far the most expensive Winter Service that XH558 will have to undergo for the foreseeable future. It will put in place the fatigue life extension modifications necessary for the remainder of her flying life.
Action Plan
So where to from here?
First, and most important, we are not giving up. We have to turn XH558’s 50th Birthday Appeal into nothing less than her 2010 Survival Appeal.
Recognising that supporters do not want to risk any of their donations not achieving tangible success, we are re-launching and re-driving our Pledge scheme.
Shortly, our website pages will change to reflect the new Appeal. We will be launching a Vulcan viral video, containing an attempt at a new world record, which we hope, with your help, will capture the attention of many.
The nature of the tasks and lead times of the Winter Engineering Programme means that it may be possible to move forward having raised only part of the funds, as long as there is confidence that the remaining funds will be forthcoming.
So when new pledges reach the half-way point of £310,000 (a total raised of £490,000), we will review the progress of the Appeal. If we are confident the whole amount will be raised, we will call in the pledges to date to allow work on XH558 to continue.
To set a deadline, we need to see £310,000 in new pledges by the end of February at the latest, if we are not to miss the main airshows this summer
As part of this new Campaign, I would like to offer an incentive: those who honour a pledge of £1,000 or more will receive an invitation for a personal visit to XH558 at RAF Lyneham during the Winter Service, to see her close-up and talk to the engineers who are working on her.
Please now would you help XH558 by making a Pledge if you can, but just as importantly, by spreading the word about this revised and renewed Pledge Campaign?
http://www.site.vulcantothesky.org/pledge.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
We will continue to publicise XH558’s current plight and your help in doing this is so very valuable. So far we have not been successful in gaining the attention of very many of the 2.5million who saw her last summer – we need to radically improve this performance.
Assuming that we are successful in returning XH558 to flight, we have decided that we need to run a funding campaign spanning the whole year, aimed at avoiding getting in to a similar situation again. This Annual campaign will be launched formally on XH558’s Birthday, 25th May, and will run from this date every year. We are also closely examining our costs again, in order to reach a sustainable balance of income and expenditure in coming years.
These are desperate times and we recognise that with the shocking disaster in Haiti lest week, this is not a good time to prevail upon anyone’s generosity. However, from the above I hope you will understand that for XH558 it is now or never. We have no choice but to come back to you.
Very many thanks for any assistance you may be able to give.
Robert Pleming
XH558 Survival Appeal Update
Dear Supporter,
XH558: the deadline has been set – the end of February.
Sadness and grim determination are the main emotions today: the Trust’s funds are such that the decision has now been taken to place all its employees on one month’s notice, as of 1st February.
We have so much to fight for, but with less than one month to avoid shutdown, the pressure is now really on.
On the few occasions when we have been in a similar position before, all XH558’s most loyal supporters have rallied to the cause, and somehow she has been saved. We are not assuming that the same will happen this time, which is why we are enlisting so many more people to help.
In 1941, Sir Winston Churchill said: “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” We are not giving in.
Mindful that we should not solicit donations whilst we are uncertain about XH558’s future, we are putting 100% of our efforts into the Survival Appeal Pledge Scheme.
We need to raise over £300,000 in new pledges by the end of February to justify a stay of execution, followed by a further £300,000 in March to reach our target of £800,000.
We are therefore launching a number of new activities to secure the immediate future:
· An attempt to set a WORLD RECORD for the number of signatures on a single birthday card for XH558.
· Re-design of the Appeal website to ensure visitors understand our urgent message, with a countdown timer to our deadline of 28th February..
· A sixty-second no-punches-pulled promotional VIDEO, spread via emails, with the goal of going “viral” with our message.
· A written notice and Pledge reply slip to all those on our databases.
· A SURVIVAL RAFFLE, launched by the Vulcan to the Sky Club, to create instant availability of working capital, once we are secured. (Prizes will be honoured by the Club if the worst happens).
· A PROMOTION PACK, distributed with the Club’s Winter magazine, to all club members.
· Targeted ADVERTISING in regional newspapers where affordable.
· Contact with national media and PR agencies to get XH558’s story in front of as many people as possible.
· And of course networking with all existing supporters, sponsors and industry leaders.
If we gather sufficient momentum over the next four weeks, we may well be able to start work on XH558 once again, but we will only do this if we are confident that the target will be met.
In the meantime, work continues at Marshall Aerospace on the detailed planning for the Winter Engineering Programme, whilst our own team are helping with the Appeal.
