page_title: Avro Vulcan XH558
section_title: Post-RAF
hierarchical_section_title: Avro Vulcan XH558 / History / Post-RAF
caption_attribution_description: English: Avro Vulcan XH558 landing on runway 24 at Farnborough Airshow 2008. Picture taken from the terrace of Thales pavilion. Français&#160;: Avro Vulcan XH558 à l'atterrissage lors du salon aéronautique de Farnborough 2008. Photo prise de la terrasse du pavillon Thales.
context_page_description: Avro Vulcan XH558 The Spirit Of Great Britain was the last remaining airworthy example of the 134 Avro Vulcan jet powered delta winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War. It was the last Vulcan in military service, and the last to fly at all after 1986. It last flew on 28 October 2015.
  Vulcan XH558 first flew in 1960, and was one of the few examples converted for a maritime reconnaissance role in 1973, and then again as an air-to-air refuelling tanker in 1982. After withdrawal in 1984 it continued with the RAF's Vulcan Display Flight, performing until 1992. In 1993 it was sold to C Walton Ltd who used it for ground-based displays at their Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire, until 1999. Through a combination of public donations and lottery funding, it was restored to airworthy condition by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust, who returned it to flight on 18 October 2007. The donations required to reach that point totalled £6.5m.
  It recommenced its display career in 2008, funded by continuing donations to assist the £2m a year running costs.
context_section_description: Having been put up for disposal, XH558 was acquired by the Walton family, and delivered by air to Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire on 23 March 1993, its last flight of the 20th Century. It was kept in serviceable condition, performing fast runs along the main runway along with other fast jets during special open days.
  A decade earlier, shortly after the Waltons had acquired Bruntingthorpe, plans had been drawn up to fly preserved XM575 from East Midlands Airport to their planned aircraft museum, although it never took place as the money ran out before the necessary servicing could be completed.
  In 1997, a study was conducted looking into the feasibility of returning XH558 to flight – a risky prospect for the owners considering the aircraft would need to be retired as a ground-based attraction and largely dismantled before restoration could begin. With the decision taken in 1998, the last public ground run took place on 5 September 1999.
  The Vulcan to the Sky Trust was established to raise funds; including lodging an application with the Heritage Lottery Fund, rejected in 2002 but then refocused and accepted in 2004. Work began on the restoration in 2005; to bring confidence to donors of the project, the Walton family formally passed ownership of XH558 to the Trust in the same year. In celebration of meeting a funding target, on 31 August XH558 was rolled out of its hangar for the first time in seven years for a publicity shoot.
  XH558 returned to flight for the first time on 18 October 2007, conducting three test flights. Given the civilian registration of G-VLCN by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an exemption was made to allow it to fly in Royal Air Force markings as XH558. During part of May 2008, XH558 resided at RAF Coningsby where it underwent further testing, and while there took part in a photo-call with the Lancaster and a Typhoon . On 9 June 2008, XH558 flew its final test flight, a 98-minute journey from Bruntingthorpe, which included a display in front of examiners from the CAA. Deemed a success, an application for a permit to fly at air shows was submitted to the CAA, with a view to attending its first public event in 15 years, the RAF Waddington Airshow, on 5 and 6 July.
  The CAA granted permission for XH558 to fly from Bruntingthorpe to Waddington on Thursday 3 July, but authorisation for display flights was not granted until the Friday, allowing the first display flight, lasting 5 minutes, to go ahead on the Saturday in front of an estimated crowd of 125,000. An electrical fault prevented it from flying on the Sunday.
  XH558 was named Spirit of Great Britain in 2010.
  A combination of factors resulted in a decision at the end of 2012 to retire XH558 after the end of the 2013 season. After another feasibility study the decision was reversed and a major funding drive launched, which resulted in the required engineering work being done to ensure XH558 flew for the 2014 and 2015 seasons – see Operation 2015.
caption: Landing during Farnborough Airshow 2008
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