Assuming we are successful, with the new experienced gained over the past year, we will be building funds throughout the year in all ways possible to avoid the desperate measures we have had to take each winter to keep the dream alive.
Remember our ultimate goal: to be flying down the Mall on 4th June 2012 in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s – and the Vulcan’s – Diamond Jubilee.
As we count down the days of February, all the thousands of our loyal supporters know full well what they will be missing if the worst comes to the worst for XH558. What is most galling, is that there are millions of people who really don’t know what they will have missed. But if they did, they could well decide to help save her.
XH558 is the “People’s Aircraft”. Can the people save her again?
Robert Pleming
Once again, onwards and upwards!! – 25th February 2010
Dear Supporters,
There can now be no doubt that XH558 has a guardian angel looking after her: I can now confirm some really good news that vastly changes the status of our current Appeal.
Shortly, the Results Graph on our appeal site will show a massive increase due to a fantastic confirmed donation of £458,000! The donor has asked to remain anonymous, but I can reassure you that he is fully aware of the significance of this contribution.
As the result, I have pleasure in confirming that the Board of Trustees has decided that VTST now has sufficient funding in place to go forward with the planned engineering programme, and onward to the 2010 Display Season.
We have to temper this great news with the fact that our Public Appeal has been waning compared with previous years, probably as a result of the poor economic conditions and the weariness of boom and bust cycles.
Our main drive this year will be to finally put XH558 onto a firm business footing, with many new income generation schemes: Educational Lectures, New Merchandise, Regional Sponsorship, Competitions, and of course, an ongoing Annual Appeal. We must acknowledge we will continue to need public support, but gear the appeal over the whole year.
We will now focus our campaign on the 50th Birthday Appeal, which will also be marketed through our World Record attempt for signatures on XH558’s Birthday Card, until we launch our fresh campaign in May, aimed at taking XH558 on into 2011.
Very soon, those who have pledged will be receiving their “redemption” letters. Please await their arrival before making payment, so we can accurately record details and apply Gift Aid if applicable.
Your continuing support is much appreciated by everyone who appreciates what XH558 represents and by all those who have helped XH558 over the years. She is adored and appreciated by people all over the world. She is quite simply - the one and only!
Each and every one of us owes a deep debt of gratitude to every individual who contributed, no matter how small their donation, for keeping the dream alive.
My sincerest thanks and best wishes to you all,
Robert Pleming.
Vulcan to the Sky Trust.
IndeedGuess someone has come over with a major donation, as the donations have grown in a great amount overnight.
Source: newsletter from VTTS.The Winter Engineering Programme is proceeding to plan at RAF Lyneham. The "inspection" phase of the Minor Service has been completed, and rectification of defects discovered is under way. The most significant defects are corrosion on part of one of the elevon doors (which will require a long alloy bar to be manufactured), and delamination of part of the canopy. We don’t currently envisage any delays resulting from these defects.
Work is progressing in parallel on the two Fatigue Life Extension modifications, to the Front Spar Bottom Booms and the Landing Light Apertures on each wing; no issues have arisen to date.
There are still off-aircraft tasks to be completed to ensure the re-validation of the Permit to Fly, including the completion of the overhaul of the Port undercarriage, and the development of a revised engine cycle exchange rate algorithm.
We currently envisage that the aircraft may be ready for test flight at the beginning of June.
From what I understand from the forum at the Vulcan-website, the undercarriage problem is the fact that one leg was life expired, and needed to be changed/reconstructed, including lots of (re-)engineering work. This could have grounded the machine during last year's season already, hadn't the CAA granted some life-extension twice.Stratofreighter wrote:For those who had hope Vulcan XH558 would maybe make a return visit to Holland, sadly no...
The "tin triangle" was already booked for Margate in the same weekend as Gilze-Rijen, but due to an undercarriage problem she cannot even make that date.
http://www.waddingtonairshow.co.uk/news.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Although its return to flight is looking good for 2010, the dates of its first test flight are very close to the Waddington Air Show, providing that the project remains on schedule.
website RAF Lyneham wrote:There is a planned noise increase at RAF Lyneham, starting Fri 25 June 2010 until Fri 2 July 2010.
The Vulcan aircraft, that has been housed at RAF Lyneham during the winter months for maintenance, is now due to fly again for the summer season. Before any Vulcan flights can take place the aircraft is subject to Engine Test Runs to ensure complete serviceability.
Please be advised that the Engine Test Runs are very noisy and will only be undertaken during normal working hours. Specific time scales during each day cannot be confirmed.
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